New To Mantii

[Latzi17]

Hello, I have a 50 gallon tank that is not in use (acrylic) and I wanted to get a mantis shrimp. I'm only going to have about 30-40 pounds of live rock and have maybe 5-7 inches of sand. Is that ok? I know that after 3 inches of sand, the sand because dangerous because of the nitrite, but can someone back me up on this? And also, anyone suggest a certain type of mantis? like a peacock or something? Thanks

 

[Pea-brain]

I assume you want a smasher? any spearer suitable for that size tank would be pretty boring and need as much as a 12" sand bed. O. scyllarus (peacocks) is a large mantis that get about 7" long and is very active, needs about 3-4" of sand and a PVC pipe or some suitable rocks and LOTS of rubble to make a home with. Pretty easy to care for, alot of fun. Usual recommended tank size is 20-30 gallon but biger is always better If you have any other questions feel free to ask. Also check out the stomatopod.com forum (stomatopod.com/forum) stomatopod.com is also a great place to order from. Great customer service, although they don't have much in stock ATM. I have a couple of mantises coming from them next week in fact

Dan

 

[Latzi17]

Thanks for the information. I do want something that smashes or punches (I don't know what its called.....) but if i were to have 12 inches of sand..... I'd only have 6 inches for the mantis to roam around, and thats kinda small I think. O well, I'll wait and see what others suggest. But thanks

 

[Pea-brain]

Like I said, a large spearer such as L. maculata would need a large amount of sand, and they almost never leave their burrows all the way. A peacock mantis, however, only needs 3-4" of sand to feel comfortable.

Dan

 

[Latzi17]

I guess I'll go with a peacock then, I don't really want 12" of sand.... Thanks for the info. I'm gunna read more about the peacock and then try to get started.

 

[408mike]

Don't worry about water quality, they could live in your toilet if they had to.