Neogonodactylus wennerae tank?

[H2OLUVSME]

i have a ten gallon cycling and awaiting completion of cycle and mantis. i plan on getting a neogonodactylus wennerae.

is this a good first mantis?

is 10 the "right" size? - loaded question

how much substrate do i need?
im using arag-alive and currently have 20 pounds.

the rock i have are two medium rocks (6 lbs & 4 lbs).

i currently am only lighting with a standard flourescent, but plan on adding PC to keep zoas and shrooms.
has anyone had a problem with this?

would i be able to put him in a reef tank. i know this is not common, but i have a 20 with a 3 1/2" sand bed, 30 lbs of rock, shrooms, and one zoa rock. the guy im getting him from may send it to me before the 10 cycles. in that tank i also have a green clown goby and peppermint shrimp. i guess these would be food or transported to my 29 at home.

thanks for any insight.

LT

 

[Jonny]

I currently have one in a ten and he barly ventures away from his rock cave....2.5g would be enough for him

 

[Hobart007]

I have one in an 18 gallon tall Florida biotope and he spends a lot of time wandering. He's always out digging through the sand for a new chunk of something to put in his hole. 2.5 gallons would be ok for him but I think that a bigger area is good as it allows for a better looking and more natural environment. Every now and then he likes to wander or swim around and I like to make sure that mine has plenty of room to do so. Additionally, its easier to keep perfect water parameters with more water. (And those who say that a Mantis doesn't need perfect water to survive might be right but I think that part of the responsibility of keeping any animal is to give it the best home that is reasonably possible.) Anyway, n. wennerae stays small so 10 is great I would say.

 

[EzRida206]

I have mine in a 20gallon currently, and I'm breaking it down and moving it to a 10 gallon. Its a 20H, so the footprint is the same as the 10, but it is hard to reach around in there and do stuff.
I have a 5-6" dsb and about 25lbs of rock in there, both of which I will be reducing the number of. I think something like 15lbs of rock and 2" of sand is what I'm going to be shooting for. If the NW can't find a suitable hole in the rock it is going to dig in the sand so some substrate is a good idea. When I first got him, he spent a lot of time in the rocks but comes out and peeks around a great deal more now, but I am going to arrange the rockwork and such so there is more open space for it to move around on. I do currently keep it with zoos and shrooms, xenia, galaxia, etc.. and it hasn't bothered any of them. Many of my hermits that are too large for it are also still alive. IMO they work fine in a reef tank as long as you don't mind losing clean-up crew. It did eat all of my snails. Every last one of them.