Having more then one... Bad or Good?

[MantisO_o]

I been looking for a Peacock Mantis Shrimp but i been having no luck so i settled for kinda less and got a Mantis Shrimp at Live Aquaria. i was thinking of waiting and get a Peacock at Saltwaterfish.com but afraid that i will bust my 33G glass tank. So now I'm thinking of getting other Mantis Shrimp at Live Aquaria but I'm not sure having more then one in one tank would be a good idea or not. its just seems boring to have only one Mantis in a 33G tank if this particular species in Live Aquaria will only grow 4 inches. Any help from anyone would be very much appreciated.

 

[Gonodactylus]

First, your 30 gal is at little risk to a normal sized O. scyllarus. An animal over 5 inches might crack a corner or bottom edge trying to dig, but it is rare that anything more catestrophic would happen. (I've only lost a couple of tanks to O. scyllarus and I've kept 100's.)

If you have a large system with several defensible cavities, two gonodactylids can coexist for some time. The problem comes when one molts and is defenseless. At that point, you will have one well fed animal. The one exception is if you have two very different sized animals. The smaller one, if it has a cavity that the larger one cannot enter, may survive as might the larger one if it is much larger than the smaller. In the field I often find more than one stomatopod living in a piece of live rock. (My record is 22!) Generally they are different sizes and have good, tight fitting cavities.

Bottom line, I do not recommend putting more than one stomatopod in a tank unless you have the appropriate sizes and cavities - or you have a monogamous species and have an established pair.

Roy

 

[Uriel]

Dr. Roy, you mention monogamous species...

Other than L. maculata (which is hard to come by, and BIG...), are there any monogamous species that might be available to aquarists?
It would be pretty darned cool to have a pair.

-Ron

 

[Gonodactylus]

It appears that many, if not most lysiosquillids are monogamous. Some are very small (under an inch) and are easy to keep in marine "ant farms". Pullosquilla litoralis even shows biparental care.

None are commercially available, but Coronis scolopendra is very common in the low intertidal on sand flats on the east coast of Florida. If you know anyone around Fort Pierce (Indian River lagoon complex), they could easily catch you some using a yabbie pump.

If anyone wants to give it a go, I can provide more details if you email me.

Roy

 

[MantisO_o]

Thank you much...

I think i will avoid the Odontodactylus scyllarus till i get a larger tank that has thicker walls. There any other stomatopod that you can recommend that i can find that is similar in beauty as the O scyllarus but as small as the max growth of a Gonodactylaceus Graphurus?

 

[Gonodactylus]

Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In terms of dramatic coloration and personality, I would suggest Gonodactylus smithii with Gonodactylaceus ternatensis a close second.

Roy

 

[MantisO_o]

Thank you!