i want a mantis

gemini aquarius(t)

gemini aquarius(t)

Always Learning
i have to get rid of my reef tank for a while to down size tanks so i can get a ten gallon and thats it. at the LFS i used to volunteer at they have a peacock or smithii (im a mantis newb) and its about 3 inches long (i saw it yesterday night) do you think it would be ok in a ten untill i get stable it has been in a bare 3"x3" cube with a piece of pvc pipe and some crabs (used for food) for a while now(at least 2 months) so i think a ten gallon would be a resort for him now i would run a whisper 40 filter a 50 watt heater and a 96 watt powerquad lighting system
is this ok? what else do i need for this guy? i would go with about 10 pounds of live sand and about 5 pounds of live rock and some macroalgae i got the idea from Tim the mantis

please let me know
 
If it is a smithii, a ten would do fine. I don't see the point of the macroalgae unless it's purely aesthetic.

If it's a peacock, it doesn't matter what the lfs puts it in, it matters what you put it in. ten is enough for a 3 inch peacock but if you keep it long enough for it to become an adult, it would just be cheaper to give it a bigger tank now instead of an upgrade.

If you're sure its either a smithii or a peacock, then it's real easy to tell them apart. Peacocks have leopard spots on their front section. Take a look at Dr. Roy's ID site (sticky). Smithii doesn't.
 
If you're unsure of species, try to get a pic of it and we can probably ID it for you. Try to get a pic of the telson (tail), side shot and top down, and front section (look for the meral spots on the inside of its arms). and of course the full body shot.
 
i saw that one the other day it's not a peacock but a green color with a spot on each side of the head area. and he would be perfect for that size of tank. i was going to get him but he wanted 29.99 at first he sad 39.99 and i almost fell over but then he went to 29.99 so to me that wasn't worth it. I was looking for a peacock. at coral oasis they had a gold one that was way better looking and the same size for 15.00. my search for a descent price peacock goes on
 
ok new plan im not getting the one at the reef room my friend just got a shipment in from TBS and it came with a specially packaged mantis that is lime green (im guessing a waernnea i suck at spelling) so can this guy go in my reef tank that i am now allowed to keep cause i moved it it has a but load of inverts (snails and hermits) and 4 fish i know he will pick off the inverts but will he and can he kill the fish?
 
what kind of fish are we talking about here? benthic like gobies? or water column dwellers like a damsel? If the inverts have thick shells (like turbos) they will probably be okay with a wennerae.

if it was from tbs, then yeah probably an N. wennerae.

mantids will be fine in a reef imo but be warned that it may decide to take a frag into its home. I think it would be ok if everything was glued down tight to larger pieces of LR that the mantis couldn't move.
 
they are green chromis ad most of my corals can be gued down so think i would b ok but i have an emense amount of flow i have a seio 820 a koralia 4 and a maxijet 600 not to mentio the whisper 40 filter so would he be ok with this?
 
Most mantis shrimp are fine with strong flow. As long as they a have a place to retreat from the flow it should be fine. I think I read something about Dr. Roy having collected a peacock in an area that was a ripping 4 knots
 
yeah i agree with pea-brain. Mantids are fine with high flow, just make sure that their burrows aren't being hit with very strong flow.
 
ok so then the last isse for now is that i dont have much of a sand bed approx 2 inches give or take is that ok? and its really fine sand

ohh just thought of one more i will be hanging a 250w halide above the tak soon but i think i read wennerae are ok with strong light casue of where they come from is that right
 
I think inches is fine ffor most an Wennerae are fine with full strength light because they come from above 5 meters
 
You only need a DSB (as deep or deeper than the mantis is long) for spearers who dig their burrows in the sand. N. wennerae make burrows using LR and rubble. I think i read somewhere that they prefer a hole in the LR, above the sand so maybe sand isn't absolutely necessary? I don't know, I would still give it sand anyways. 2 inches is fine.

Some mantids don't like strong light but most are okay so long as they have the materials to make a real nice dark burrow to get away from it once in a while. Some, with overexposure to light, can develop shell rot.

N. wennerae, like Pea-brain pointed out, is a low-intertidal zone dweller. That means it has to be able to withstand salinity and temp fluctuations much better than its cousins in case it gets stuck in a tidepool. It is also used to strong full spectrum light.
 
thanks alot guys i will be picking this guy up tommarow hopfully s i will let you guys know is there any way to see him more when im there cause he s going to be in a 29 gallon tank also if there is any way to get him to not eat my hermits and snails let me know
 
look underneath the mantis. On its belly there will be two little sticks (guy) or two little spots (gal). You'll need a good look or a very good pic.
 
humm wish i would have know that during acclimation but i think its going to have to be an either or name untill i get it ou to check (WAITING TO GET HIM HIS OWN TANK)
 
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