Mantis!

[markw]

I was wondering what type of an environment I could keep a mantis shrimp in. Do they need the whole 'shebang' with protein skimmer and everything, or could it simply be a cycled 10g tank with a sand bed, live rock, HOB filter and flourescent or PC lighting with suplimental feedings?
Mark

 

[cranberry]

Their are mantis species that you could definitely keep in a 10g without all the bells and whistles.

 

[markw]

What about the green mantis currently being offered on SWF? I saw a video on discoverys website about a peacock mantis that was sectioned off by a tank divider and kept as part of the tank. He had his own part of a larger aquarium all to himself, but it was the size of a 10gal tank. It was only LR on the bottom with some sand and a coral in the background. Looked quite minimal, but im sure the tank had nice equipment. I was thinking about setting up one, but I wanted to know what all they needed first to see if I could accommodate it.
Mark

 

[cranberry]

A full grown peacock it too big for a 10g. My custom 24 looked too small for mine after awhile.

 

[markw]

What about the Green? What is the difference between the two? I usually dont read much about things that are no-nos in my reef, so Im not informed about the mantis'.
Mark

 

[cranberry]

Green is a very very vague name. They don't specify what types they have for sale. You probably wouldn't end up with the one in the pic, which seems to be a R. komaii. Call them up and ask if that is the exact guy you would get. He's pretty cool and kind of rare so I have no idea of how interactive he is but he's suppose to be dinural. But you could get shipped anything.
Oh, he's a spearer... you can see in the pic.

 

[markw]

My LFS has one that looks almost identical to the one in the photo on SWF. It is only about 3" right now and is in a HOB tank (positioned inside a tank, not on the outside) all by his lonesome. Theyre not sure exactly what specied he is. Theyre only asking $15. Would it be worth reserving him and bringing him home to put in a 20gal long?
Mark

 

[cranberry]

If it was me... and I liked the look of him.... I'd get him. I'm honestly willing to bet it's not the same species as the SWF pic, but most mantis' would do fine in a 20g no matter what species it is.
If he's a spearer and green, I bet his a ciliata. But ya never know... mysteries are fun. Get him and bring us some pics

 

[markw]

Well I dont have the tank set up, so id have to put a deposit on him and go get him after the cycle and such. As for equipment, what do they need? From what I read, they are extremely lenient and would be fine with a HOB filter and a flourescent light (with adequate water changes weekly). Should I take this as the truth? I would go get some live sand and rock rubble & maybe 1-4 pieces of LR for him to have a burrow and such. What about tank equipment?
Mark

 

[cranberry]

You don't need much for these guys. If you are going to reserve him, any chance you can get a pic while you are putting the tank together? Some species benefit from a few little modifications, so if you knew for 100% sure what it was, you could prepare ahead of time.
To really ID one that is difficult you'd need a pic of it's merals. They will be inside the 2nd leg... (or his "clubs" or "s.pear". It's a colored circle. Side shot and top down shot can also be important.
The one on SWF has ocellae (colored circle) high up on his carapace. That's what he IDable by. If the one at the LFS has one up that high, then it's the same. If it's not that high, is elsewhere on the body or is absent, it is not the same guy. But that's easy enough to tell.
They totally need just the basics. A little HOB filter, non glass heater (if it's a clubber), a total dark cave or you'll have problems with molts, rubble all over the place for him to pick through, a nice sand bed, and whatever lights (keep them weak and you won't have trouble with algae and he won't have trouble finding darkness in his cave.)
If it's a spearer similar to the SWF one, I'm going to guess a ciliata. If it's the one like the pic, that would be way cool.

 

[markw]

Im going on a trip to the beach tomorrow and tuesday, then Ill go to the store on wednesday and see if they can find out exactly what he is or if I can take some pictures. Thats good to know. What about water requirements? Still the same as a regular SW tank? 75-82F, 1.025SG?
Mark

 

[cranberry]

Yup, they are very tolerant.

 

[markw]

They live on meaty foods if I remember correctly, is it best to have a variety (im sure it is..) and if so, what would be the best for them? Should it be frozen when I give it to them? How big should it be if he is 3.5"? Im asking alot of questions that arent pertinant at the moment, but I want to get everything down.
Mark

 

[cranberry]

If you didn't ask the questions we'd have nothing to discuss!
Do you know for sure if he's a spearer or a clubber?
Variety is always awesome. Spearers are pretty much fish eaters in the wild and I fed mine pretty much a nice mixture of different fish to hit all the different nutritional highlights.
With the clubbers I stuff all sorts of frozen inverts and fish. Some of that I stuff into snail/hermit shells for them to crack into... it "conditions" their pummels.
Try a little 1/2" of food at first. Be careful not to overfeed because they will take it....but could bury it for later.

 

[markw]

Ok, I called and they said theyre pretty sure its a clubber, but dont know the exact species. It came in on the LR and is eating well. I will be going there avter vacation to look and take notes/pictures. Thanks alot! I will be back, so stay posted.

Mark

 

[markw]

Ok, it is now about a week after vacation. I called them the day I was coming back and they said they sold it. Bummer. But that gives me time to get the tank up. I may be cutting too many corners here, but would this work:
15g long tank
15-20 lbs LS (or aragonite, which would be better?)
10-20 lbs LR rubble (or would regular LR with caves work better?)
Some type of heater, probably titanium.
Light.
20g HOB filter w.carbon and filter sponge/pad
I was thinking about putting some chaeto in it, would this be okay? I know no other livestock, but I didnt know if it would be okay with plants.
Mark

 

[cranberry]

That sounds great. Get a nice PVC tube for his den. You can hide it very well under the sand and rock if you get black. I used a "U" type... I'll take a pic of it tomorrow. A dark place to molt is very important.
I agree, don't go for a glass heater.
Tanks mates would depend on whether you ended up with a spearer or a smasher.
Use just an average light if you don't have one already. We used a stripe light for th efirst tank... keeps the algae away.
Cheato would be fine.... but he could want to decorate with it.
I wish I had of taken pictures of my first setup. It was very basic and it lasted for years.

 

[markw]

I would love pictures! I need some inspiration. I know they like to bury, so how deep should the sand be? I guess they will use the PVC. I would want this to be covered with sand, so I need to know how deep it should be so I know which size of pipe to get

. I will most likely get a smasher. I cant find too many places that sell them and most of the more esthetically appealing ones ive seen have been smashers. If you know anywhere that regularly sells them or has them for sale at the moment, I would love a PM with the info

. How are they with corals? I was thinking maybe some xenia or a little bit of zoas? I dont mind him messing with the cheato. Thanks for popping up again! I have a striplight that fits the tank with a 20W florescent light in it that I used for FW if this would be okay.
Mark

 

[cranberry]

My light was was the cheapest oldest thing you ever did see. But if you want to keep any corals you'll have to have a little light for it.
I'll go through my external harddrive and see what pics are on there of the old setup. They probably aren't very good pics if I never posted them , but it may give ya an idea of what I had going on. Their new tank is very basic.... but we lost the ciliata to a molt failure.
Corals are fine, but he will more than likely try to decorate with it and you'd be surprised the weight and size they can lift. I put a few little things in there like some palys and a leather and GSP, but just make sure it is a nice hardy coral that can take some abuse.
I'll look around for some pics.

 

[the_bandit]

Reading this post, looking at videos, doing alot of reaserch, and having a birthday coming up soon has made me extremely interested in getting a Peacock Mantis Shrimp. I dont mean to steal your guys thread away but Ive done some digging and its actually pretty hard to find a place that sells the kind of Mantis I want. Cranberry, can you PM me some sites that could have them? Please and thank you.
My set up was going to be
30-40g glass aquarium
stock lighting
4'' or 5'' sand bed
U-shaped PVC pipe
Plenty of rockwork
Whisper 50g HOB Power Filter
Not sure on heater. May not need one.
Anything Im missing?
Thank you for this good informational thread, Markw. I hope you get your Mantis soon