mantis tankmates?

[burke77]

is it safe to keep a mantis (one that doestnt get to big) in a community fish tank? i have read a ton of stuff and most of it says no. but how can this be if smashers generally dont go after "soft" targets? also roys lists of Stomatopods marks most as safe for fish. i dont want to think hes wrong but how can most be safe if many people have lost fish to them? mantis experts please advise.

 

[Wildinside]

I'm not a mantis expert but from what I have learned I see there being no problem with a small smasher species in a community tank. Being a predator they are opportunists so if a fish isn't on his game he might be lunch but if you get fast free swimming fish I would imagine it could work. No small shrimp, hermits, snails and crabs will make it long though unless they are of a larger variety. I have thought about doing this myself so I am interested in hearing some more posts on the subject.

 

[justinl]

depends on what fish and what mantis. do you have specifics of either in mind? for the most part, wildinside was right on the money. However I would not introduce a small mantis to an disproportionately large hermit or crab since they are capable of injuring a mantis. fast water column dwelling fish have a better chance of survival than benthic fish like gobies. You also have to consider the fact that mantids are not top of the food chain. for example triggers and puffers have good success at hunting mantids.

in general, no spearers, no large smashers. it really all boils down to what mantis, what fish, and the personality of the mantis. some individual mantids of the same species are born killers, some are more the live and let live type.

 

[kdblove_99]

i have had one in my tank for over 2 yrs that i was unaware of until 1 week ago. I have never had any issues

 

[helipilot]

I have had a yellow-tailed blue damsel in with my 3" smithii for over a year without any problems. The smithii is fed almost everyday. Yesterday she killed and ate the damsel. Go figure?????????

 

[tush]

i have a small (2.5 inchish) unidentified smasher mantis in my 60 gal. he has been in there since the get go - almost 2 years. he is fairly timid with the fish, and the fire and cleaner shrimp - i am sure i have lost some clean up crew to him - i have lost more overturned snails to hermits than to him - i do target feed him a hunk of seameat (silversides, shrimp, etc) once a week, he will show his face at feeding time when he is hungry. i have 2 false percs, a blue sided fairy wrasse, 2 green clown gobies, a purple firefish and a jawfish - 2 cleaner shrimp and 6 fireshrimp that have been in there with him pretty much the whole time.
I tried to get him out with various traps, but failed - so i decided to leave him there. Keep in mind not all mantis of the same species have the same personality, but this one works for me
My onlyl regret is that i dont get to see him as much as if he was in a smaller species tank
just my .02 cents worth...

 

[ksrinlv]

Agreed, small smashers are fine with fish, you just have to periodically replenish your snails & crabs - I always knew it was about time when I started having algae issues then would realize the crew must be about gone! lol! I had a small skunk clown in a 16 gallon tank with my small smasher, no problem. The peppermint shrimp, on the other hand, were immediately an expensive midnight snack!!

 

[sunce_22]

I have a 2.5 Inch G. smithii and a 1 inch three stripe damsel. They seem to get along so well that it alarms me. The damsel will actually swim into Hemis lair, and share food with her!

I allow my mantis to hunt all the time, so its not like she is being fed daily, she eats when she is hungry. She eats snails, hermit crabs and every 2 months or so I will give her a treat of a cleaner shrimp.

They have a very odd relationship. It is almost like the mantis looks out for the fish. I mean sharing meals? Thats weird, but hey, I dont ask any questions!

 

[garc19]

I have a 4 inch peaock with three yellow tailed damsels. I just added the fish a week ago. Teh first night they swam into his cave and amazingly made it out. It was the only thing I cringed at. But all three are still alive and the shrimp leaves them alone. they certainly leave the shrimp alone as well.

 

[rlf_racing]

I had a 5" male peacock in my 75 gal tank with close to 12 or 13 fish in with him. No problems what so ever. But he killed almost all my turbo snails, astrea snails, and my hermits ine the tank. It started to get a little expensive after a while replacing my cuc in the tank. So I sold him and now have two smaller wennerea mantis in my tank. Remember every matis is different so you can never tell what they will do until you try. And also smashers can spear fish if they want to.

Rob

 

[BlackwaterFL]

IMO as a general rule you can't trust them with anything. I cycled my tank with some blue damsels. They are very fast and pretty aggressive. (at least the ones i "had" where). After the tank was cycled I added an carpet anenome and 3 pecular clowns, and the peacock. After awhile I added a small green mantis a Wen. Plenty of hermits and turbo snails. 8 months later i have one damsel, one turb snail, 2 clowns ( I think the one was kind of booted away from the anenomne continuosly, the smaller green Wen. and the Peacock. The damsels just got 2 slow. The Wen I have in their I think has many spots in which to hide. As said before they all seem to have their own personalities, but if they get hungry, anything is game. The turbo snails were lost do to lack of feeding on my part. They were much bigger than him and never even looked at them untill I went a few days without feeding. The clowns seem ok as long as they stay in thier anenomne, but it wouldn't suprise me to see them gone. I am sure if I had a spearer they would be.