Mantis Shrimp Help?

Hey Everyone,

Right now, I am in the process of transferring my fish to my new 46g bowfront, but will have an open 30g tank afterward and after significant reading, have decided to get a mantis shrimp. Just a few questions:

1. How deep should my sand bed be?
2. Right now the tank has about 20lbs of well established LR- is that enough?
3. Should I tear down the tank to put a piece of plexi-glass down to help prevent "breakage"?
4. Other than peacock Mantis' (too expensive-$79.99 from LFS), are there any other "smasher species" that have nice coloring and get to about 6" long?

Thanks

 

Peacock is by far the easiest to find which makes it the most likely to be the cheapest. (I paid $175 for mine $79.99 is cheap!)


Keep in mind the diet. A smasher must be fed a steady supply of crabs to stay healthy... it's an expensive meal. In addition, no clean up crew which means to keep the tank clean looking takes a lot more work.

 

WOW. I am a new owner of a Peacock Mantis and I only paid $25 at my LFS. BTW I named him Mr. Chow! I have dedicated a 20 gallon tank specifically to him and a few damsels whom he doesnt seem to to bother. More important than the sandbed IMHO is to provide the mantis with some rock rubble and lots of empty shells so that he can build his home. Outside of the crabs which can be expensive he loves feeder goldfish. Good luck with your mantis....they are pretty amazing animals.

 

Feeder goldfish are not good food at all... Smashers shouldn't even be looking at fish first of all. Secondly, even if he is eating them, he's not getting the nutrition he needs to live.

The sandbed is easier to for them to dig and they will dig a cave under a nice rock structure quickly. By digging it for him, you can influence where he lives to make sure you can see him fully.

 

I love my mantis, I have a peacock as well & purchased from ibluewater (site sponsor). I may stand corrected, but isnt that where you got yours also grim? It has by far been probably one of the most enjoyable livestock purchases to date. They intereactivity they offer combined with the ohh's and ahh's that he draws from both the family & visitors is always a crowd pleaser.

Smasher type mantis will build little burrows with int he rock & a 4-6" sandbed will work fine. For a peacock of larger type mantis you are looking for, yes I would recommend a piece of plexi in the bottom. While mantis striking and breaking glass is way over glamarized & rarely happen, it can happen with larger specimans in smaller tanks. Alot of the common occurences is either they dig & strike near the seals, or people torment & taunt them into striking glass.

I keep mine is a standard sized 29g with about 30 lbs of live rock, 4 x t5, HOB CPR aquafuge/skimmer, basic set up.

You can keep fish in the tank, but that is a strictly at risk choice. Mine dosent bother my fish (5 fish in the tank atm) & in fact sometimes they even swim in one side and out the other of his little lair. She did strike a blue reef chromis when I added it, but it swam for cover upon addition and I think it was a scared reaction on both sides. Didnt kill it but took a small chunk out that has since healed over.

As far as feeling, I offer mine unprocessed mim clams from the oriental market, frozen shrimp, during the summer months fiddler crabs off of ebay, and I also keep a steady supply of snails & hermits CuC coming in from reefcleaners for her to snack on at her leasure. The live fiddler crabs are definitely by far her favor, and you can really see the predator side of having a mantis during feeding. lol.

Alot of people get concerned of having the capability of caring for a mantis, but if you can maintain a reef tank you can maintain a mantis tank. They arent a fan of nitrates like any other invert, but past that its just a matter of finding one & enjoying it.

 

+1 to all this advice and information!!!

I sure did get mine from ibluewater.com!! I hadn't thought of looking for fiddler crabs!

 

How often do they have to be fed? Any thoughts on what the monthly cost is to feed um?

Also, Grim- I noticed you are from Gulfport. I actually have family that lives in Bay St. Louis and Diamondhead, so I fly into Gulfport all the time. I absolutely love the coast down there!

 

Ha that's awesome!! It's a great area!

Mine would eat pellets and I supplemented at least once a weak with something live. When I quit giving him live foods he started dwindling... It just depends what you can get crustaceans for. I never found a good source for food so it was costing me a fortune... every now and then I found some crabs on the beach. Fed him a blue crab once... that was so cool. He smoked the large crab lol... But made such a mess.

Knowst has some really good ideas on how to go about feeding them. Large meaty items and a pair of tongs to get him to eat it and that should work. Mine just seemed to ignore everything but live crabs.

 

lol my lfs has them for 20 to 30

 

for the smasher type , ive got an n.wennerae , i put a half dozen snails in at a time. so whenever he wants a snack , well he can just step up to the buffet. i also feed him frozen krill on a fondue fork. makes him work to get the krill off it.

good luck with your purchase.

guy