Mantis Tank Pics

benihuma

Member
I wanted your opinions on my Eclipse 6 mantis tank. Do you think it is adequate? If you have a mantis please post a pic of your tank. Thanks.
ben
 

benihuma

Member
Here is a pic where you can see his little lair under the live rock. Is this ok or should I use a piece of pvc?
 

hnf2k

Active Member
he will make his own burrow. i put pvc in my mantis' tank and he just covered it up. is that all live sand or southdown? he will start digging and cloud up your tank. i personally feel that crushed coral is a better substrate, but it's all trial and error. if the sand works great, if not you might want to change over to crushed coral. that looks like the heater i have, just make sure there are no orange lights that will go on and off inside the tank otherwise the mantis will attack it, also no floating thermometers.
 

benihuma

Member
No, the heater is indeed titanium, they are all I use for my tanks. The sand is live sand from my 90 aggressive, mainly southdown but it's been in the 90 for over a year so the sand is definately alive! I guess my mantis really is living the good life. I think I'll just add some live rock rubble for him to do as he pleases. I pissed him off today by accidentally caving in his burrow. He spent over an hour excavating it piece by piece.
ben
 

beefcake

Member
WOW how deep is that sand bed ? How many mantis shrimp do you plan on putting in there ? Neat tank, I've seen those before. How much was that ?
 

benihuma

Member
the sandbed started out at a bit over 2.5", but when I introduced the mantis, he had different ideas. now towards the front it is over 3" deep, but at his burrow it is less than an inch. i am only keeping one mantis in the tank, as it's only 6 gallons.
ben
 

benihuma

Member
that's where trouble comes into pardise...they aren't very active. they are active while constructing their burrow, but once complete, they like to stay put. i play mother nature every once in a while and reak havoc on the ocean floor, so that he has a chance to keep his ******** decorating skills sharp. he's also active when i feed him. i'll post some pics tuesday.
ben
 

polarpooch

Active Member
Beautiful mantis! Cool it's so green (wonder if he'll change after a few molts...let us know!) Very nice tank, too. Those Eclipse are nifty, aren't they? I use the same thing, only the Hex 5...took mine to my office, too. My coworkers think it's gross (yet they all stare!)
Mine is VERY active, wonder if yours will get more so.
BTW, one mantis per tank is the general rule, especially in small set ups like a 6 gallon.
Enjoy. As I've posted before, Mantis are the coolest!
 
benihuma,
that's an awesome looking mantis. I'm setting up a tank similar to yours. still waiting for a mantis to be on my lfs list. thanks for sharing the pics of your mantis
 
Top