are mantis shrimp bad?

Kengaroo131

Fish Crazy
i had a guy tell me that mantis shrimp are bad and that they will crack the aquarium with there quick hits. i really like them and i think there awesome but should i get one? should i be worried about what the guy said?any kind of guidance would be great thanks!
 
Any reefer who just hears stuff will just say they can all crack glass easily and will eat everything in your tank regardless of size and that is completely false. Yes maybe some species can crack glass, but thats only large specimens of O.Scylarrus and O.Chiragra(out of the common species atleast that I know of). I have to explain that many times on another forum I post on.

If you intend on getting one the best idea is a species only aquarium with enough space for the animal. Many people, including myself, have had great luck keeping some fish with their mantids. That is a risk we take.

No need to be worried, research the species you would like to purchase. There is a stickied thread at the top of this forum for Dr. Roy Caldwells Stomatopods for the Home Aquarium. Go there it will give you what you need to know about the more common mantis species.

Any other questions, I'm sure we can answer them all. :D
 
Okay most of its been covered. Most common smashers (N wennerae, G. smithii, etc) can do well in a 5-10 gallon aquarium. you can find . wennerae (also pretty active in most cases.) at tampabaysaltwater.com for 50$ including shipping. When full grown it will probably take out most of your cleanup crew, except large snails like turbos and maybe serpent stars and urchins. Personally though (And I'm kind of biased because I only had one smasher, and it was a boring G. chiragra, so yeah) I prefer P. ciliata. They are active, colorful (and prone to changing colors) and they will leave most shelled cleanup crew alone, though they may eat hermits. They need a 20 gallon, are spearers, need at least 4-5" of sand or some pvc tubing, but they will eat fish. But hey, thats just my preference. Also feeding, I suggest frozen food (shrimp, krill etc.) every other day, soakd in selcon or other food supplement once a week, and at least once a month, preferably more, live shelled foods. Also, read the molt sticky up top.

Dan
 
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