need to know about glass cracking

R

rogerwells

New member
the guy at the lfs store freaked my mom out when he said that the mantis will SHATTER my glass.....and she wants some information about them before i get one now because she thinks its going to 1. break my tank and 2. cut my fingers off

now im not stupid enough to put my hand in the tank but the guy at the lfs said that nobody carries them for fear of employees getting hurt.

i just want you guys to comment on what the lfs said to me and tell my mom about the glass cracking issue....as many as you as possible

im planning on getting a really small mantis....like one inch or so...and i heard that those dont even have the power to crack glass...even if on accident...is that true?

thanks for any feedback

roy im sure she will trust your answers alot considering your job and how smart you are....so if you could comment on everything i think that would really boost my chances.
 
If your concern is the breaking of glass then i would recommend an acrylic tank or else you could buy a Spearing mantis. A spearer is unable to produce the force needed to break glass.
 
no im pretty positive it wont break the glass...i just need all of you to say how likely it is for a G smithiie to break my glass so i can show my mom then get the mantis
 
the lfs owner is full of sh**!

Dear Mrs wells,

I know you have your sons best interest in heart. I own a mantis shrimp and have never seen it or heard it hit the side of the tank. sure if you put it in a fish bowl it would bust out because it would be unhappy in that little space and the glass is thin. I have had my mantis hit me and it barely cut me. I asure you the shock value is worse than the hit. This will be a chance for your son to have a great learning expirience. My dad is fasinated by it and my mom loves My manti's colors. she often walks in my room to see it
The lfs is spreading rumors... most poeple wont keep them because they will eat small fish or shrimp. If kept alone and fed live foods (hemit crabs) it will be an awarding expirience for the whole family. These are also very intelligent animals. they will often learn to reconize their owner and come out in hopes of feeding time. I hope this has cleared up your misunderstanding of mantis shrimp.

best regards,

alex
 
Thank you....i will definetly show her that....even though she is against me feeding my hermits when i get it...and the 12 gallon cube should be plenty of room for a smaller species right?
 
definetly enough room! explaint to her that it will loose its raptoral(smashers) appendages if it doesnt have anything to eat.
this would be like you loosing mucle from not eating some foods.
you can also see if your lfs can save any pest crabs that come in on live rock shipments.
 
yeah i told all the lfs to give me any gorilla crabs etc. if they get any....they said they wouldnt give them to me but they would sell them to me....i already have an emrald crab in the tank awaiting the shrimps arrival...ill post some pictures of the rock layout when i can get a camera....i want your opinion on this hole i want to use as a burrow
 
The smithii will not break the glass. They stay fairly small and don't have the size to break glass. The main glass breakers are the peacocks and they have the ability to do so at a larger adult size. The breaking of the glass usually happens in their burrow when they dig and hit the bottom. You should have no problem. I currently have a 3-4 inch male peacock in a 6gal nano cube and hes doing great.
 
I keep a very similar sized N. wenn in a 15 gallon glass aquarium, right next to my recliner. In the two years that I have had Mjollnir he has never once damaged the glass. Before I had him he was housed in a 10 gallon tank with simmilar lack of damage.
Mjollnir is kept company by TWO PAIR of damsels that have never been harmed, and a peppermint shrimp that has been there for at least 6 months.
While Live food is a necessary part of keeping Mantis' healthy and fit, it is not necessary to Entirely feed them live food. I keep a healthy supply of small snails for him to snack on at his leasure, but the majority of his food though consists of Frozen Silversides, Krill, scallop, Etc. All of which I HAND feed him. I have never been struck or struck at while doing this, and after the second time dong it, he now approaches my hand to receive his food.
LFS's don't carry Mantis not because of the inharrent danger to their employees, but because of their limited demand. It doesn't make sense for an owner to stock something that only a handful of people would be willing to set up a dedicaed tank, for.

In short the stories of the danger and damage caused by Mantis are enflamed, and exagerated. While it is Possible for the larger species of mantis to inflict damage to a tank and hand it is HIGHLY unlikely. Many have successfully kept even Peacock's (Odontodactylus scyllarus) in thin walled tanks with no ill efect, just as many have kept reef's that have had their rock work toppled and shatter the glass of their tank.
 
Thanks guys my mom is a lot more comfortable after i showed her what you guys said....i am going to get either a smithiie or a wennarae....just wish i could find a store that will sell them around here
 
i highly recommend a smithii! i think it has the best coloring of all the gonodactylids. its jsut one step under a peacock in color. The colors are amazing on them! a wennerae can be eaily found though while smithiis arent as common.
 
right now i havnt found anything....is there any website i could order a smithiie off of? i have only ever seen the wennarae and peacock for sale
 
there was a smithii on liveaquaria.com about 2 weeks ago! it was sold but check the divers den every other day to see if they have any. they may say it is a spearer but they are in fact a smasher.
 
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