Keeping the Mantis tank clean

[Fella]

Hi there.

I'm new to RC and salt keeping altogether, but I've recently set aside a 22g tank for a mantis.

I've had the tank set up for a couple of weeks, and it's got plenty of LR in there are a maxijet 900 in there too. Crushed coral sand etc

I've got a pair of T5's lighting the tank too.

My intended mantis for this tank is Pseudosquilla ciliata. I currently have one on hold at a local LFS.

Since the tank has been set up, I've got plenty of hair algae though. Is there a suitable clean up crew to get rid of this stuff that can cohabit with my intended mantis?

Many thanks for any advice shared, I'm new to RC, Saltwater, and Stomatopods so I'm grateful for any advice given!

 

[30mini]

Well, you said that you are getting a Ciliata, which is a spearer, so you could get snails and be fine! He won't really go after them b/c his raptorial appendeges are meant for impaling fish and the like! So, you would probably be okay with just about anything you can think of that isn't a fish and has a hard shell!

 

[Fella]

Yeah, I've read about the spearers and I'm not sure how I feel about it really. While they might be intended for fish and teh like, he is currently feeding on cockles, which he is somehow breaking open himself, which has me a little concerned for the safety of any creatures in shells!

 

[Frostyeel]

I'm guessing that if you kept it well fed on a diet of silversides and frozen shrimp it wouldn't want to bother making the effort to eat a snail even if he was a little hungry. You could just try with one or two snails and if your mantis eats them its no great loss and if they dont' get eaten you could get a few more to fill out your cleanup crew.

 

[Uriel]

Both of my P cilata live with snails and hermits, with no problem.
If the hermits were between shells, or molting, there is a slight chance of them getting eaten, but either should be ok. As well, don't emerald mithrax eat that algae?

P cilata does have a rudimentary smasher,though, they whack the tank wall with it when my finger gets too close.. Not a proper one, but this species was a smasher that re-evolved back into a spearer. They kick much in the way of butt...



-Ron