peacock mantis tank build

i really would like to get a peacock mantis but space is tight. i have an 18x20 foot print available for a tank. im thinking my only option is a custom acrylic tank.my questions so far are how thick should the acrylic be? how tall should the tank be? and what kind of filtration?

 

18 x 20 is rather small for a peacock mantis. If I were you I would try to get a smaller Odontodactylus species. They are just as playful/interactive but do not require as large of a tank and are not as prone as developing tail disease.

In a 18x20 the long side is only 3 times larger than the mantis, and the short side is slightly more than two times. That is very small for an animal that can travel 30 times its body length in one second.

The smaller Odontodactylus species are hard to find, but you won't be disappointed if you got one.

 

could some one recomend me some of these smaller Odontodactylus that would be good in a tank this size. i like the peacock mantis because they are colorfull and very active. id also prefer smashers.

 

I'm not sure on a good mantis species...but for acrylic thickness 1/4" would be perfect. You could go 3/8" if you want to make things easier for when you build it, but I'd shoot for 1/4" thick.

 

I can do that. The smaller species are just as active. They are den builders too, and are in some ways more interesting than their larger cousins.

You can get an O. Havanensis

That is the species I would like to get.

o. latirostris although they are kind of drab colored.

o. cultrifer Very rare but they have sweet coloration on the telson. I wouldn't count on finding one though. One of the leading researches of mantis shrimp is still trying to find them.

o. brevirostris very drab imo but is supposed to have a great personality.

Also for the smaller species acrylic is not necessary. You will be fine with standard thickness glass.

 

how would a 29 gallon biocube do for either large or small?i think i can squeeze 1in if i cut away my dressor/shelving unit

 

Snuggles (O.s. peacock mantis) lived in a 29 gallon biocube for a long time. He was full grown and never tried to hit the glass.

 

hmmm did snuggles apear happy and not cramped?how big was it and how long did it survive in it? do you have any pic of the set up...sry for all the questions

 

Snuggles was happy. He was full grown (7~8 inches). I kept him down at the fish store and he was very spoiled. Customers always brought him hitchhiker crabs. He lived in a PVC Y Branch fitting that was covered over with Live Rock. PVC Fitting - Y Branch PVC Pipe Fitting CN;FUJ products He did his own decorating with small pieces of rubble and shells. One would think I would have a picture of him. The St. Louis Post Dispatch, The Riverfront Times, and even The City of Maryland Heights all did stories of our store. Even though we had rays, sharks, and other interesting animals, Snuggles was the picture put into all 3 stories. Unfortunately, I didn't keep them. Snuggles lived in that tank for about 1 year. (He was purchased full grown). When I was sick, they read that people should dose Iodine into the tank. Without calling me, they dosed his tank and killed him. (Boy I was mad....I left him at the store so that customers could see what a mantis looked like, not so an employee could kill him).

 

o no thats terrible.im sorry for your loss.i really apreciate the help...feel free to live vicariously through me though....any and all knowledge of these awsome creatures is greatly apreciated.please feel free to share.