Mantis Tank setup questions

im just trying to avoid detrius sitting in the back of the tube and building up... then possibly geting stirred my my mantis and mini-cycling

 

They decorate, re-decorate, and then re-decorate again. There won't be any detritus building up in there.

 

yeah ive noticed that... Ndomukong (my mantis) tends to redo something every day.

 

Hey!
Tanks been doing great, my shrimp (Peelz) seems to be doing good, he's already molted once (I believe) and is eating fine.

For the past...5 or 4 days, he's been cooped up in his cave though, do you guys think he's molting again? I thought he had already no longer than 2 weeks-1 week and a half ago.
Do they normally do this?

Speaking of Peelz, I should post a video I caught of him randomly running around my tank the first week I got him.

 

Young mantis grow fast and molt often. This slows down as they get older/larger.

 

Alright, that's good to know.
What's a general amount of days it takes them?

 

Depends on the size of the mantis. Small ones may only take a day to molt, or it could take up to a week or even longer for a larger mantis.

EDIT: Actually I was wrong it can take a lot longer for a mantis to molt. Several weeks for large mantis or heavily armored. A 3" G. platysomal often will remain sealed up for 3 weeks.

There is some good info about molting here:
So how long will it take for my stomatopod to molt and what is it doing? - Reef Central Online Community

 

my g smithii just molted and ive had him for 3 months. this is his first month. keep in mind he is about 5-6 inches long haha

 

Are you sure it is a smithii? They are only supposed to get up to 90mm according to Roy's list which is 3.5"

 

you know, thank you for this. people keep telling me he is a smithii, but i keep thinking otherwise. here is a link to a video of me hand feeding him ( yes i trained him ) can anyone take a look and tell me what they think?

i know i know, my glass is really dirty and it is hard to see his colors sorry

YouTube - mrscott824's Channel