My LFS just got a peacock Mantis. What do I need?

My LFS had a green mantis, but after I told him about the peacock mantises I've seen on here, he decided to entice me by getting one. He said he can get them pretty easy, so if he doesn't have that one, he can get another one.I will start another tank for it.


What do I need before I decide to get one?
Tank, tank mates, reef safe, Etc.

Thanks

 

kinda wanna make that a species tank...they tend to kill stuff. there is a preference on having an acrylic tank but thats only for the 12" monsters. some thing like a 29, 33 or 40B would make a nice home. lighting should be minimal. coarse substrate. pvc for tunnels. nothing overly special.

 

totally not reef safe.... tank mates = dead mates, and the size tank.... im not sure what you intend to do with it, but they can get to be 6" in length if i recall. so you want something atleast 25+gal in my opinion. thick substrate as they love burrowing

 

You could keep some GSP or xenia towards the top of the tank.

 

Mantis are pretty much the only thing you can reliably keep in a tank, they will eat everything else when they can catch it eventually... That said, they don't need much in terms of Tank Size, so you could get away with a rather small solo tank for a Mantis.

All Mantis fall into 2 specialogical sub-catagories, for common use we can call them 'scratchers' and 'punchers' The only difference lying in each of the hunting techniques. The Scratchers use a quick action blade appendage that litterally cuts small fish in half, They are dangerous to people as well, with fisherman accidently hit (caught in nets) usually requiring several stiches to heal the wound.

Punchers use the same appendage, but as a tiny fist which hits harder than a 22 caliber bullet I've read. Because of this, Punchers have the ability (though rarely used) to actually break through the glass in an aquarium, as such acrylic is recommended. This said, very rarely does the Mantis actually go up and punch the glass without provication or some bating manuever.

Very Pretty Creatures, but very dangerous. Their danger to all other species in their tank (including our own hands!!) leads them to a solo species tank, but on the plus side you can get away with a small tank to keep them in.

They are very reclusive however, and will spend most of their time in their 'den'. Not a very active tank inhabitant.

Craziest eyes I ever saw in the aquatic world... Thats a plus lol

 

I have mine in a 29g biocube, with sand, live rock and rubble and pvc tubing for dens. You will want to get a lot of empty hermit shells so they can make their dens. No matter how much you prepare by making their home, they will immediately redecorate to how they want it.

As said above, minimal lighting is all you need. You do not want to have too much light as it can cause shell disease.

As far as fish and corals I would not start out with anything in the tank until the mantis learns you are the food source. Peacocks love to redecorate with frags and other pieces of coral that you put in the tank and many smaller frags can be buried or used for building materials for their den. I did add some corals to Bobs tank after she had been there for a while. The coral that was placed in the tank was ones that I did not mind if I lost......ie nothing rare or expensive.

Fish wise, again you run the risk of the mantis eating the fish. There are fish that I would say NEVER should be placed in a peacocks tank........ blennies, gobies, clowns or other "stationary" or bottom swimming fish. The fish should be active swimmers and not ones that like to hang out in one spot or hide in rocks. That is just tempting fate. Of course no expensive fish or fish that dont do well with inverts. After I had Bob for a while, I did purchase a damsel to put in her tank. She never bothered it......in fact one day I was cleaning out the tank and scared the damsel and that thing swam into Bobs den. I thought for sure it was dead.......but Bob just pushed the fish out of her den!

I personally think glass curved tanks are the best tank for mantis. Very rarely will a mnatis actually crack a tank......I know there are all sort of stories and pictures of a mantis shattering a glass tank but in reality the tank was already cracked or someone was tapping on the glass and annoying the mantis.

You will need a surplus of crabs and snails. Even though you will want to get it on frozen food, you will still need to give it snails etc so they can smash the shells or else their smashers wil atrophy. I feed my mantis right now krill several times a week and couple cereth snails a week. Bob who was 12 inches long would eat a couple large turbo snails a week

feeding sticks are also a plus. I use wooden shish kabob skewers to pierce the krill and wave it in front of the den. As far as snails I just drop them into their den. I keep the surplus snail in the mantis tank, and the mantis mostly leave them alone until I give it to them.

Anyway there are a lot of good sites on the net r/t keeping mantis. Good luck and make sure you put up a picture when you get one

 

most mantis are not very actve tank inhabitants, however peacocks are very sociable. They spend more time observing you than in their den.

 

Can you even keep leather corals and zoa colonies in the same tank? All video's I've seen of these things leads me to believe they are spawned straight from Hell. The Grim Reaper of all small critters in the Sea

If you end up getting one and not liking it, there are several recipes

 

LOL!;D I wonder what it tastes like ...

 

Thanks for all of the responses.

So I can keep some corals in the tank?

Do you ever put your hand in the tank, to clean it or to try and pick the mantis up?

I have seen a youtube video of a guy picking up a black and white one and holding it? not saying I would attempt it.

You mentioned that it doesn't need a lot of light. Do you turn all of your lights on in your biocube?

Can I just buy a 20 gallon tank set up and it be fine with the regular lights and filter?