G. tern mantis, ok with my eel?

[Thomas Berk]

Hey all with help from Roys list I see I have a G. Tern Mantis in a 30 gal reef tank. I didn't know what all that snapping was till a week ago. But I guessed when the crab and snail bodies started showing up!! 2 questions, my green wolf eel (blenny) is about 14 inches long and they have been ok togather so far see any problems with this pair? She is the only fish in the tank, 35lbs of live rock. I guess the G tern hitchhiked in on the last new rock what and how do I feed her.

 

[mattyice]

keep feedign her snails and little crabs, fresh seafood is good too (shrimp, scallops, clams), if you feed fresh make sure it is dipped in some vitamins

 

[Thomas Berk]

thanks matty, how do I feed the mantis its about 2.25 inches long and my eel loves shrimp and scallops, the mantis stays in her rock house poking her head out from time to time. Do I put small bits in the holes? And any idea how old she is or how long they live . This forum is great for people new to mantis shrimp I didn't know how interesting they were.

 

[mattyice]

at that size its only half of its full grown potential, not sure on the age though, maybe dr. roy could chime in on that one

as far as food goes (im guessing you have a feeding stick) just feed the eel first then put a little pieces of the shrimp and scallops (both very good for it) what i would do is at least try to find a vitamin food additive for the food, soak it in there first and then feed, the eel and the mantis will both benefit from that, besides that they should be fine, make sure that the eel CANNOT get to the mantis while its molting, also you might want to start considering another home for either the mantis or eel because the mantis may not molt for fear of it being killed by the eel, also once the mantis gets big enough you can pretty much guarentee that it will kill the eel, yes it can happen i have heard of a O. Scyllarus killing a 3' moray before so dont think that it cant happen

 

[Thomas Berk]

I dont have a feed stick the eel eats from my hand, its in the blenny family has no real teeth and likes to be petted when I clean the tank,sooo I guess this tank will become a mantis tank. Its got about a 11/2 to2" of base sand do mantis like it deeper than that. one more Question , how do I tell my wife I need a forth tank!!

 

[Uriel]

My tern (R.I.P. Baba-Yaga) was incredibly aggressive and territorial, so I would have never housed her with any fish, as she would have surely killed pretty much anything. If that eel is a toothless one, with no real beak,even, then it is most likely at risk from the mantis. Dr. Roy and one of his assitants (Who posts on Grimreefers) have mentioned eels being killed by mantis more than once. The fact that they like the same sorts of homes (Holes in rocks...) means that there may be a conflict soon. i would definately try and move one of them. On the brighter side of things, a G. tern (Mine anyways...) is/was one of the most thrilling mantis to watch, as she constantly patrolled her lair, fiercely hunted whatever I gave her (Crabs mostly, hunting and stalking a snail is pretty boring to watch), and was pretty interactive overall.

-Uriel