Mantis Help?

[fretfreak13]

I havn't even finished cycling my second tank and I'm already dreaming about my third. I want this one in my room, which is my first question. I've heard that Mantis' are noisy at night. Too noisey to keep in my room? He'd be going in a 20 long with probably a small HOB skimmer (if it's really needed) and another HOB with chemi-pure in it (I love this stuff lol).
Questions are:
-Can I keep it in my room?
-What is the bare minimum for a setup filtration wise?
-Are the stories about them breaking glass true? I hear that quite a people have them on this site, so I was just wondering.
-Tankmates? I kinda want a starfish. Never had one, always wanted one.
-Reef safe? Might add Xenia, just cause it looks cool in current and dosen't need a ton of lighting. Maybe some zoas too.
-What do they eat? Do I have to buy live food?
-Does anyone have a good link where I can read about the different species and such?

 

[yearofthenick]

They're not loud, even when they're attacking/eating. You might hear a click every now and then but it's not unbearable. Unless you're an extremely light sleeper, it shouldn't wake you up in the middle of the night. For a smaller mantis, it's clicks will probably be about as loud as the buzz from a HOB filter.
As for your setup, Everything seems fine but you need to keep in mind that Mantis shrimps are messy eaters... you'll likely have to vacuum your sand more often than usual. I don't think a skimmer would be necessary though.
I have heard two or three stories of larger mantis shrimps breaking tanks. But for a smaller mantis, you won't have any problems. If you end up getting a larger mantis, go with a plexiglass tank - it can handle more damage without breaking.
The mantis shrimp is a solitary animal. If you put fish or inverts in there, he will most likely make dinner out of them all. Don't put anything alive in there that you won't mind getting eaten. Seriously.
Manis shrimps are completely reef safe. I know of a friend who had a corals-only tank and later decided to get a mantis to hang out in there. Everything worked out fine.
I used to feed my mantis a damsel every now and then, since I hate damsels so much. He also loved hermit crabs... used to smash holes in the shells and eat them right inside the shell. When I didn't have money to buy damsels or hermits, I fed him half a frozen silverside every few days.
There is another forum that has a section devoted specifically to mantis shrimps. If you're interested, I can email you a link.

 

[fretfreak13]

Is that forum --? I'm on there too, I just forgot about that board. lol Thanks though. I probably wont be getting this tank until sometime next year, but I love learning about it ahead of time.
So you think it'll kill a starfish then? I was kinda doubting it because they're slow moving and don't really seem alive, but then the fact that the Mantis Shrimp can see in infra red and all other light spectrums and what not, I mentally slapped myself at how obvious that one was.
By the way, did anyone here know that? I jsut did a report on them for my Biology class last week and it was what generally sparked my interest in getting one. Mantis' can see in 12 different colors, while us humans can only see in three (the primaries). They can also see in infra-red and ultra-violet.

 

[yearofthenick]

Pretty cook dude. Yeah I was talking about R C.
Not sure about the starfish being in there. I don't think mantis shrimp eat anemone's so I can only assume it's the same for starfish. Both are inverts and probably taste awful. I would try it out.