Mantis and Clams

[SunDragon]

Has anyone kept a mantis and a clam in the same tank without problems? While I realize that anything you decide to keep as a roommate with a mantis should be "disposable" I still wanted to ask. Will they immediatly eat the clam, or is it just a risk of them smashing at it?

I have a G. falcatus thats about 2.5 inches in size.

 

[ReefGeekster]

Being a smasher and a meat eater odds are clams are not safe, maybe the mantis being small it will be safe for awhile and maybe not.
You can perform a test by buying a live steamer clam from the grocery store and if the mantis takes the clam and tries to break it open there is your answer. My O.S. tried smashing a steamer clam open but couldn'y break it so I took a knife a split it open for him. So if there is a clam that opens up and exposes it's mantle I doubt it will be safe, just a expensive meal.

 

[Gonodactylus]

A small G. falcatus is unlikely to cause any problems for a 3" clam. I have had problems with larger O. scyllarus and G. chiragra, but this was primarily chipping away at the edge and damaging the mantle.

One thing to consider when keeping clams and stomatopods is the lighting requirement. Many species of stomatopods including O. scyllarus will not be happy in such intense, broad spectrum lighting. THe G. f, however, is a shallow water species and should be fine.

Roy

 

[Thurge]

I keep a Thorny Oysture with my N.wenn.
The oysture is probably as wide as my Mantis is long. Never seen Mjollnir touch it.



Then again he has a pair of Peppermint Shrimp as roomates (dinner "guests" that never made it to the table), so he is FAR from a text book mantis.