Got a Mantis... need some help.

[XxAngelzDustxX]

Ok I have a few questions. I just got a Mantis and I was wondering if they can be kept without a heater (if not, I'll make a trip to the LFS tomorrow). I have him in my 1 gallon with 4" of sand and a few pieces of LR (he's really small), What do I use for water circulation?

I have a bunch of little snails and stuff in my main tank to feed him so I'm not worried about that.

 

[sirhelm]

Defintley need a heater for your mantis. Gondatlactus can be more specific, but I beleive he has mentioned that most mantis will not survive for very long below 65 F. I would put a heater in (not a glass one... but a titanium... one as a mantis could break it) and set it for 78 or 79. I do not know if different species of mantis have different tolerance levels... nor do I know what the upper range would be.

Note: Most glass heater have a little light that goes on to let you know that it is working. It has been stated before that mantis will attack this. From what I hear... having a shattered heater is not a fun experience....

LOL


That does raise an interesting point... currently here in the south bay we are experiencing a small heat wave (temps constantly in the high 80's low 90's during the day....) Currently my reef is running at about 85 and the mantis tank was at about 80. However I am sure they would have both spike a few degrees hotter before I got home... Have to keep an eye on them....


BTW... remember how everyone says you should have a drip loop or curve in regards to power cables (from lights/filters...etc..) well on the weekend I just finished doing a water change, plugged my smart lamp back in.. and turned around... i heard this weird humming sound.. turned back and my powerstrip/timer was smoking......... i calmly did the 20 foot dash in a nano second and unplugged the power bar.... well i guess some salt water had splashed on the cable and ran right into the power strip...

LOL.. I guess all those people were right..

SH

 

[Gonodactylus]

Each species has its own temperature tolerance. Most gonodactylids can handle temperatures from 22- 30 C with no problem, but only if the change is gradual and not too often. Some reef flat species can handle short exposures to temperatures as high as 38 C. I have found O. scyllarus a bit less tolerant. We keep our lab at a constant 26 and have no problem with a wide variety of species including squillids, lysiosquillids and gonodactylids. One the other hand, our Hemisquilla are in a cold room at 17 C.

Over the long run, daily temperature spikes into the low 30's are going to stress you stomatopod - cycling from the low to upper 20's is probably O.K. What does worry me is having a reef system undergoing wide fluctuations. Oxygen titers are going to drop at high temperatures.

As for heaters, there are very few stomatopods that can break a standard glass heater. A 1-2 inch animal is not going to do any damage to the heater. If you have a gonodactylid over 3-4 inches in length you might want to consider titanium or shielding the heater. If you have a smasher over 4 inches, you definitely should take precautions. A piece of tape over the indicator light is a good idea.

It is a good idea to consider carefully the size of the heater and the size of the tank. Too large a heater in a small tank could cause it to cycle too widely. The old rule of thumb is 3-5 watts per gallon, but this depends a lot on the type of heater - how directly the heating element comes in contact with the water, how much circulation there is around the heater, etc. For a one gallon tank, I would want a really small heater and a fair amount of flow. There are a few heaters of 25 watts.

Others on this site probably have more experience with this than I do since we generally heat the room, not the tank. (THis is why I wear a light short sleeved shirt year round - my office and lab are always 26 C.)

 

[XxAngelzDustxX]

Can I feed him some of the feeder fish?

I haven't seen him ever since he's been in my tank, how do I know if something is wrong? How often do they show themselves?

 

[XxAngelzDustxX]

Also can he be feed ghost shrimp? I think that's what they're called (freshwater shrimp).

 

[RogueCorps]

Hi Angelz,

A one gallon is pretty cool but be sure to keep your pet in mind if it get's restless. It seems like very cramped quarters to me.

I did see a tiny heater at a WalMart store. It was about half the size of a cigar and I believe it was a 25 watter.

I'm not to sure about feeder fish though. I went to a Rob Toonen presentation on Fish Nutrition and he said that a steady diet of feeder goldfish is way too fatty for marine fish and greatly shortens their lifespan. I would think that ghost shrimp are ok though and I'd guess that they'd provide well needed calcium. Currently I'm feeding our O.S. a diet of chopped prawns, squid, dried krill, and occasionally a fresh mussel. For some reason she didn't like scallop at all.

Good luck! Any pics yet?

-Rogue

 

[XxAngelzDustxX]

He's about 1/4th" in size, the 1 gallon is actually too big, seriously!

I don't have a camera so no pix, I'll try to borrow one tho.

Thanx for all the help. I'll check out Wal-Mart and see what they got.

 

[Grapevine]

If it's that small it's probably one of the pods, not a mantis shrimp. There's a copepod that looks like a tiny mantis.

 

[XxAngelzDustxX]

I'm pretty sure he's a Mantis. I threw in one of the hermits from my main tank (it was bigger than the him) and he tryed to attack him. Is that normal behavior for a copepod?

 

[RogueCorps]

Hmm... I wonder. Here's a pic of the smallest Mantis I've seen. Unfortunately it didn't survive the trip with the live rock.

Does it look like this?

-Rogue

 

[Gonodactylus]

Many gonodactylids settle from the plankton at 7-9 mm total length and within a week are fully colored and look like normal adults. There are species that never get larger than 15-17 mm. For example, Taku breeding adults are typically under 15 mm.

Roy

 

[Badmort]

If this helps the mantis is about 1"-1 1/2" lengthwise , Angel might be guestimating a little small. I try to keep my tank at 80 degrees but in the summer Ive seen it spike at 84 and he lived in my main for at least one year.....Was IDed as possibly Gondy Espinosa

John

 

[Ramen Pride!]

Hmm... I wonder. Here's a pic of the smallest Mantis I've seen. Unfortunately it didn't survive the trip with the live rock.

I just picked up one that looks JUST like that for cheap from my LFS.

It's about the same size, (actually larger, mine is closer to 2 inches) has the same markings about the head and arms, and has the same shaped eyes. (not round) The color is darker and I don't notice the yellow as much, but that may be the whole live vs. dead thing.

I have it in a medium plastic Critter container with an airstone and some seeded gravel from my main tank and an awesome water-worn chunk of live rock with several holes in it for it to hide in. This thing is a mantis shrimp mansion.

It's popping in and out of various holes in the rock like a whack-a-mole game. It's cute. It looks happy.

I haven't fed it yet, I'll be picking up some fresh shrimp tomorrow to cut up and try the chopsticks method with him with. It's nice to live in a coastal region. If needed, I can even go collecting by some docks and pick up some small mud crabs and ghost shrimp for the little guy to eat.

The water temperature is about 80 degrees F, the salinity is the same as I keep my main tank, since I got the water from there and will probably keep bringing water over from it when doing changes, and light isn't a problem since I have the mantis tank on a shaded porch area. I do have a flourescent fixture on hand to observe the little quirky guy at night.

Here's hoping I'm doing things right. If anyone has any advice, go on and chip in.

The only type of stomatopod I've seen from surfing around that looks or sounds similar is some from the Haptosquilla genus. Am I wrong? Does anyone know what this little guy is?

*Hahaha, he's all settled in his home now, and if you come by his enclosure and gently tap, he pokes his head out of his rock to see who is knocking. You really get the impression of a personality from them the way they move their eyes all around. Heh.

**The more I dig, the more I wonder if my mantis might be some form of Gonodactylidae? the eyes are identical, and it has the "nose spike". I don't know about the tail since well, I never really see it. The only thing is the coloring. All the pictures on The Lurker's Guide to Stomatopods are so vibrant, and my guy is a ninja!

 

[Ramen Pride!]

Many gonodactylids settle from the plankton at 7-9 mm total length and within a week are fully colored and look like normal adults. There are species that never get larger than 15-17 mm. For example, Taku breeding adults are typically under 15 mm.

Roy

Could you post a link or a pic of one of these Taku mantis shrimp? Just for a reference?

 

[prawngoby]

If the mantis could break a heater, than let me suggest a micro-sump. I built one from a SanFransisco Bay Brand "shrimpery" (brine shrimp hatchery) by sealing it up using a blow torch and a PLASTIC HANDLED WOOD CHISEL. Then run a small AZOO mini submirsible filter from Aquaticecosystems, it can be found through this link http://www.aquaticeco.com/aquatic1v1/itempg.icl?orderidentifier=ID10550410998623D251E&eflag=0&iteminfo4=0&itmid=11451&passitemid=11451 . I do recomend you run the heater in the sump, and completely seal it. That solves the problem with the heater being broken. (P.S., thanks for the advice on the blue ring octo!)

 

[Ramen Pride!]

I was switching my little guy to a new, better suited small tank today, and used a cheap pencam I had lying around to make the gif below.

I know you can't see much, but there isn't much TO see, even with the craptacular animated gifness going on. My guy is dark and drab, with some ever so slight banding variation about the thorax and raptorial appendages. but I like him anyway. No meral spots that I have seen yet at all.

With the "nose spike" and the cylindrical eyes, as well as the fact that he IS a smasher, and the fact that I got a good glimpse of his telson when moving him, I'm pretty solidly sure he's a small Gonodactylus of some sort now, or something along those lines. Maybe a Gonodactylaceus falcatus? they are described as pests, and it sure sounds like they could hitchhike in live rock, which of course is how the LFS I got mine from acquired it. From where exactly I have no clue.

Gonodactylus himself on these forums would know more. I've been searching through his posts, and wow.