my first mantis.. a peacock..

[Snakebyt]

they got in a ppeacock in at LFS today and i had to have it. Going to set it up in a 24 gallon acrylic tank that will be plumbed into my 100 gallon reef tank. Do these guys need much waterflow in there tank, or will waterflow hurt them?
Pics to come later this weekend when i get his new tank all setup.
any other helpful hints you can give to a first time peacock owner?

 

[Uriel]

Keep the lighting low for O. scyllarus (Peacock). Look in Dr. Roy's thread, which is pinned up at the top of this forum for more info on them.
Welcome to the wacky world of mantis shrimp!

-Ron

 

[Wocka]

How low do u mean about lighting? will my 130w pc over my 30g cube be fine??

 

[ReefGeekster]

I have 130watts PC on my O.S. 20L tank and she is fine, though MH maybe too intense, and will hide alot.

 

[Uriel]

On lighting: Dr. Roy is the best person to adress this question,really.
My lights are 20 watts and under, so they aren't an issue (Eclipse don't really leave you any big lighting options....). High lights may contribute to shell disease, or so it was mentioned before.


-Ron

 

[Snakebyt]

here are a few pics

there ya go.. ill try for some better ones soon

 

[Hutton]

nice mantis! my smithii doesnt mind the light i have about 3.3 watts over an eclipse six.

 

[ReefGeekster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6247186#post6247186 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hutton
nice mantis! my smithii doesnt mind the light i have about 3.3 watts over an eclipse six.

I hoping that's 3.3 watts per gallon My night light is 4 watts :lmao:

 

[Snakebyt]

well right now he is in a temp holding unit (a kritter keeper). As soon as i get my other tank going i can take my lion and a couple of other things out of that tank, and he will have the whole 24 gallons to himself.

 

[Gonodactylus]

THis is a very nice male O. scyllarus.

G. smithii don't mind bright light because they live intertidally and are often out in the middle of the day in just a couple of inches of water. O. scyllarus typically live deeper down to a 100 feet or more where the light is much dimmer and bluer. The connection between high intensity light and shell disease is unproven, but the only times I have been successful treating it was when I moved the animal to an unlighted tank with a deep, dark burrow (black pvc pipe). The recovery could be facilitated by reduced stress and/or low light making it difficult for some of the symbionts to grow. Shell disease starts with a single pathogen (fungus), but once the cuticle starts to erode, all sorts of organisms start to grow and contribute to the problem.

Roy

 

[Hutton]

does that mean my smithii could get out if they live in only a few inches of water? i noticed he likes to swim to the top and keeps trying to get up further. then he floats back doun in summersaults.

 

[Gonodactylus]

Not likely. I've seen them crawl from tidepool to tidepool over wet bench, but never up glass. They can jump an inch or two out of the water when freaked out, but that's about it.

Roy

 

[Hutton]

ok, you have no idea how relieved i am...