10 gallon for a mantis:

[Riona]

Well, I'm definately looking into getting one. I'm going to try to get a smithii or a wennerae. Just making sure I'd be setting the tank up right, or well at least.

I was planning on a SSB for it, with an occasional dinner guest to stir it up, and I was thinking about putting a wall of rock in there, with a few small pieces of rubble. Would that be good, or should I spread the rocks out some? I'm also thinking about throwing some chaeto from my main tank in(I don't like caulerpa, and that's the only other thing I can get my hands on short of ordering it online someplace)

As for other "stocking plans" I was going to add a couple of nassarius snails(good for stirring the sand until the mantis is big enough to eat them, right?) and a few random snails(including nerites and the local bought ceriths since both have weak shells) and probably a few hermits. I'm assuming I should add the small inverts first, right? Was also planning on giving it some krill and/or mysis occasionally from a feeding stick. Or a peppermint shrimp once in a while.

Also, how much should be fed in a week? I remember seeing a post someplace that you shouldn't put in a lot of them each week unless they are completely eaten because the mantis will pick out the good parts and leave the rest to spoil. How can you tell if you've fed enough vs. too much/little?

Edit: also, does anyone know what sort of shrimp live aquaria sells? They just say gonodactylus spp. for the species name and "lime green" for the common name. :/

 

[Pea-brain]

Some people feed their mantises every day, some twice a week. It depends on what you can afford. As far as food goes the only thing I've heard about them picking at is mussels/clams/oysters and other bivalves. When feeding dead food try to figure out how much your mantis will eat and what it prefers. You should be able to set up a feeding schedule both you and your mantis like. Watching mantises eat is probably the best part, So give it a piece. After it brings it back to it's cave and comes back out offer it another peice and so on until you figure how much it will eat before it loses interest. Just make sure it is not hording the food for later.b Good luck!

 

[justinl]

If you get a SSB make sure that the mantis you are getting is a smasher; just make sure the sand isnt too shallow. 1.5-2 inches is generally recommended. They will make themselves a burrow in the rock using the LR and rubble. It's a good idea to make a burrow before puttting the mantis in because it will make the mantis less noisy, more comfortable, and put it in the place you want it to be.

Nassarius and astrea snails are apparently too thick shelled for a small mantis like G. smithii or N. wennerae, so generally they will survive and become the clean up crew. Follow peabrains advice on the feeding routine, seems pretty good. I would also advise soaking the frozens in a supplement like selcon once a week or so.

 

[beelzebob]

i wouldnt trust any online vendors identification. if your really in to getting a specific species, dont buy it until you see it, and usre Roy's list to identify it yourself.

ask cruella about ordiering a peacock online, think she houses 7 mantis all of which were supposedly a peacock.

id do a large rock rubble pile in the tank, i think a mantis would prefer that to a spread out set up.

also id do at least a 4" DSB, they like to dig.

 

[Riona]

Okay. I'd just thought it was the spearers that were major diggers. I'll get more sand

And I'd still need to have one large rock for a burrow and a lot of rubble, right? How large should the burrow rock be?

 

[Riona]

Oh, also what should I be feeding once I get mine? I was told on another site to only use frozen, though I am going to feed live too, for variety and health(can't remember the last time I saw escargot around here, and even so it's always processed!) since I thought it was best to mimic a natural diet? I figured the main staples would be snails, hermits and mysis/frozen shrimp, with an occasional bivalve of some sort. The guy on the other site said no hermits. Didn't say why though.

Also, I think I'm going to go with tampa bay saltwater for the mantis. A bit pricey, but I'd know exactly what I'm getting, and I can always request a small one

For rock I was still just thinking I could get a somewhat large(try for at least a 6" diameter) piece and whatever extra weight I could just get some small-large rubble pieces.

 

[jcerdena]

I saw your question about live aquaria's "lime green" mantis shrimp and thought I'd toss in my 2 cents. I've bought mantis shrimp both from my local fish store, and from live aquaria. I would have to say that I am much happier with the mantis that I bought from live aquaria, because it has been much healthier. Just like you I was skeptical because "lime green mantis" is about as vague as you can get. I decided to try my luck and order one, but the mantis i received was not green at all, what I got was a cream/tan mottle (not that i'm complaining, Thor kicks @ss). So it really is a crap-shoot, but unless you have a specific species in mind for your tank, I don't think you would be disappointed with what they send you. If you are willing to pay extra, they also post pictures of the actual mantis for sale in the Inverts section of their Divers Den, but they are usually pretty pricey and there is no telling when they will get another one.

 

[Riona]

Thanks. Due to the limited space I don't want to risk getting something that's going to need a really big tank eventually, just to make sure if I Can't upgrade that I won't Have to. I think I'll stick with tampa bay saltwater. I've heard good things about them, and they are supposed to only have the wenneraes. The tank is off being drilled, and that would mean that I could pick it up and get a lot of rock and some argo, hopefully tomorrow. . .