Thinking about a tank for a mantis

my girlfriend hates them too.

I think that is part of the fun! I am rather creepy looking myself so I am not going to hold it against him. ;D

For under the sand I think I am going to get a piece of UHMW (ultra high molecular weight polyethylene) instead of plexiglass. It is cheaper than lexan and way stronger than acrylic. Its not clear but who cares for the bottom? White will blend in good with the sand.

Should I put something along the bottom few inches of the sides as well? Or is that just getting ridiculous. I am taking my time with this build so I want to get everything right.

 

i really want to get a peacock mantis for my 24 gallon but the wife keeps yelling at me when I mention it, not to mention there is only one LFS here that will get them and they charge $100 each for them I just cant see myself spending that, not to mention I dont like the guy that owns the store and everything I've ever gotten there has died shortly there after

 

Strikes against the bottom are accidental. Unless you plan on purposely irritating it, it's unlikely to strike the sides. My yellow lab and my first peacock had a game they played together and I am thankful for an acrylic tank in that situation but you don't normally need any bolstering.

 

THAT IS WHY I LIKE THEM I GUESS....I am creepy looking also!!!;D

It is fun to tell people you have a mantis and watch their eyes. People are so uneducated on them.

There are 2 main LFS that I use....one that has been educated on mantis well and one that HATES them! My mother was very, very upset when I told her I had got one...needless to say I also had another tank set up with a very venomous fish at that time.. She made me PROMISE that I would never ever, place my hand in the tank..I was like yeah right, whatever. But got her calmed down on the matter (she did tell me not to bother calling her if the mantis gets me, she would NOT take me to the ER ;D)

Anyway I was at the other LFS buying some snails for Bob and mentioned to them that I had a mantis. They lectured and lectured me about the dangers and when I was unimpressed because I knew better they ran and told my mother the next time she was in how dangerous they are. Soooo, I got yelled at again.

 

Drs. Foster and Smith had one in...or was it Saltwaterfish.com I just saw it this week. Not sure which one..but I think it was $24 for a peacock

 

No I don't plan to irritate it. I just don't want to come home to a flooded carpet and a suffocated stomatopod. I figured I might as well do it right on the first try. I don't think I will bother with it then. Thanks.

 

Just curious. Is there such a thing as a bad hitch hiker for a mantis only tank? I going to start setting up the tank today and I was wondering if there was any thing I would have to worry about with him?

Can aiptasia sting a mantis shrimp?

I am going to get a little petco special tank 12gal tank with built in light and filter. plexiglass and PVC pipe from the hardware store, live rock/sand from the LFS.

 

The only hitchhiker that is going to be any kind of issue would be a hitchhiker mantis that is bigger than your pet or an octopus. I've been doing this a long time and I've only heard of two hitchhiking octopus.

 

...Hitchhiking octos...sounds really cool

I don't really think you will need all of that protection on the tank, unless you expect your mantis to be P'd off macho man. However, I don't really have much say in this, considering I don't have a mantis. Would be an AWESOME college pet though.

Your setup sounds good. A SW tank with built in filtration etc would be ideal in this situation. Does the tank you are looking at have a built in skimmer?

 

I had a peacock mantis shrimp for 7 months before I gave it away, very cool animal. he was just in a 15 gallon, with a couple rocks in the middle for shelter and sand. I just ran I small biowheel on the tank just to keep the water clearer. No need for expensive lights as they really don't like a lot of light. I just had a small coralife t5 bulb and it was sufficient. The glass on this aquarium was not that thick, I was worried at first about it but he NEVER hit the glass when I had him. They really need to get a good bash on it to break it, only large adults can break the glass. I had a nuisance hermit crab that was walking all over my corals and knocking them over, got pissed one day and grabbed him and threw him into Tina's tank(the mantis shrimp), its a lot of fun watching them bash open snail shells. and their little underbelly swimmers flapping in the water. very low maintance specimen. We kept it in the hallway so you could say hello walking by. did a gallon water change every week to keep the water fine. Mantis shrimps are extrememly resistant so water does not have to be prestine.
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