help with a new setup

[calero]

hello guys, im new in this forum but i cant resist anymore without having a cool mantis, i have years of experience with reef tanks but none with mantis, can i keep a 6 inches peacock mantis in a 12 gallons nanocube ? is it safe the tank being glass ? any special considerations about water parameters ? help me please, i dont want to miss a beautiful specimen in my LFS.

thanks in advance, enrique

 

[ReeferKeith]

Heya Enrique, You and I are in the same boat it seems. I just purchased a 12 gallon nanocube for a mantis only tank. From what I have read the minimum tank size for a peacock is a 20 gallon, with a 29 or greater being more desirable. The peacock was my first choice as well but not now that I read how large they get. After reading a bit i have decided to try and find a

G. smithii. From what I read everyone who has one loves it! I'm sure you have already seen it but this site has a great list of mantis species and a description of them.

What are your plans with the nano? Are you going to do any coral or anything? I am going to try some mushrooms and zoas I think. I have even been thinking about putting a damsel in there and seeing if it can coexist with the mantis. I would love to hear you plans for this tank!

 

[Gonodactylus]

The quick answer is no. If the animal is really six inches (very large for an O.s), it can break glass and it can produce a lot of waste when it eats and/or molts. Also, these are active animals that roam far from their burrows. It will barely be able to turn around.

As for water - 32-35 ppt, 23-28 C, low nitrates and no ammonia or nitrite. I would also recommend pH around 8.2, low light, and a dark burrow. A variety of prey items, preferrably some that it will have to break apart, would be good. Large O.s are prone to shell disease and raptorial appendage loss, so water quality needs to be good, burrow conditions appropriate, and the animal needs to excercise.

Roy

 

[calero]

thanks

thanks

thanks buddy, my plans are almost the same, probably some mushrooms that get loose sometimes from my other tanks, some zoos and star polyps, i dont know about the fish but if the people from here thinks that be safe, a damsell will be great, i really love the peacocks so probably im gonna move up to a 24 g nano, for that i will have to find a suitable place in my house and probably im gonna start charging admission fees to my house, i already have 3 reef tanks, its gonna be a public aquarium !and im gonna get a part time jod probably.

thanks for your info

 

[JmLee]

hey DR roy. What causes the loss of raptorial appendages besides physical injury?.

 

[Gonodactylus]

Low, oxygen, temperature or pH outside tolerable limits, a variety of organic compounds such as formalin, acetone, cleaning solutions, insectides - just about anything that interferes with the metabolism of the muscles of the raptorial muscles. These are special muscles that are not based on the typical lactate pathway, but rather on argenine phosphate. They seem really prone to damage which may be in some way related to their ability to work at very high energy levels. Once the muscle is damaged, it usually does not recover and the animal must lose the appendage to grow a new one. Since stomatopods cannot autotomize their appendages, they physically tear them off using the other maxillipeds. Another vulnerability to the appendage comes during the molt. If the raptorial appendage gets stuck in the old cutlicle, the animal will tear it off as soon as its cutcle hardens sufficiently for the other maxillipeds to work.

Roy

 

[JmLee]

wow. simply amazing. Thank you Dr Roy!.

 

[jjcarr]

Actually, I kept my 7" Peacock in a 12g nano for over a year and he was always a happy camper. However, the tank had really good filtration, I only hand (tongs) fed him, and he was on my desk at work so I could continually maintain the tank.

BTW, great conversation piece at work when people come from across the building asking what that whacking sound is...