Purple Spot Mantis Shrimp

I have a 10gallon aquarium i want to use to get a Purple Spot Mantis Shrimp.. I dont no much about a mantis shrimp accept for the general info on how to sex them and if they are a smasher or spere.. i was wondering will a regualar 10gallon tank u get from like walmart be good anough for this purple spot manits shrimp? Also do u need a special light for one like u do coral or not..plz give me as much info as possible thx!

 

i dont know the purple spot , in regards to size. but your basic 10 gal should work. you dont need any special lighting. if you wanted to add some easy coral, theres some bulbs you can switch out an use. get some LR , and a bit of pvc piping for its cave and you should be good to go.

i put a n.wennarae in a 10 that has only basics. regular hob filter, i changed the lights out tho.

 

i would reinforce the bottom. im not familiar with this species but im sure it gets bigger like a peacock which can chip glass. just a thought to do before you start the tank and no special light needed. get atleast a 2 inch sandbed so they have something to dig in and get live rock and pvc for their home. make it twice the size she is tall. not long so if she is 4 inches long and 1/2 tall or whatever get a 1 inch pvc pipe. i have a 2 inch pvc i would get that atleast for a starting point so she or he can grow into it.

 

i was thinking about one of them n. wennarae but do they look kewl at all? also what do u test for besides the normal nitrate ammonia ph. do u need any thing else? So u are saying a regualar bulb just to make the tank light up works?
casue i have compact but i didnt want to put corals in it just him...

 

G. smithii get to 3 to 4 inches so a 10 gallon would be sufficient. Since the glass on 10 gallon tanks is fairly thin, I would put down a thin piece of plastic or plexiglass on the bottom before putting in sand.

A piece of PVC tubing hidden by rock will protect the mantis from accidental rock slides. Make sure that in addition to the larger pieces of LR, there are also pieces of LR rubble and small shells so it can decorate it's den.

There are a lot of threads on how people set up their mantis tanks. Just put stomatopod or mantis in the search engine.

 

Well im not sure on were i can get a G. smithii. What other type of mantis can i put into a 10g and still be comfortable and also not outgrow it?

 

Blue Zoo Aquatics has G. smithii's

If you want a cheaper one, a lot of different people have G. wennerae. Pet Solutions has them for $18.99

 

Well i like the G. Smithii a lot so i will pry go with that any of u no if they are a much greater risk for that shell rot or w/e it is called? i want one that is less prone to them diseases..

 

Also are they work 60$?

 

that would be a Odontodactylus scyllarus (Peacock Mantis) and you could not put one of those in a 10 gallon for very long. That one would get too big for it, it could also easily break the glass.



G. smithii's are one of my favorite species because they are so sociable.