mass mantis keeping

[fish lad]

his all

i am a 15 yr old reefer that has had fish all my life

i have had marines since i was 11

and i am fancinated about mantis shrimp of all types, but sadly i have never owned 1

i am really really really considering setting up a mass mantis system with about 20-30 tanks all for mantis

i was thinking about the induvidual tank size what do you guys recomend

i would also like any ideas on this, i would like to link them all up into 1 system for easy keeping (only monitor tank once instead of 20-30 times) but how can i stop mantis's from moving tank to tank and fighting each other

also if anyone has experience in a simular thing that would be sick

thanks in advance

steve

 

[Crawling68]

Wow, that would either be a whole lot of room, or very little tanks.

 

[fish lad]

ive got a 20x40 feet garage to work with

 

[lemures-ex]

I would cut that number in half and have the tanks twice as large just to be nice to the mantii.

You are going to need a big sump and a few closed loops to keep a good flow with that mcuh water.

Are you planning on making these tanks out of acryllic or glass or just buying something?

 

[rwhhunt]

I have heard of good success with "Mantis Condos" made out of cheap 55 gallon tanks with 3-4 plexiglass divisions siliconed in that have numerous small holes drilled for maximum water movement, depending on the species, egg crate material is also supposed to work well (like the stuff for flourscent light fixtures), as long as the mantis isnt small enough to pass through... Just make sure you have highy water flow. You'd be able to accomplish about have (15) with three or four 55 gallons in series... you can also vary the size (width) of the chambers depending on the species you are putting in. Also if you could find a Long tank versus a Tall Tank, that would maximize the floor area which is optimum.... also when u get in the 55 gallon tank range, usually the glass is thick enough to not worry too much about them cracking (at least 6mm), bu to be safe, an extra layer of plexiglass can be cut to dimension and laid down on the floor before sand is dumped in the tank-this helps prevent an digging accident through the bottom of the tank where cracking would be more probable

 

[lemures-ex]

If you are keeping smaller mantii you can hot glue some gutter guard in there as dividers. It's essentially a plastic a plastic chicken wire with a fine mesh pattern (I think it has 1/4" mesh or something like that). Just glue it well!

Personally I would get the largest sheets of plexi I could afford and cut it lengthwise in 1' strips then glue those into a long tube, cap the ends, rout the top with a 1" lip and add dividers where needed. This of course would require a table saw and a router and some acryllic experience...

Just make as many of those as you need. It's easy to add bulkheads and such and it is much more simple and pretty then a bunch of modified glass tanks.

 

[Minhle100]

i know that you guys are helping him with his marine endeavors but i'm i the only one is this so impressed with the fact that he is only 15 and wants to do this and has the maturity to ask in such a mature way...congrats.

 

[fish lad]

thanks guys

well good news is i got my first mantis this week end after a 2 year search lol, well worth it tho

but while i really want to do this now i have a feeling its best to finish my school first (9 months left) and get my g.c.s.e's (a exam we have in the uk that basicly every employer wants for you to get the job)

so i realisticly have a year to plan it all, well better get to work

c you all and thanks again

steve

p.s minhle100 - thanks man ussually i just get abouse for being 15 and wanting to keep marines, i am sick of being patranised, but thanks i really appreciate it