male and femlae mantis together?

[sabazerehi]

i'm planning on getting a male peacock mantis shrimp. the lfs store i'm getting him at also has a female, would the two be alright together because logically i think yes but even the owner of the store was a little hesitant but couldn't say for sure. i would love to get the pair together (they are currently separated) but i don't want the male killing the female either. thanks so much

 

[Pea-brain]

In most tanks a fight will break out, animals will die. I'm not aware of a single species of smasher that won't kill others of it own kind (or other kinds) in confined spaces. Some spearers are monogamous, but beyond that its mostly a no go without very large tanks..

Dan

 

[lillurker]

I would imagine if you had a super large tank it wouldn't be a problem. You know give em their own territory.
And you could just put up a divider. A sheet of plexiglass with holes drilled into it.
Just my .02 cents.

 

[Pea-brain]

You could put up a divider, but that would limit the space on one mantis. I wouldn't do that for less than a 55-60 gallon tank so each could move around well. BUt I wouldn't put 2 in less than a 150-300 gallon tank undivided. Your best bet if you want 2 is to setup two tanks with a common sump and a return pump into each tank. Also a UV sterilizer would be a good idea to help keep shell disease from spreading from one to another......

Dan

 

[sabazerehi]

thanks for the suggestions, i think i'm going to stick to the one mantis for now.