Mantis in reef??

[grouper25]

I have a 2.5 inch green mantis shrimp which came to me by way of hitchhiking on some live rock I purchased from Florida.

I have had the little guy in a small 5 gallon speciment tank on his own which I am know taking down. In its place I plan to erect a 20 gallon reef with only coral and 2 percula clowns. Would like to keep the little mantis but not sure what damage he would do in a reef to my coral. For sure, I suspect he would wipe out any snails or hermite that were in there.

Should I be looking to find this guy a new home??????
Thanks

 

[Kanicky]

In short, yes.

Our Mantis, although not nearly as small as yours, has torn up the tank he's in, and there are no corals or specifically placed LR in there, so I can only imagine what would have been done, had there been corals in there.

Mantis' really belong in species-only tanks, as they'll use anything and everything to build their burrows/dens, irregardless of how many times you tell them that "THAT Acropora is NOT yours, Mister!"


And as far as the Clownfish go, we put a Sargeant Major Damsel in with him and "Chomp!" Mantis Food! Your Clowns would probably eventually wind up the same...

Do you have an ID on your Mantis yet? Is it a Spearer or Smasher?

 

[grouper25]

Thanks for the reply. I was afraid of that. I dont know what type he is except he is quite mean. Anytime I put anything near him, he unleashes these anvil type front arms which are like spring loaded. They make a very load snapping noise and I can only imagine what would become of a fish if they were to come in contact. I appreciate your advice and will find this cute little monster a new home somewhere. I just want to make sure he is not abused in anyway as I have been his caretaker........
In short, yes.

Our Mantis, although not nearly as small as yours, has torn up the tank he's in, and there are no corals or specifically placed LR in there, so I can only imagine what would have been done, had there been corals in there.

Mantis' really belong in species-only tanks, as they'll use anything and everything to build their burrows/dens, irregardless of how many times you tell them that "THAT Acropora is NOT yours, Mister!"


And as far as the Clownfish go, we put a Sargeant Major Damsel in with him and "Chomp!" Mantis Food! Your Clowns would probably eventually wind up the same...

Do you have an ID on your Mantis yet? Is it a Spearer or Smasher? [/QUOTE]

 

[G.SMITHII]

Huh. This is my Mantis Reef.

Its been up for 13 months with a G.Smithii, cleaner shrimp, firefish, and all sorts of coral.

hermits, snails, and peppermint shrimp dont last very long. but i try to keep bane well fed.

but a mantis works great in my reef. but i set it up around the mantis. all corals are stuck down with aqua-bond stuff, mainly for my large turbo. my mantis has really no intrest in the corals...

 

[justinl]

Kanicky it sucks but i think you just got a lemon for a mantis. most small mantids are just fine in reefs and couldnt care less about coral.

Ive had my 8gal reef set up for about 7 months and my G. smithii has been a model citizen. I cant say anything about the fish, except that it's a risk. it depends solely on the mantis' personality. For inverts, anything with a thick enough shell. forget conches because 20gal is too small but a turbo snail should be fine. astreas are sort of on the borderline. i let my mantis get hungry and it took down an astrea but can only dent the turbo shell. I would stay away from really large hermits and crabs though... they very well could injure the mantis in a fight.

and just to show off...
IMG]http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/IMGP0401.jpg[/IMG]

 

[amazd]

I have a small (1-2") mantis in live rock. Near his burrow I had glove polyps dissappear and a small oyster get cleaned out in a short period of time.

 

[Kanicky]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11231453#post11231453 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by justinl
Kanicky it sucks but i think you just got a lemon for a mantis. most small mantids are just fine in reefs and couldnt care less about coral.

Ive had my 8gal reef set up for about 7 months and my G. smithii has been a model citizen. I cant say anything about the fish, except that it's a risk. it depends solely on the mantis' personality. For inverts, anything with a thick enough shell. forget conches because 20gal is too small but a turbo snail should be fine. astreas are sort of on the borderline. i let my mantis get hungry and it took down an astrea but can only dent the turbo shell. I would stay away from really large hermits and crabs though... they very well could injure the mantis in a fight.

and just to show off...
IMG]http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/IMGP0401.jpg[/IMG]

Eh, I guess our definitions of a "lemon" mantis differ

I absolutely love Milton and don't mind that I can't really keep corals or fish with him. I had a Sargeant Major Damsel in with him, just to see what would happen, and the Damsel was gone within three or four days. Milton loves to hunt. He's also really good with demoliton and construction

That's a good idea, though, gluing corals and things down, so as to further ensure that they're sturdy and a tad more "Mantis-proof." I might try that with some free frags from my local Reef Club...

 

[Kanicky]

Gorgeous mantis, btw

 

[Kati]

I have a Gorgeous green mantis in my reef, and I couldn't love him more! As long as the tank is well fed he pretty much stays away from anything he shouldn't eat. He is pretty small, only about and inch and a half- but he is awsome! (btw I need an ID... I'm gonna post pics in a new thread momentarily). The only thing I have seen him eat- this is wierd- was a small serpent star. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it! I would try and keep your mantis if you can. Hermit are a small price to pay for how much you'll enjoy watching him run and tunnel around.