sluggish mantis shrimp

I'm kinda worried about Yoda. We got up around 11 am yesterday to find that his tank heater had been unplugged. The water was around 74*. He was acting crazy like he was trying to climb out. I figured that the water temp was the only thing wrong after doing the normal tests. I plugged it back in and his temp is back up to around 79 but he's acting really sluggish today... not playing with his rocks or shells like he normally does.

He did chase a shrimp on a stick but only after hubby put it up under him and messed with him with it.

Do you guys think the temp could have bothered him that much?

 

I think you need to start waking up earlier.

 

the problem is that my mother in law insists upon cleaning the basement... where we live... and she unplugs things and throws things away and just generally disrupts our daily life with her cleaning.

 

I wouldnt worry about it too much if I were you! He is probably a little stressed, as he has not been in your tank for long but he should get over it soon!
Bob my female peacock (just realized she was a female) has days that she is not as active as other. Plus she refuses to eat some days.
Give him some time...if you are worried you can leave the light off for a day or two...I do that whenever Bob seems stressed.

Plus they will fidget less once they get their "house the way they like it" Bob only rearranges when she is going to go into a molt (or has a large sac of eggs!)

 

Yep mantis shrimp are pretty hardy when it comes to temp swings and even salinity swings. They aren't "shrimp", which need to be drip acclimated and will kick the bucket at the slightest swing.

Some mantis species live in tidal pool areas. When the tide goes down, they are stranded in a pool of water that is first, getting heated up by the sun rather quickly. And second, as the sun heats it, water evaporates, causing the salinity to climb. Mantis get used to that sort of stuff. My tank water for Princess swings from 77/78-80 almost every day (thank God for those cooling fans I installed...)

Just give Yoda some time. Once he gets established to his home, he'll be better. The only time an "established" mantis gets OCD about cleaning and their den is around molting time.

 

ok thanks guys

 

Just an update:

He's doing much better today. We are keeping the light off for a bit just in case he is stressed from the temp dropping. He's out walking around and was hitting his rock for a bit.

We are thinking of messing up his area a bit so he has to work like he would in the wild. What do you guys think of this?