Show me your mantis shrimp tank!!

i have always wanted a mantis tank super cool

 

I know! I can't wait. Im going to order the rocks and PVC monday. Maybe some cheap LED lights for the tank. Is there any coral I can add to a tank with a mantis shrimp?

Since I will only have him and maybe a few damsels, is the skimmer a necessity?
Still waiting on the pictures!!:

 

You are going to have to cycle the tank before adding in the mantis. You can read about cycling a new tank on here -just google it...it will need to be jump started by ghost feeding the tank or putting in piece of raw shrimp. You want to have ammonia then nitrite then nitrate to complete the cycle. You can also buy a cycle "jump starter" like microbacter7 that help establish the bacteria quicker. I wouldn't go too fast especially investing in a tank devoted to a mantis because they evidently can be very interactive "pet like" animals. If you go too fast, it would be heart breaking fo your little one to start off this way....

 

Dommy,

Another thing to consider is that 10 gal tanx are made with very thin glass, which is a lot easier for a clubber-type mantis to break if it hits the glass. However, if you keep a smaller species, it will be less of a concern. The only time I've had a clubber hit the tank panel was when our peacock saw my wedding ring and decided it was food.

To be safe, add a 1/8" piece of acrylic over the bottom of the tank before you add the substrate, as if you mantis burrows, it will try and break the tank bottom to continue digging.

 

is a 2 inch PVC OK for a peacock mantis?
Any more pictures? No one has any?

 

We didn't use PVC for our peacock, but 2" would have worked out fine. You might consider using ABS tho, as it's black and hides better.

 

How about a video?...
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ELIJ_QuT860

 

Great. I was actually thinking on covering the PVC with reef safe glue and sprinkle substrate all over it.

Thanks for your response

 

Sounds good to me

Pictures, Descriptions, Tales, Videos.. What ever is good to me

 

Mantis fanatics are usually 50/50 on using PVC. I didnt use PVC on either of my MS tanks. To me there isnt PVC in the wild. Its a good opportunity for them to work for what they got. It also ensures they are using their strikers. A MS can and will crack rock. Hollywood (my peacock) over the course of a week smashed up about a softball sized rock. This is after her lair was already built. Why? Hell if I know other than she turned slightly and could see the TV. No thats not a joke. When I did my scape though I did find a couple rocks with concave(?) dips in them and set them down and put some spacing in to give it some space and a start.