Getting my first Mantis tomorrow!

D

Darsh85

New member
So I ordered one from my lfs the other day and it arrives tomorrow.
Usually the only one type they can get is the Peacock Mantis but I didn't want such a big species for my first time.

Anyway a new one came up on their list so I ordered it, it was called Squilla/Gonodactylus spp. Now I'm looking for a smasher rather than a spearer so I'm hoping that a Gonodactylus comes in.

I think there's 4 species of Gonodactylus, can anyone generalise and tell me what setup is best suited? I'll run through the tank that it's going into and would appreciate some feedback thanks.

The tank is a 30L 18x10x10"
Filtered by a 300Lph canister filter that I replaced foam with LR
1-2kg of live rock and 1" sand in the tank.
Lighting is just an 8w "Ocean Moonlight" t5.
Inhabitants are 1x blue leg hermit, 1x red leg hermit and 1x nasty looking hitch hiker crab (I'll put a pic up).

Does anything look amiss here? Any suggestions? Thanks.
 
I don't know what size my Mantis is going to be so I'm not sure if I should leave this guy in or not?

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This crab is a little over an inch wide not including his legs.
How big would the mantis need to be to not worry about him?
 
everything appears fine, relatively easy critters to keep. the crab should be okay, but if you are worried, pull it out once you add the mantis and keep it in a little cup of water for a few hours/overnight, drop him in as you see fit (if it is too big, i have drastically wounded many an emerald crab in my day, and the mantis will almost certainly do the rest)
 
I doubt the cran will pose a threat...there are vids of me feeding my smaller smashers live food (crabs/shrimp) twice the mantis size...I think my biggest scare to date with feedings was when The Juggeranut (my largest smahser, peacock) was going after a crab and the crab wedged itself between a large rock and the back of the tanks glass, Juggy kept striking trying to hit the crab but with 1 hit he got his smasher stuck/wedged between the rock & wall and he was trying to yank it out like mad....I swear without intervention he would of ripped it clean off....
 
Ok thanks for the advice.
I have no skimmer on this tank because I don't think small skimmers do all that much and they're expensive unless it's a DIY one. But how sensitive to Nitrates are they? In ppm if you know. I'm just trying to work out some kind of water changing routine. Thanks.
 
You'll be fine so long as you get a good species, if you get a touchy species you'll be in trouble (on a side not MOST small species are tough as nails anyway).

I have kept them for nearly a year and all I run is a cannister (albeit oversized) with good media (no foam) and chemi pure elite bags, 0 problems to date.

Although I also put a lot of my faith in my overall water volumes.... the basis to all aquariums is..."The larger the water volume, the more stable that water volume will be", so I also attribute a lot of my success to that and water changes (weekly) due to the sheer volume it cannot get 'bad' before new fresh water is added in a week :).
 
Thanks Kharn, yea I know I've been reading your thread on your Multi Mantis thing, its class man! only on page 20 but will probably finish it tonight.

I hear you about the bigger the better with tanks, I work in a pet shop and I'm in charge of our fish section, so after looking after over 1800 litres of coldwater, nearly 2500 litres of tropical and nearly 1200 litres of marine, when I get home I don't want to clean another tank! Sweet job all the same though!

Anyway my mantis came in today, I was expecting 1-2 inches but this guy is like 4" long and 1" wide! When I picked up the bag I was having a look at him and after a few seconds he clubbed me on the finger haha!

I'm gonna put up some pics in a bit and someone might help me ID him?
Thanks.
 
Right so this is him/her acclimatizing at the moment.
From Roy's List it looks to me like a fully grown Gonodactylus chiragra.
Anybody agree or disagree?

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On the delivery invoice its down as "Mantis Shrimp - Squilla/Gonodactylus spp. (Medium)"
 
Here's a quick video, I'll change the light tomorrow so his colours are a bit clearer



Any chance he could break the tank or heater?
 
you are correct about it being a female G. Chiragra,and the heater is certainly of a concern, although not guranteed to cause an issue (i had my heater in the current mantis tank since it began, albeit a much smaller species, and although showing interest he has never struck (knock on wood)). As for the tank, you should be fine, Chiragras have been known to be capable of breaking glass, the bigger specimens anyway, but i do not think it's something you need to worry about due to the size of your tank. now if you had a 5 inch Chiragra in a 5 gal i would be slightly concerned!and Congrats on the new pal :beer:
 
Heater can cause a problem...G.chiragara is the hardest of all hitting smashers weight for weight so it can hit like a truck...
 
IME they don't just go around smashing everything in sight.(ie the heater) especially with this species, they are very recluse and only strike when "threatened".

IMO I dont think you'll have a problem with the heater unless antagonized.
 
Also take into account that these species aren't very interactive and can takes months for her to warm up to you.
 
Okay thanks for the advice everyone, I can go to work without worrying so!
I might try and get a cover for the heater at some stage just in case.
 
Hey what news on the evil red eyed crab/walking meal?
Tank looks to be set up well. I will enjoy your up dates as time progress with your new friend.
 
Haven't been on here in a while.
Unfortunately the little guy only lasted about 3 days.
On the 2nd day it was kind of hiding and on its back but moving its "swimmers"
After a bit of research I thought it might be moulting but was worried that it wasn't fully hidden.
Anyway on day 3 she was still there but not moving, after a while i decided I had to know either way so put my hand in and she was dead.
Haven't got another one and I've just been really busy with other stuff recently.
Not sure what I did wrong, might try again.
 
You may not have done anything wrong at all. You have no idea what happened to that mantis before you got it. It's health may have been compromised before you got it.
 
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