Leave Mantis in Reef Tank?

[zafirablanca]

Hi,
I received 3 or 4 mantis shrimp in my LR (TBS) for my 125 gallon reef tank. I purchased the TBS 'package', so I got the first half of my rock in the tank. My tank finished cycling loong ago. I was hoping to get the mantis out before getting the rest of my rock, but I have had ZERO luck. The rocks they like to hide in are 40lbs+, next to impossible to pull out and full of hiding places.

I also got brittle stars, dozens of porcelain crabs (now breeding, many sizes), four pistol shrimp (spawned), 12+ narcissous(?) snails, limpet snails, 12+ mithrax crabs, clams, spagetti worms, pods and more as HH on this rock.

Question:
Could I just give up and plan on leaving the mantis in the tank? They have been well mannered so far. They have not killed any of the inverts in my tank yet. I feed them sinking pellet food to keep them happy, and they relish it. They actually come out of hiding when they see me to beg for food. These guys are smart, 'cause they wont come out for my husband. I feed them with a pair of long plastic tongs, and they come up and take the pellet out of the tongs with their 'hands'. They duck into a cave breifly and then come out to watch me watch them eat. They are very curious little guys.

Anyway, they are just one step ahead of me as far as catching them. They never showed any interest in the x-terminater trap that I put in the tank. No matter how I positioned it. (One of the pistol shrimp will occasionally claim it as his den!)

I have been looking at a tank with 1/2 of the LR and no fish for months now. Should I just give up the hunt? Can I get some livestock now? Has anyone here tried this successfully?

Thanks,
-Christine

 

[Kara]

The biggest issue with mantis shrimp in a reef tank is that they will kill critters and/or fish. You most likely got the smasher kind in your LR. They sometimes will kill and eat fish (especially bottom dwelling fish) but will more likely kill and eat your inverts: snails, hermits, crabs, shrimp. They may be well behaved now but I don't think they will remain that way. Even if I feed my mantis daily, he will always kill and eat the damsels, hermits and snails I put in the tank/

Mantis shrimp can also tunnel or burrow in your sand if they don't find a suitable cave/hole in the rock (some sp. of mantis prefer sand burrows). They can move LOTS of sand around and will rearrange things. They aren't picky where they dump the sand and could even bury corals.

HTH

 

[zafirablanca]

Yes, I have the smasher type. They are content to stay in the rocks, and move from rock to rock (lightning fast!). My pistols dig up the sand bed frequently, though. Strange thing is I see the mantis near/ right next to the snails and crabs all the time. They pay no mind. If the concensus is to get them out, please, please help me find a way how to do this.
Thanks again,
-Christine

 

[lilswanwillow]

if they are a small species, i wouldn't worry about if it they are well fed,
and since they are from TBLR, chances are they are the same type or near to it as my George... not big at all, max out at 3 inches.
so just don't get fish that are smaller than 3 inches
and keep them well fed!!!!

Try to put something in there now and see what happens... if nothing, don't worry. If it gets killed, then you'll know what to do.