Mantis Shrimp Compatibility

[illuminum]

Hi everyone. I am planning on starting a ~30 Sw tank and was wondering what sort of limitations I would have if I was to include a mantis shrimp into my tank. Does he hunt other inverts or do any damage to anything in the tank? I would like to add some coral, maybe an anemone, other shrimp, hermits, and a few fish.

Also, what different types of Mantis shrimp are there (if any) and how large do they get?

 

[pisces77]

There are many types of mantis ranging in size of 1" to 1'. The two major groups are smashers and spearers. Smashers prefer to bash their prey (hence tend to prefer eating inverts), spearers stab their prey (and prefer fish prey). On-line sources can get you a few types of smasher:

N. wennerae (stay small, around 3")
Chiragra (get to around 4")
Peacock Mantis (get over 6")

Spearers and other mantises are a bit harder to come by, but you are in a metropolitan area so I'm sure it would just take some looking. For many small smashers a 10g would be fine though larger types (like the peacock) can require 30g or more. Most do not have enough strenght but a few have been known to crack thin glass, so acrylic is preferred for larger smashers. With smashers, inverts are a risk. Mine is in with an anemone, two stars, a brittle star, and a few fish but this is more dependant on species. Decide which type you'd prefer then people here can get more specific in answering your questions.