mantis compatability

[lemurgirl13]

Hi,

I hope this isn't a stupid question and I am sure it has already been asked, but I am in the process of setting up a seperate 20 gallon tank specifically for a mantis but I am wondering what else I can put in the tank besides some live rock. I know it will eat invertabrates especially if they are small but would it bother a giant clam? Do clubbers attack fish if they have plenty of other food?

 

[Death Shrimp99]

A mantis shrimp will kill any shelled invert, even clams smashers(clubbers) will break open anything, mabe you could keep a fast fish that will stay at the top of your tank if you dont feed your mantis live food but dont spend alot of money on that fish it could work and it couldent. if you manage to find a spearer(has spears instead of clubs) you can probally keep a clam or sea urchin or hard shelled animal that keeps to its self but absolutely no fish. You cant keep mutch of anything with mantis shrimp but if you really want to its worth a try. If you are new to keeping them this site has lots of info - http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/

 

[dc]

At the LFS I go to they sell these Mollies that they say are true saltwater Mollies. Any thoughts? They look like very drab Sailfins. But they are 5/$1. That's my kind of price.

 

[Ananda]

..."true sw mollies" -- I gotta chuckle at that one. Any molly can be acclimated to sw. One of my brackish/molly tanks went up to 1.018 one time when my hydrometer broke and I did a top-off w/ brackish water rather than fw. The fish didn't seem to mind a bit.

..."very drab sailfins" -- aka "wild colored", "green", or "platinum", I bet. Those are the ones I prefer -- the variance in coloration is wonderful for a species tank. The base color is an olive green, but you get some orange near the head, some are mostly dark orange, and some have beautiful blue spots in the dorsal fin and tail.

Anyhow -- these would be great if you have a fish-eating spearer. Keep them in a 20g tank, starting with at least one male and two females, add food and change water regularly, and you should have a self-perpetuating food supply. Actually, this variety isn't quite as prolific as some -- they tend to throw off young every two months rather than every month, but they can start having young at the ripe old age of three months. (Some of mine have.)

Further thoughts:
- When you do a water change in your reef or mantis tank, use the old water for "new" water in the mollies' tank. They're hardy fish and can easily stand some nitrates (at least up to 40ppm without too much difficulty).
- You could keep them in a brackish system.
- You could use the leftover water from your RO/DI system for the mollies' tank.
- They just might go after some of the algae in your mantis tank.


...the local molly fanatic...

 

[dc]

Those would be them!! Wondered how that could work since I've never heard of them before. They came right out of SW tanks tho. Clubbers can't get them?? I put them in the tank where the mantis will go. Expect him tomorrow. Here's the mollies, not much for posing tho.

 

[Ananda]

Those are some nice ones...almost to pretty to risk in the tank! I'm NOT sure the clubbers won't go after fish...my experience is with the mollies, not the mantises. You might try some juveniles first...