Was able to observe my large 8" Peacock Mantis shrimp molting today for the first time. He had been doing the usual pre-molt ritual, blocking up his lair with debris, refusing food etc.. I just happened to peek through the side of my tank where I could see in his lair and caught him at just the right moment. He flipped over onto his back, and began doing what I could best describe as crunches. Like you would do for an ab workout. He did this off and on for about 5 minutes and then poof, crawled right out. He kind of laid on his back and wiggled around for a couple hours but now he is in the process of burying the fresh molt. Really cool to watch!
On a side note, I did find something out about them recently. I had added some soft polyp corals to the tank recently, which have been struggling a little. I started adding Lugols solution to the tank at recommended dosage at water changes. (Iodine). This is good for both the corals and the mantis, but I have also heard that iodine triggers the molt process in stomatopods. So I may have caused him to molt when he didnt really need to. I cant see that being very healthy for him. Either way, he made it out without a hitch and seems to be doing fine.
On a side note, I did find something out about them recently. I had added some soft polyp corals to the tank recently, which have been struggling a little. I started adding Lugols solution to the tank at recommended dosage at water changes. (Iodine). This is good for both the corals and the mantis, but I have also heard that iodine triggers the molt process in stomatopods. So I may have caused him to molt when he didnt really need to. I cant see that being very healthy for him. Either way, he made it out without a hitch and seems to be doing fine.
