Neogonodactylus wennerae Adventures

[jb61264]

Hi Mantis Lovers...I have to admit, when I first discovered I had a mantis in my tank 8 months ago, I freaked and wanted it out and gone. Now, I find that this creature is probably the most fascinating thing I could ever hope to have in the saltwater aquarium hobby...I admit it...I'm a convert!

I've identified my mantis as a Neogonodactylus wennerae and it is about 2" long (hopefully he won't get much bigger).

He currently resides in my BioCube 29 setup which is currently a barebottom reef with mainly LPS and softy corals (at the moment). I have had a maroon clown in the tank for quite some time and just recently added a bicolor blenny and a firefish. The day after I added the firefish, I noticed two "slashes" on top directly behind its tall fin...like something surgically cut it. The fish didn't really look very stressed out and was swimming around fine (although it wasn't eating). It remained that way for two more days and then all the sudden disappeared. I did notice that at night it would reside along the back bottom of the tank. Beings the Neogonodactylus wennerae is a smasher...is it possible that it could have made slices like this in my firefish and then taken it two days later? or perhaps I have mis-identified my mantis? I have seen him up closely and it does appear that he has smashers tho.

Now I have a dilemma, because I want to keep my mantis, but not in my reef.

I was looking at an old 10 gallon aquarium I have laying around the other day and am considering retrofitting it into a mini mantis tank. Here are my plans, I'd appreciate any feedback.

I purchased a 8 x 10" piece of acrylic that will fit perfectly and give an 8" high water level in the tank (well, actually maybe 7 1/2" because I plan to make 1/2" cuts on one side for skimming. I'm going to silicone the acrylic about 5" from one side. I'll be drilling a hole in the acrylic and mounting a mini bulkhead that will fit a little maxi-jet pump to push flow through into the main area. I have a little protein skimmer that came with the BioCube that I replaced with a CPR SR3 that I could use on this and can look for a really small light that might work to grow some easy corals.

I guess my question is, will the remaining 15" x 7 1/2" of water space be enough for my mantis? At night he resides in a piece of live rock that is easily accessible and I'm planning to just move that rock to the 10 gallon tank (should I put some sand in the tank?)

Want to provide a good environment for the mantis but just don't want him in my 29 BioCube anymore.

 

[Koshmar]

That should be fine for an N. wennerae. I spoil mine and keep him in about 15 gallons but yours should be fine in about a 8 gallon space. Please put in about 2 inches of sand, they love to dig and build. That being said, provide your little buddy with some coral rubble to build a bigger mansion. Post pics please. Always nice to see another mantis lover.

 

[jb61264]

What about flow rate in the tank...is there too much or too little for mantis? I will defintely be putting in some live rock from my existing BioCube...been wanting to get a little out of there so I can stock more corals anyway...will add the 2" of sand as you have suggested

Will a small maxi jet pump pushing water through a hole in my divider be ok?

 

[Koshmar]

Flow rate is not that big of an issue from my experience. Just make sure you don't have so much that the mantis is being slammed into the glass every few seconds. The main thing with flow is keeping the water well oxygenated. Aim the output near the surface to promote gas exchange and your mantis should be fine. You should be getting more experienced folks' advice later on in the week. I've been keeping my three for around four months just so you know. There are some here that have been keeping mantises for years. Justinl, Trappedmetal, and a few others come to mind. Of course you also have the King of Stomatopods, Dr. Roy Caldwell.

 

[Wildinside]

JB the injury your firefish received is most definitely something a smasher mantis could do. They predominantly like to smash stuff but they can also extend the end of their dactyl which has a very sharp point, and thus can't cut stuff if they want to. Most of the time when you see blood from a smashing mantis injury to humans it is because of this stabbing ability. I have a damsel that sometimes thinks he should hang out in Thor's burrow, last week I noticed a injury in the form of a vertical stripe towards the back of his body. I have reason to believe that the injury was Thor getting a little revenge for the incursions. Can you blame him? Stupid damsel...

 

[lionbacker54]

welcome to the hobby! we look forward to pics, and updates on your mantis adventures