Mantis tank

ok so im new to this site actually just joined somebody said you guys got a lot of people who have matis shrimp tanks.
ive been contimplating setting one up now ever since i saw one in a book i was reading and i thought man thats cool
now this is where you guys come in im wondering what all is needing to get a mantis tank going and where to look to buy mantis shrimp
thanks jake

 

Maintenance of mantis shrimps

 

though i wont get one im learning with you. first site i came across so dont know if what he states is trust worthy

 

There are quite a few people here on 3Reef that keep them. I was keeping them at a time when all hobbyists compared mantis to Satan. I.e. "My tank is a week old, I put a fish in it and it died". Common response at that time: "You must have a mantis". "I bought 10 snails last week and I can only find nine". Common response at the time: "You must have a mantis". Mantis were the boogeyman to explain anything that died. Unfortunately, that wasn't true.

Look in my signature. There's a club here just for mantis-keepers. You have to decide what species you would like and then we can really help you. There are several species that require special care. Roy's List of Stomatopods for the Aquarium My favorite is Odontodactylus scyllarus. It's common name is a Peacock Mantis. This species requires special care to avoid injury to you and is one of the species that can break aquariums. However, most species are a little more easily kept.

 

Pseudosquilla ciliata
a spearer type i saw one at least i think it was this one it was yellow very cool

 

I have a N. Wennerae mantis, and hopefully thanks to inwall a peacock coming soon. My current mantis just moved out of a 29g that will be housing my peakcock. There is really no special out of the ordinary needs they require from normal maintenance, care and equipment for any other SW tank. They do require a deeper sandbed as some like to dig, and or PVC pipe in the tank similiar to a cave for them to hide in. The more you research youll find they are pretty interesting despite thier bad label. Important thing to look at is they fall into 2 general catergories, smashers and slashers. Smasher will eat primarily snails, crabs, shrimp, where as slashers are primarily fish eaters. This does not mean a smasher wont eat fish, and any livestock you put in the tank either way is a potential meal should the mantis feel the need. Smashers are generally the more interactive of the two, and slashers prefer deeper sandbeds and almost build like little lairs they pop out of to snatch thier food.

You will hear this myth over and over and over that mantis will break the glass of a tank. Dr. Roy (google him) is one of the foremost mantis experts out there and has only seen one or two actually break glass. A fair amount of those accounts of glass breaking also fall in line with the owner taunting the mantis into striking at the glass. This rumor comes from like mentioned they like to dig and can dig along the edge of a tank and pry loose the seals. One of the preferred methods is to put a piece of plexiglass or egg crate on the bottom of the tank just incase you get one big enough to actually damage glass, or of course go with a acrylic tank.

Roy's List of Stomatopods for the Aquarium

is the link to Dr. Roy's mantis index, while it doesnt go too far in depth it does give a list of alot of the mantis out there and thier basic characteristics.

My sig has my build thread for my current mantis set up although I can confess it is in desperate need of updating. I'll have to do it once I pick up my peacock.

 

Pseudosquilla ciliata
this is the species i think that i saw when i was looking at them and i really liked it was yellow and a spearer type

 

you wont be disappointed once you get one. i only have one for the moment though hes small still awsume.

 

What kind of Stomatopod do you want? Thats the first thing you need to ask your self. Pseudosquilla ciliata? I have had a few of them before. They are easy to take care of and a simple set up for them would do. You'd need at least a 10 gallon tank...with a mix substrate of sand and live rock rubble. Simple lighting not to fancy and over hang power filter would do. ​

 

Sealifeinc.net has p. Ciliata and is your best source for stomatopods.

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