Show me your mantis shrimp tank!!

Discussion in 'Inverts' started by GSUBiology, Jun 17, 2013.

to remove this notice and enjoy 3reef content with less ads. 3reef membership is free.

  1. dommy

    dommy Plankton

    Joined:
    Oct 18, 2009
    Messages:
    3
    so...i prep'd our tank, checked levels and readied myself to become the proud owner of a mantis shrimp, or as my four year old calls it a "manta strimp". so before i added him, i noticed the water was hot...like boiling hot. like 88F hot. i knew i couldnt add him just yet, so i started lowering the water temp...as it got down to about 84 i floated "property" (my kid named him). then disaster struck. while i was in the other room putting up some toys or clothes or dinosaurs or whatever else you put up when you have a four year old, he decided to let property "go and check out his new home" and opened the back so he could swim out. i figured it was a longshot but i ran to the pet store real quick and bought an emerald crab figuring that activity/food would maybe somehow keep property from buying the farm. i prepared my kid to wake up to a dead pet and fell asleep on the couch. at about three in the morning i was awakened by a series of loud *THWAPS*. i ran over to the tank and sure enough property was on top of the crab beating him up. mr. crabfood (another one my kid came up with) was holding onto the live rock with all his crabby strength but after about a minute and a half of getting beaten senseless his little crab feet could hold on no longer and he was dragged into propertys lair to be devoured. so we are now a couple weeks into our undertaking and it seems like everything is going....swimmingly. i am a bit concerned about the first water change i will be doing next week but thats another story. i am basically free-feeding property and at any given time we have 3-4 hermit crabs, 3 snails, an emerald crab, and a domino damsel in the tank. here are some pics and a video of property eating snails, which seem to be his favorite, as he has already eaten 3 in the past week. enjoy.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/64dud2np7l1caz5/2013-06-30%2011.16.06.mp4