New Mantis Shrimp set up ideas

nmotz said:
Mantis shrimp have different food preferences. Some won't touch hermits, others won't touch snails, it's kinda weird. Usually what will work is if you get one or two larger snails (but NOT Turbos) that the mantis won't be able to crack open.

If you get a Smithii it will probably like smaller snails like dwarf ceriths (not sure if you have those in Australia). I keep blue leg hermits in my tank and they clean up leftover debris pretty well.

I also like a more natural tank but sometimes the needs of the animal have to outweigh my own personal desires. Marine biologists almost always recommend PVC for Peacocks so I have to trust that it's better for them. But in a perfect world, I would love to have a huge tank with a 12" bed of mixed substrate and some big rocks for them to dig underneath, just like in the wild.
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Awesome thanks, why not turbo snails? Out of interest.

Lucky I'm a plumber so I can get plenty of pvc fittings 😂, just need to figure out how to make it look good I suppose.
 
Turbos have a bad habit of getting turned over and dying because they can't right themselves. That fouls up the tank water really fast. A large Trochus snail is better.
 
nmotz said:
Turbos have a bad habit of getting turned over and dying because they can't right themselves. That fouls up the tank water really fast. A large Trochus snail is better.
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Makes sense, good to know.

How about a cucumber?

So far I'm thinking

4-6kg of LR

2 hermits

1 large snail

~3inches of sand

Some sort of pvc set up covered in sand
 
Looks pretty good to me, just be aware that not every mantis is a burrowing species. Smithii's are more of a rock-dwelling mantis although I used to own one that made a small burrow underneath some LR in the tank. Odontodactylid's are burrowers, not so much Gonodactylids.
 
It's going to be hard to know what I'm going to get exactly, the LFS here aren't very knowledgeable when it comes to mantis shrimps.
 
That's normal, my first mantis was sold as a Peacock but it was a Gonodactylus Chiragra. You have to just plan the basics and decide the rest when you find out what you're getting exactly.
 
I get all of my mantis from a wholesale buyer who then distribute these specimens within their client stores and I collect from my closest. TMC tropical marine company at Manchester England buy thousands of livestock and their buyer sends me photos of whatever mantis they buy in so I can get an ID before I get it. 9/10 I ID the mantis myself, it's a cushty arrangement I have to say :).
 
I get all of my mantis from a wholesale buyer who then distribute these specimens within their client stores and I collect from my closest. TMC tropical marine company at Manchester England buy thousands of livestock and their buyer sends me photos of whatever mantis they buy in so I can get an ID before I get it. 9/10 I ID the mantis myself, it's a cushty arrangement I have to say .
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Yeah that is pretty awesome
 
EI Gringo said:
I get all of my mantis from a wholesale buyer who then distribute these specimens within their client stores and I collect from my closest. TMC tropical marine company at Manchester England buy thousands of livestock and their buyer sends me photos of whatever mantis they buy in so I can get an ID before I get it. 9/10 I ID the mantis myself, it's a cushty arrangement I have to say :).
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You're so lucky, pity I'm from Australia lol
 
Maybe a stupid question but why can't you feed mantis shrimps gold fish and or fresh water yabbies?
 
You can feed them those things if you want but in general you have to consider that freshwater species probably introduce different microorganisms and pathogens that might not be good for a mantis. The mixture of freshwater prey and saltwater predators is generally thought of as not healthy in the long term. I have occasionally fed my Peacock some small freshwater feeder shrimp, but I try to stick with marine prey for the sake of the mantis.

It's kinda like how ranchers feed corn products to cattle to fatten them up. Is it the best thing for them? Clearly not, but it does get results. The best way to care for a saltwater animal is to try to mimic their environment and that doesn't include freshwater prey choices like yabbies, see what I'm saying?
 
nmotz said:
You can feed them those things if you want but in general you have to consider that freshwater species probably introduce different microorganisms and pathogens that might not be good for a mantis. The mixture of freshwater prey and saltwater predators is generally thought of as not healthy in the long term. I have occasionally fed my Peacock some small freshwater feeder shrimp, but I try to stick with marine prey for the sake of the mantis.

It's kinda like how ranchers feed corn products to cattle to fatten them up. Is it the best thing for them? Clearly not, but it does get results. The best way to care for a saltwater animal is to try to mimic their environment and that doesn't include freshwater prey choices like yabbies, see what I'm saying?
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Yep, makes sense, good to know. Thanks
 
Ok so heres where I'm at


I'm leaning towards a Aquaone mini reef 120L but the LFS I want to deal with don't like them, they want me to set something up from scratch for relativity the same value but with overall better gear.

What should i do?, I like the ease of buying something that comes with every nut and screw ( Hopefully ) that I need.

They also mentioned that I can just run HOB filters and skimmer and that would be fine as well....It's just all very confusing and too many options lol.

HOB seems very easy to deal with which appeals to me as well.

What are peoples thoughts on HOB skimmers and Filters? waste of time?

Just bit the bullet and get a custom tank+ sump with all the fruit?
 
I've used HOB filters and HOB skimmers and say get a skimmer hands down (a good one, not some cheap crap). My tank has really turned a corner recently and my SPS corals are actually starting to look (dare I say it) good. I've had my Peacock about 6 months and he's doing great in there. But I've been told that once you have a sump you'll never go back. Either way you can be successful.
 
Only difference is you have to seed your real life rock but you don't get critters invading the tank. I personally always use live rock because you get a free of charge clean up crew consisting of amphipods and bristle worms. The not so nice things include flatworms, crabs, anemones and eunice worms ( ughhhhh!!). But yeah, live rock, do it :P. I always employ a pvc burrow where possible for these animals, they will thank you for it.
 
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