mantis care ?s

[wesly2006]

I currently have a 70 gallon reef tank that is doing very well. Im interested in keeping a mantis shrimp in a seperate tank. Im wondering what it take as far as size of tank, temp, lighting and what is the easiest mantis to take care of in the hometank. what else is required to car for them.

 

[DanInSD]

Lots of info on this available. In general, a small-ish smasher (G. smithii, N. wennerae, N. Oerstedii, there are others, see Roy's List up top) will do just fine in a 10 gallon aquarium with a reasonable sand bed, some live rock, and moderate lighting (say, adequate for soft corals; PC lighting is fine). Most small smashers will make a home for themselves in live rock caves (they'll construct them) or tunneling in the sand under the rock. Some appreciate PVC burrows.

Water should be pretty pristine -- general marine "good housekeeping" applies here. Nitrites and ammonia zero, nitrates "as low as possible". Many mantis keepers use refugiums for nitrate and phosphate control, as snails/hermits are often predated upon. Temperature should be generally tropical for the species listed above, high 70's.

Note that mantis are particularly sensitive to pollution (organics, glass cleaner, copper or other heavy metals).

If you want to "move up" to larger species (G. ternatensis, G. chiraga, O. scyllarus) you should consider an acrylic 30+ gallon tank.

Spearer species (you're most likely to find the reasonably-sized Pseudosquilla ciliata) tend to dig burrows and will need a deeper sand bed, in general, than smashers.

That should get you started.

 

[wesly2006]

great site. I was wondering what is the most common food source in the home aquarium and how ofter do they need to be fed

 

[mattyice]

it really does matter what species you keep, i recommend starting with a smaller species, your looking at a 40+ gallon tank to keep a peacock (O. Scryllarus) happy and comfortable, with a G. Smithii, or similar size, you can easily keep them in a smaller tank but 10G would be the smallest i would go, more like a 15G or a 20L would be a much better choice....

To keep one healthy and long in captivity your looking at a bare minimum of getting the following...

-Alot of sand (double how many gallons the tank is, thats how much sand you will need)

-Quite a bit of LR

-Protein Skimmer (messy eaters, i recommend doubling the size of the tank and finding a skimmer suitable for that size)

-PC or T5 NO lights (not much is needed, watch out for larger species like the peacock, bright light can contribute to them getting shell disease)

-Good Filtration, i am personally using a closed loop with an add on refugium, using something that can absorb phosphates, nitrates, ammonia, and nitrites and will not released them

a few other things i personally have/do

an extremely large cleanup crew, they will start dropping like flies when the mantis is in the tank

frequent water changes, i change about 15-20% weekly

and use selcon if you are going to feed fresh/frozen seafood to add nutrients

The setup for my peacock mantis cost me about $700 when said and done and thats without a skimmer but a few things that needed changed on it too, im not trying to discourage you from getting one but rather i would just rather see you be prepared to keep one in the right size tank and healthy!

 

[DanInSD]

I agree on the skimmer, but for me that's necessary for any marine setup. I have a 20 gal mantis tank with 20 lbs of live rock and 40 lbs of live sand; a "Stealth" heater (don't get a glass one!); a Remora protein skimmer; a small hang-on refugium; and an Aqua-Clear 20 power filter, with PolyFilter and PhosGuard.

Basically, if you have a healthy 70 gal reef tank, scale the sand, rock, and light down by a factor of 7, put it into a 10 gal tank, add an adequate non-glass heater, skimmer, and power filter, and you'll be good to go.

As far as food, you can always keep the tank stocked with snails/hermits. Small mantis will often take mysis, crill, silversides, shrimp, scallop, squid, fish, etc from a feeding stick or "feeding straw". Feeding 2-3 times per week is usually about right.

 

[DanInSD]

BTW, Roy's List suggests 100L (25 gal) as a minimum for an O. scyllarus.

 

[mattyice]

yes i know that does say minimum but would you take a chance putting a full grown peacock in a tank that small, its going to get mad and it will do damage

 

[wesly2006]

I realy appreciate everyones input on this subject and it seems like everyone is enthusiastic about this subject. until about a month ago I thought these animals were just pests. But I thought the samething about tarantulas until I bought one. anyways I realy appreciate everything and im seriously entertaining the thought of keeping one.

wes