mantis's in clear rubbermaid tubs
- Thread starter alguy344
- Start date
dwarfatize
Active member
I wouldn't put a mantis in a tank that small.
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
It all depends on the species and size, water treatment, and what you want to do with the animals.
Hooked up to a canister filter and with a lid to prevent evaporation, there containers would be fine for animals up to 2-3 inches. I would not try them with large gonodactylids, Pseudosquilla or Odontodactylus.
If you don't want to use filtration or circulation, the animals would have to be a bit smaller - say 2 inches or less. I keep dozens of stomatopods in half gallon plastic containers. We feed and change the water on these animals three times a week. The lab is kept at a constant 77 degrees and all containers are covered to prevent evaporation. Right now I have species of Gonodactylus, Gonodactylaceus, Haptosquilla, Lysiosquillina, Neogonodactylus, and Odontodactylus in such plastic tubs. Many have been in the lab for a couple of years or more. The only problem is the labor (lots of undergraduate volunteers) and the sea water. We go through 150 gallons a week.
Smaller animals are kept in even smaller plastic cups. My Taku ( 12 mm) are in 4 oz specimen cups.
There are some species that do not do well in small, non-circulating aquaria. For example, I would never keep an O. scyllarus under such conditions. They are very prone to shell disease in stagnent water.
Still, many species of stomatopods, especially those that live intertidally in tide pools, are though and can do very well in small aquaria.
Roy
Hooked up to a canister filter and with a lid to prevent evaporation, there containers would be fine for animals up to 2-3 inches. I would not try them with large gonodactylids, Pseudosquilla or Odontodactylus.
If you don't want to use filtration or circulation, the animals would have to be a bit smaller - say 2 inches or less. I keep dozens of stomatopods in half gallon plastic containers. We feed and change the water on these animals three times a week. The lab is kept at a constant 77 degrees and all containers are covered to prevent evaporation. Right now I have species of Gonodactylus, Gonodactylaceus, Haptosquilla, Lysiosquillina, Neogonodactylus, and Odontodactylus in such plastic tubs. Many have been in the lab for a couple of years or more. The only problem is the labor (lots of undergraduate volunteers) and the sea water. We go through 150 gallons a week.
Smaller animals are kept in even smaller plastic cups. My Taku ( 12 mm) are in 4 oz specimen cups.
There are some species that do not do well in small, non-circulating aquaria. For example, I would never keep an O. scyllarus under such conditions. They are very prone to shell disease in stagnent water.
Still, many species of stomatopods, especially those that live intertidally in tide pools, are though and can do very well in small aquaria.
Roy
