# communal mantis



## joe0709 (Sep 22, 2007)

what mantis do you keep communaly ?

i was thinking of keeping some chinese mantis communaly but i have been told not to by some and that they will be ok by others.

what species do ok communaly ?

if not ill just probably have them all seperate anyways


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## stuart89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Hey mate.

Been looking at mantis' quite a lot recently, :lol2:.

It appears that Ghost Mantids _(Phyllocrania paradoxa)_will live communaly and so will the Devils Flower Mantis _(idolomantis diabolica).

_I have read though that the Devils Flower Mantis' are very hard to keep so it pretty much just leaves the Ghost Mantis' as your option.

I have ordered 5 mantids the other day, 3 of which are Ghosts which I plan on keeping comunaly. They say that as long as the food is available, they will not attack each other, BUT it is not a certanty (sp?) -its just less likely-

If you want ghosts, the only person I have found after days of searching is Martin French at Main
He wont send anything until after monday next week however, he moved house or something.

Hope this helped!

Stuart.

P.S. Cant get the link to show the site, it just keeps showing 'Main'


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## joe0709 (Sep 22, 2007)

wicked. thanks and that link is awesome.

may be tempted by a couple of other things on there lol


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## Mark75 (Jan 21, 2007)

stuart89 said:


> Hey mate.
> 
> Been looking at mantis' quite a lot recently, :lol2:.
> 
> ...


 
Having kept both these species I can confirm they will eat other. Maybe if you had them in an area the size of a greenhouse maybe.

I was a little peed off when I had 10 nice and healthy I diabolica who decided they'd develop a taste for their siblings and ended up with 7 and 3 fat mantids.

It'll do none of these mantids any harm to be kept solo. They don't need social interaction or to be kept in groups to be healthy so why risk it?


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## joe0709 (Sep 22, 2007)

cool thanks. just thought it would look nice to have a little communal set up going but will just keep them alone then.

cheers


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## stuart89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Mark75 said:


> Having kept both these species I can confirm they will eat other. Maybe if you had them in an area the size of a greenhouse maybe.
> 
> I was a little peed off when I had 10 nice and healthy I diabolica who decided they'd develop a taste for their siblings and ended up with 7 and 3 fat mantids.
> 
> It'll do none of these mantids any harm to be kept solo. They don't need social interaction or to be kept in groups to be healthy so why risk it?


Im doing it for a display tank, there will be plenty of space and each will be fed very well. I know of a few people who have kept them together without the problems of cannabilism (sp?).

But I do agree, that they are not social animals and that it does not eliminate the factor of canabilism. But that some species are less likely to than others under the correct conditions.

Stuart.


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## spider_mad (Mar 8, 2007)

none, mantids are solitary insects and are cannibalistic


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## Becky (Mar 26, 2007)

Why not do a communal tarantula species ?


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## Young_Gun (Jan 6, 2007)

Becky said:


> Why not do a communal tarantula species ?


H.Gigas FTW!

:mf_dribble:


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## joe0709 (Sep 22, 2007)

Becky said:


> Why not do a communal tarantula species ?


ye was thinking of one of the dwarf species bt dont have much room


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## Becky (Mar 26, 2007)

Young_Gun said:


> H.Gigas FTW!
> 
> :mf_dribble:


Would need a huge deep tank... Holothele incei would be good.


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## Young_Gun (Jan 6, 2007)

Becky said:


> Would need a huge deep tank... Holothele incei would be good.


Depth is easier to accomodate than length usually :razz:

Agree on Incei aswell though, best sp I have kept communally, the rest like to each each other apart from x3 H.Gigas I had together.


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## Metamorphosis (Feb 25, 2008)

*Mantids*

Hi 
Just a quick note, having kept most of the species around over a long period of time, their are only a few that are ok together and the easiest of them is the Gongylus gongylodes.


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## joe0709 (Sep 22, 2007)

Metamorphosis said:


> Hi
> Just a quick note, having kept most of the species around over a long period of time, their are only a few that are ok together and the easiest of them is the Gongylus gongylodes.


thanks : victory:

btw what payment methods do you accep on your site ?


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## Metamorphosis (Feb 25, 2008)

*mantids*

Hi
And I think Martin French has some nymphs at the moment!
Graham


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## suz83 (Oct 8, 2009)

*communal mantids*

Hi, i have violin mantids (gongylus gongylodes) and they are quite happy being kept in groups as long as there is enough space provided. i only house 3 together but have read that you can keep up to 10 in a large enclosure - approx 60x60x60.
they can be a tricky species, but definately one of the most interesting. these are from an arid environment and needs 40-50% humidity and needs a temperature between 30-40'C. they should only be fed on flying insects for successful ootheca construction.
hope this helps! :2thumb:


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