Is a tank ever Too Large..? And other Smasher-related Questions ^_^

[cobaltplasma]

Of course as I type this I'm thinking that the aquarium I'm looking at won't actually be too large, in fact it'll probably be a good size heh. But yeah, I'm thinking about picking up a 29gal. glass aquarium for a G.falcatus that I might be getting (or transferring my P.ciliata to that one and moving the falcatus to the old Eclipse 12 that I have her in), as well as considering a larger 40gal. aquarium (but that's another story heh). I then started wondering if a large tank be too large? Would the mantis just get lost in it and I'd never see it, just hear it? One reason why I'd like to put the smasher in the 29, though, is that it would probably play nicer with fish than my ciliata, ah, has heh, i.e. she's consumed everything I've put in that aquarium thus far.

Aside from the possibility of almost never seeing your mantis, are there any situations where having a large tank be detrimental to the mantis? Would a larger tank be easier to keep normalized for a mantis environment than a smaller tank? Actually I'd guess it would...wouldn't it?

And then there's the dilemma of glass. Would a sheet of acrylic on the bottom be necessary for a G.falcatus or is that overkill? Definitely necessary? I think pretty much the only mantises I could get in Hawaii would be G.falcatus or P.ciliata, so I'm not sure how much more future-proofing would be needed or that I should consider, really.

Anyhow, thanks for readin' and thanks in advance for any replies ^_^

 

[micstarz]

I'm not sure, but I personally would not keep a single mantis shrimp in a 40gal. I would only keep a pair of lysio spearers or a peacock mantis in a 40 because otherwise it's a waste of space to me.

I think maybe your mantis would be more comforatble in a smaller tank because the smaller tank will be the perfect territory size (especially if it is inactive) and it will be less worried about predators (because the tank is so small that any predator could not even fit in there) and other mantises invading it's space.

 

[justinl]

acrylic sheet isn't necessary except with big hitters... g. falcatus doesn't fall in that category.

A tank can never get big enough, but like you said, there's a point where you risk not seeing your mantis much. Where that point is is species, individual and feeding (schedule-wise) dependent. For a G. falcatus, I wouldn't go over 20g, but that's up to you really. No one is going to flame you for giving something an oversized tank

 

[micstarz]

I would flame him for giving it an oversized tank, but only jokingly

 

[cobaltplasma]

Haha thanks for the advice, most likely it'll be the 29g since I can get it plus the stand at a pretty decent price compared to the 20g that they'd have to order.

I've never had to think about compatibility of fish and mantis since my current one just eats whatever I toss in heh, but are there any not-so-obvious ones that might be a detriment to a smasher? I mean like are Tomato Clowns really the mantis assassins of the fish world..? Things like that Would sand gobies be okay with a smasher, or any goby for that matter as long as I kept it regularly fed?

Thanks again guys

 

[micstarz]

Not in the long term. If gobies are cheap where you live, you could continuously replace them.

Since they are bottom dwellers (most), they are more likely to get spotted by your mantis.

 

[cobaltplasma]

I wonder if he/she would spare their lives if given a regular diet of goodies to eat, though heh. My wife gets terribly attached to animals quickly, to the point where if I bring home any viddles for my P.ciliata she's not allowed in the room until the feeding has concluded. Gobies would be cheap, as in free, since I just catch them at the beach I go to, so replacement isn't an issue so much as survivability for the sake of my wife lol.

I'll probably pick up a damsel, maybe a clown fish or something once my new mantis is established, hopefully they'll live heh. My wife referred to the first, and so far last, blue damsel I bought for my P.ciliata tank as 'her steak and lobster dinner', since it was more than the free fish I could have picked up from the beach heheh.