Setting Up A Planted Mantis Tank! | Meet My Ghost Mantis Pets! 

Ok this is confirmation, the plant community is definitely my kind of people. We used to raise monarch butterflies inside our house (back when I was in the beauty/diy community) we loved them and even grew the caterpillars favorite food, tropical milkweed. Some viewers used to freak out, saying things like “eww get those bugs out of your house, why don’t you have kids instead.” 🤦‍♀️ But how I love plant people, down to earth vibes all the way. 🙌🌱🌵🥰

They also have orchid mantis and they look like little flowers

Heres some advice because I have 2 mantis's, we used to hand feed them because if you let the fruit flies go into the terrarium, the terrarium is so big your mantis's might not find them and the fruit flies will lay their eggs in the cage and it gets really gross.. plus i had 1 of my mantis pass away because it was eating a rotten fly that was dead for who knows how long... she had it in her hands when i found her..:( but idk that was just my experience! they are wonderful pets though! you made an amazing terrarium for them! super cute

I keep mantises, it’s great that you’re getting into them! I do a few pieces of advice, though. I would not cohab mantises, especially once they get bigger. There’s an increasing risk of them attacking each other, especially if one molts before the other. The internet says that ghost mantises can be cohabbed, but I can tell you from both personal experience keeping mine and talking to other keepers that it is not a good idea. It may work if they constantly have food, but I have seen full ghost mantises still lunge at each other. The only other thing I saw which was a bit concerning is the lid to the tank. I couldn’t quite tell from the video, but if the mesh on the lid is metal, I’d recommend putting windowscreen mesh under it, because they can get their feet caught in metal. Overall, I really liked the video, the terrarium looks very nice, and I’m sure you’ll be a great mantis keeper. But I would recommend splitting them into two enclosures, in order to mitigate any risk of them attacking each other. There’s a lot of misinformation out there, but I can tell you as someone who’s tried to cohab ghost mantises that it can definitely end badly.

They look great! You should put a fine mesh layer between the leca and the substrate - it all from compacting. Also put carbon mixed with the coco to purify the water - both will help stop it getting stagnant 👍🏼

I thought you sounded a bit tipsy...and then I realized that I had the speed set on 0.75 because I was following a crochet tutorial earlier. Bha-ha-ha!!! I couldn't believe that you were making a video after drinking way too much!!

they're so cute, I love how alien-like they look.

I love when they do there lil dancy dance

Mantis keeper and breeder here! so happy to see the mantis love spreading around the interwebs! if you or anyone else needs any mantis help I’m always happy to help! ❤️❤️

9:28 omg they were boxing! They even protected their little alien eyes!

If anyone would have mantis as pets, it would be Harli 😅 they’re so cute tho! Can’t wait to see updates

Also, I have a tip which I believe a few other people already mentioned. You can introduce invertebrates like springtails and isopods (pill bugs) into the tank as both a supplemental food source, and a clean up crew. They will break down any dead plant matter while avoiding living plants, and also will decompose the wade the mantises produce. They also (especially isopods) add more visual interest in my opinion.

Omg the Crystal's in the terrarium are an awesome touch. Plus when you said at 12:27 about them drinking the little water droplets from the leaves was like :3 the imagery alone is beyond cute

i love how you seem genuinely happy to take care of them~

You should look into making the enclosure bioactive by putting in isopods and springtails that way you dont have to change the substrate every couple of months. They will break down the mantis poop and will help the plants grow. It will be like making a mini ecosystem

I'm concerned that the enclosure is too big for them at this size for the amount of food wandering around. There are too many places for the fruit flies to hide. In order for them to catch prey, it needs to be in striking distance (from their arms). They dont chase their prey, they stand and wait for it to come close. I raised baby mantis' from arbico one summer (released them just after hatching) and had one that lived in my entry way garden the entire summer. When late October came around, I brought her in before the first frost and kept her in a terrarium. Fed her crickets from Petco ( which broke my heart honestly). She lived until march. She laid a sterile egg case up in the corner of the terrarium which was amazing to watch. It took hours. Eventually she got old and rickety. Her wings got lacy (holes between the veins) and she lost a leg. In the end I had to hand feed her and couldn't kill crickets myself, so I fed her thawed bloodworms (frozen cubes from petco). I had to hold her and place the bloodworm right at her mouth parts with tweezers, and she would gobble them up. Very cool insect, but the feeding live prey was enough for me to never want to do it again :) I would check with the friend that gave them to you for advice at this young stage.

Thank you so much for the planty content! I love coming home from a long day of work and watching your videos and forgetting about all the stresses of life. I was so excited when I discovered you lived in Utah cause I live here too and it was so awesome to see how your plants thrived and encouraged me to grow my collection. That and thanks to you I discovered J&J nursery my life was never the same after that. I’m sorry people out there are so quick to put you down and I hope you and your family are doing well!!

You’re off IG 😭😭😭😭😭 I miss your stories and you!!!! You helped me become a better plant mom ❤️ I hope you are okay. Take care.

I'm all here for the unusual pet club🙋🏼‍♀️

I love mantis there so pretty wish they lived longer

OMG that was such an experience, I love that you got these! I can’t wait to watch them grow 🖤☺️ I just picked up a plastic bin to start my propagation box inspired by you!

What an unusual pet. They are so cool. A few years ago I had a big green Praying Mantis that was living on my hedge row. I would go out and harvest yard bugs and bring them to it. A big storm came and I never saw it again. Different from the Panther Chameleons that I had before. 🦎🦎🦎

I love the addition of the crystals in the terrarium! Such a good idea to add extra visual interest 😁

I would and could literally watch you doing plant stuff all day; watering, repotting, buying pots and plants, unboxing - ALL OF IT. You’re so easily to watch and loveable!

Ahh! So excited to watch this! I’ve had my eye out for it since you sneak peaked last week ☺️☺️☺️

I saw the title and immediately got excited!! My fave plant youtuber also got mantises :D I love these little aliens so much, I had a ghost this year too. I think you're doing a great job with the enclosure, but from what I've read (mostly on the mantis reddit) they advise against using steel mesh as this can damage their paws when they try to hang from them and they always try to hang when they want to mold :) also because the enclosure is so big, make sure to add enough pray for them as the pray might be too good at hiding etc. love your videos!!

We stan someone who gives way more space than necessary to their pets

So cute! Can’t wait to follow along on their journey! 😍😍

This is so awesomely cool! You’ve got more balls than me though! As cute as they are, it’s a no go for me, 😂. I will continue to live vicariously through you. Thanks for sharing!

Such a cool video! I’ve never seen these before and they’re so cute. I love how they dance lol! I know you said they don’t enjoy the decorations but you definitely do and I would too. Great job on the tank!

This really brightened up my day. So. Freaking. Cool.

When i saw your story on insta i was super exited ! Your videos are one of the reasons i got into plants & i got 2 mantises for christmas from my bf. I loved your video ! & i just wanted to give one tip since and that is to really really see that they are fed properly in such a big tank. Especially a ghost mantis, they like to wait for the pray to come really nearby for them to catch it so in such a big tank that can be a little tricky for them wehen they are in L2-L4. But i love your tank and it’s gonna be so cool when everything grows in ! Love it 🤩

This is the best. Glad to see you shedding a positive light on our insect friends!

Omg I keep saying again and again I LOVE your videos. Your personality is the BEST, you’ve quickly become my favorite RU-vidr, and now I want some mantis pets!!

i watched your live when you guys were talking about these guys! so excited to watch! thanks for inspiring me harli, love you 💕

I hope you are ok Harli! We are all missing u, you’re amazing at what you do!

Hi Harli! OMGolly they are so cute! I've never heard of them before. I hope you will keep us up to date on them. In several comments orchid mantis were mentioned, so I had to look them up. They're really beautiful! I checked out the ghost mantis, too. They would be fun to have, but I wish they lived longer. Thank you so much for sharing these oh so cute mantis!

This is the most amazing thing I’ve seen in a long time......and boy did I need this today 💚🌿🌱🪴

This isn’t the content I’d ever expect to see in my subscription box, but wow, I loved it 💕 I’ve never considered keeping insects as pets before - it’s super cute!

This was so interesting! Never even thought about a praying mantis and now i want one...or two ☺️. They’re so cute!!

I have been SO excited for this video! 🙌🏻🪴

okay this makes me want to have a little tank for plants even without the mantis like its so cute!!! cant wait for updates 🥺

I’ve been waiting for this video! Such a cute little home you made them🥰🥰

I’ve been patiently waiting for this video since you showed them on IG! They’re so weird! I love them though. Now I want one lol

Ah so excited for this video! These little guys are so neat!

I loved seeing you enjoying them! ❤

omg theyre so adorable!! thank you for showing them 😊🥰

They are so cute!!! Congrats on your new babies!!

Oh, I love them

You make the most wholesome content, I love your channel so much ❤️❤️

They are so cute! Can’t wait until they get bigger 💚

Omg I’ve always wanted pet mantis! I used to work at an insectarium and they were always my favorites! I used to keep them as pets as a kid too it was one of the highlights of my childhood

this is so freaking cool! thanks for dharing Harli!

This is so cool! Thanks for always showing us something different and fun 💗 xo

Praying that you find the strength to push through the negativity you are facing... You are so loved and supported by so many people in your community, even others try to put you down. 💕💕💕💕💕

Oh my gosh i LOVE THEMMM 💕 theyre ICONSSSS 👀💖💕

Hey! Just wanted to let you know your video inspired me to buy a pet praying mantis! I just got it last week from Mantis Dojo. Love it!! Thank you so much!!

I’ve wanted a preying mantis like forever!!! So glad you got them!! Hope you’re okay harli! ❤️❤️

It looks so nice! Awesome reference before I put together my vivarium this week :)

omg yes, keep the mantis content coming! Hope you're doing well, Harli

I've had a mantis that lived a little over a year, loved that boi. I kept him in a large enclosure outside housed with others but I have lots of precautions to prevent fighting. It's amazing keeping mantis! I hand raised all the ones I have 😃 sadly they don't have the ability to "learn", I would've loved to teach them tricks and stuff.

They're so cute! Perfect names

Yessss I’ve been waiting for this one! So excited!

You can get the stuff to make your own flightless fruit fly cultures at Josh's Frogs. I did that back when I had dart frogs. It's super easy and you won't have to hit up the pet store for the little cups of them. They're super cute!

I LOVE THEM! Looking forward for more updates! Super cute 🥰

Omg one of my other favorite RU-vidrs just got a ghost praying mantis and set up a planted tank as well! I've been thinking about getting one for so long, I think this is double confirmation I need to get one!

So cool harli! Ive never even considered having something like this as a pet.

thanks for sharing :) those ghosts mantis will never know how lucky they are!

Omg! This is so amazing! They are adorable!!!!!!

I love mantises i have a few of my own - just a tip for once they get larger they will need a vertical terrarium as they like to be high off the ground. Luckily the tank you have can be flipped on the side and just need to silicon a piece of acrylic across the new base to so you can put substrate in there. Love the video!!

They’re so cute! I never knew I needed these in my life haha

They look like their dancing at 0:15 🤣 you should have put some music behind it 😂

Omg they look so cool and delicate. Awesomeness

Wow!!! How awesome! Those ladies are spunky! I love it!

Oh mah goodness they are so cute! Love love LOVE this video!!!

dudeeee! I have been researching getting mantis pets for months - this is so cool! I currently have two colonies of snails with tanks that are about to go full bioactive. I love them. =

Love this video. Can't wait to see updates on these guys/gals lol

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! They are so cute!! I love these little guys, they're fascinating

Omg I’m getting caught up on all my plant peeps and I just so love your little Alien praying-mantis 😂 love this video so much there so cute😍😍

You should do a mantis update I’d love to see them again haha so cute 🥰

This is freakin’ awesome!!! Nice job Harli! 💚🌱

I've only started in on the plant hobby and I am also a massive reptile,arachnid and insect lover. Hopeyour mantis are doing good, one thing I will say is that mantis tend to need a lot of cross ventilation so a mesh enclosure may be a bit better but we all do things different. Hope you enjoy those little ones because theyre so cool!

It’s the dog snoring in the background that really gets me. Love your videos xoxoxo

I had a terrarium with stick insects. One escaped just before I sold them. She lives in my Monstera now for almost a year. The Monstera grows fast enough to keep up with the foraging. Sometimes, she's gone for a few days, probably exploring the room, but she will always return.

Sooo cute!!! Thank you for this fun share!

Those are the coolest praying mantis I have ever seen dude wow 🤩

Omg soooo cute!! And love it next to that syngonium.

You should put something super skinny and sticky by the light, n the other side, they probably prefer the mesh bc it’s the easiest thing to hang upside down off of. Like yea leaves are skinny but that metal mesh is super small they probably wrap around n feel secure.

Very cool, Harli! You could get a tub of each springtails and isopod (little pillbugs) for the tank to help process decaying plant material. The isopod would also serve as an occasional prey item that they can hunt.

Oh they are very cool! I like their little dance moves!

Yayayay I've been excited for this vid!

I planted some plants awhile back when i had an outdoor balcony and i had such many cutes praying manthis popping on my computer!

You have so much energy to be taking care of all your pets and a baby! I envy you. 👍

I have a bearded dragon and she eats different types of bugs and after a few months, the gross parts of the bug handling became just part of my regular routine ☺️

They are so cool! I love them.

Different kinds of mantis get more and more popular and I love it!

Wooo I love this! I'm a freshwater fishkeeper, and proper tank size is a huge debate in our community. With fish, a larger tank can help prevent aggression issues. Hopefully it's similar with these mantises! One thing's for sure.. you built them a freaking kingdom!

You make me smile with every video!!!🤩

I've always wanted a mantis as a pet!! You should do a care video (like how you do for plant types lol). Like addressing questions such as... How much they cost. Where yours came from. How expensive and difficult they are to take care of. Their most favorable environment. Will their diet change (from fruit flies) as they get older? And other questions of course!

I live your enthusiasm for them!