just in case...

[jibbittyflibbitt]

im going to be getting about 30lbs of LR from TB saltwater for my reef..

im seriously concerned about getting a manits or two in with this shipment..

however, after reading this forum, i may try to keep one just for the heck of it, and see how well it works out.

i have a spare 10 gallon tank.. brand new.. was going to use it as a freshwater hospital tank, but noone seems to get sick anymore! so,.. how should i set this up ? or can i go with a 5 gallon to save room, and still have to 10 available as a hospital ?

should i make a dsb ? order some LR rubble? what about lighting? i think i could also get a powerhead with a attached sponge filter..


just trying to figure out what this would involve before the rock arrives. if i dont get a mantis with it, thatll be fine, but if i do....

thanks for any input...


regards,
jib

 

[Kara]

there are tons of posts on housing mantis shrimp here, do a forum search for the topics you are interested in.

Check out The Lurker's Guide to Stomatopods. It's THE best site on the net for Mantis info.

Dr. Roy Caldwell is awsome.. He is a specialist in Stomatopods. He visits the forum and puts up with us and all of our questions! Here is a recent post he made in another thread in response to an ID and some of our questions.

As for the size of aquarium suitable for this animal, water quality is far mor important than size. I have about 30, 2 gal tanks set up and most have contained similar sized gonodactylids for one to two years. In fact, we keep many of our animals in a liter of water or less changing the containers ever couple of days. The psychology of these animals is pretty straightforward. A nice cavity, lots of food, good water, and an occasional mate and these guys seem pretty "content".

One factor to consider, however, is illumination. THis species is common from 10 to 30 m where light intensities are not that great - and the light that is present is mostly blue. I keep my N. c. in ordinary fluorescent room lighting and they do very well. They are not particularly comfortable in bright illumination, although as long as the animal has a dark cavity, it should be O.K. Bright broad spectrum light will probably cause it to change color over time and also shift the filters in its eyes. This is natural and occurs in the field.

Roy

My tank (2.5 gal mimi-bow) has about 1.5" of sand on the bottom. 4 pieces of branching live rock and 2 of the 'normal' kind. I put some macroalgae in there for ambience. Roy (my mantis) seems to love it. I know lots of others prefer a larger particle substrate.

Sorry I couldn't be more of a help. I'm pretty new at the Mantis stuff!

 

[jibbittyflibbitt]

thanks

thanks

thanks for the input kara

i actually have been reading alot of threads in this forum, but i really didnt find any threads that gave away what kind of setup most people seem to be using.

2.5 gallon bow seems a little small. what do you use for filtration? just the LR ?


regards,
jib

 

[slylie]

I think you are counting your chickens a bit too soon dude. Chances are, with 30lbs of liverock, you will get nothing. I have a friend who has over 200lbs of liverock, and he says he has never got a mantis. I've never got a mantis, and I actually don't know anyone who has got a mantis excluding the people in this forum. So I think you should wait till you get your liverock, then if you don't have one, think of ordering one or getting one off someone who did get lucky (or unlucky) to get one with their liverock.


:smokin:

 

[Kara]

Good point Sly! I have 50lbs of LR in my main tank and never got a mantis

The mini-bow comes with a little filter (whisper mini) which is .. um ok, I suppose. It's good for pushing water around! I think most of the bacteria to be found in the tank is in the live sand and rock.. however I don't rely on it. I do water changes once a week (50% or more). I stop off at the LFS and get a 5 gallons of ocean water which lasts me for a while. I top off with RO water when needed. When I test the water mid week the params are just fine!

I make darn sure I take out all uneaten food about 45 minutes after I feed him. He takes his time with his meals and likes to play with his food. Of course there is hardly ever any food left over.. My mantis LOVES to eat.

 

[jibbittyflibbitt]

ive been looking alot as to where to get my LR from.. seems like tampa bay or gulf view is the way to go.. but ive seen alot of posts from people who got their rock from them,....and had a mantis hichiker.

i wouldnt expect cured figi or marshall rock to have them, but from what i understand, its more common from aquacultured rock.

just want to be prepared either way.. if i do end up with one, i want to know what to rush out and get or setup.. i wouldnt want it in my main tank eating my cleanup crew.

kara, is it a mini bow by eclipse?

regards,
jib

 

[Kara]

I believe they are made by All-Glass. But they aren't glass.. hehe.

They have them in the 5 gallon size too. If the LFS store where I got the two 2.5 gallon mini-bows had the 5 gals, I would have opted for those. I got the 2.5 gal ones at 1/2 price though, so I can't complain.

PetSmart sells them.

All-Glass Mini-Bow Page