I want o find a compatable cleaner for my mantis tank that wont be eaten

[light7]

I was thinking a lettuce nudi might be good.anything youve tried that didnt get eaten please let me know.Thanks

 

[traveller7]

What type of mantis and what type of cleanup are you looking for?

 

[tlouie]

i'm using really large (3-4") turbo snails,

they are about as big as the mantis itself, an the mantis seems to know it and is dis-interested in them.

 

[light7]

not sure what kind .its 3 inches mostly yellow with a hint of green shade,also has a few black speckles.has darker apendages with pink club and spear.not a slasher.

 

[light7]

This is the type of mantisthat I already have

 

[dwarfatize]

do you have a pic? Where did you get it from?

 

[light7]

Here is a picture of my mantis.I got it from another member of seahorse.org .I dont know its origin.I think its wennerae.It has turned more green since I've had it and has become more active in the tank recently.

 

[jjrock]

Mostly yellowish? That things is green!

Sorry, just had to add that!

JJ.

 

[ATLDrtybird7]

yeah man, thats not yellow ; )

 

[traveller7]

I have had those little carib's in with brittle stars, serpent stars, large turbos, large urchins, anemone, and even have one in with a small pair of maroon clowns at the moment.

Try a few cheaper large sized cleaners and you should find a couple that work for you.

 

[light7]

Yes I stated that it had turned green.It was mostly yellow when I started this post.Just wanted to point that out. It doesnt matter to me what kind of cleaners I put in this tank. I dont have much option since the mantis might eat most.I was trying to see if people have found types that mantis wont eat or are unlikely to eat.

 

[jjrock]

If you get very large turbo snails (those ones that are big as a small plum) then you should be fine since you're mantis is now probably too small to crack them open.

My larger mantis is a bit lazy so sometimes even he will "give-up" on a snail simply because it's too much work to open.

Another thing you could try is to keep a lot of "easy prey" around that you don't mind getting eaten. Your mantis will eat what is "easiest" first (at least I find this) before he moves on to the realy tough stuff.

Hope this helps a bit.

JJ.

 

[RogueCorps]

I've been wanting to try tiny asterina starfish for micro algae but now that I want them, I can't seem to get a large enough population of them going to try it. I'm hoping that they're small enough that they won't be cared about.

-Rogue

 

[ReneX]

I've got asterinas in my mantis tank...or the tank that WILL house a mantis once I have a chance to get one. I'll let you know if they're eaten after I've got one in the tank with them. They're tiny and very slow-moving so hopefully they won't register as prey items.

 

[RogueCorps]

Oh cool. Thanks ReneX. Looking forward to finding out.

-Rogue