New to Mantis ownership and would like some help...

[vareefer4life]

I was reading through the threads and am now convinced, along with my wife thank god, that I am goping to get a mantis. Any suggestions on a good tank?? How much lr do I need? What would be good in the tank with them, if anything? Anything I should be prepared for with owning a Mantis? Anyone have any comments please let me know..

 

[dragonforce]

Depends on what type of mantis and specie you are looking for. For a small species I like the 6g nano cube by JBJ. In general, you want to aim for 1.5x the amount of live rock to the total gallons of your tank. So if you have a 6g nano cube go for 6-9 lbs of rock or so.

 

[vareefer4life]

I was looking at the Peacock Mantis... As far as the tank, I currently have a 5 gal tank left over, which I know is probably to small... I was thinking of a 10 or possibly a 20L but wasn't to sure if it would be to small for it.. I really am trying to figure out what to expect with it though... How often do they eat... What do they eat.. Any specific snails to avoid due to lack of the manitis' interest for food??

 

[Thurge]

With a Peacock, you are better off with the 20. They can get to about 6" and will appreciate the room.
As for how much LR it depends on the type or LR. The more porious the rock the less you will need. Example, Florida Cultured rock is heavy and rather dense, where as Tonga branch is very open. 30# of FL rock would leave you a pretty empty tank, where as 30# of Tonga branch might fill the entire tank. Thats why I like to buy by site, that way i can get a feel for the rock and get an idea how it will fil the tank.

AC 50 half with LR rubble and half a fuge with a HOB skimmer, for filtration. Maybe an extra Maxijet PH for extra flow.

 

[vareefer4life]

Thurge,

What do you mean by AC 50 half with lr rubble and half a fuge with skimmer???
---btw ever have any trouble with the mantis and cardinal??

 

[Opcn]

The mantis will love the cardinal, unfortuneately thats not in a good way. Peacocks don't like to feel crowded, and can break 20's easily at full size, I think AC 50 refered to 50 gallon acryllic tank, which seems like a good idea to me, easy to devide, and that gives you the option to put a skimmer as was recomended, mantises live a high waste lifestyle so skimming helps reduce the waste in the water, also you might try nassarius snails, most mantises won't touch snails in the whelk family and nassarius snails will help you keep the tank free of animal tissue.

 

[vareefer4life]

Ok... I was thinking about possibly taking a 20L or even a 30( not sure if they actually make that) Splitting it in two via a sheet of accrilic and making the back half the sump... Is that what you did Thurge?? If so, can you give me some details on how you did it???

 

[Thurge]

For filtration
AC50 = Aqua Clear 50 (I think thats the new designation for the big twin chamber one). For your filtration on a 20, I would use one of the big aqua clear's and instead of using the Aqua Clear media, I would jam one half with Live Rock rubble, and the other half make into a mini Refugium. Then add a Hand On Back skimmer like an AquaC remora, and a powerhead in the tank for extra water movement.

As for my cardinal, he looked lonely so I moved him over to the reef tank, where he still looks lonely. Now I have a Pair of Yellow Tail Chromis and a Saphire blue Damsel in with him. For about 6 months there were the same peppermint shrimp. Granted I have an N.wenn mantis and they aren't the most aggressive bugs, but a buddy on Grimreefers.com had a cardinal in with his Peacock, and for the longest time they even shaired the same burrow. FWIW as long as the mantis isn't a hyper aggressive species, and doesn't feel threatened, its only going to kill what it can eat. Keep it fed and it will mostly leave your fish alone. Thats not to say that it can't one day decide that the Emerald Crab Cake can wait, and go for a fish, and for that reason I wouldn't recommend keeping your favorite fish or an expencive fish with your mantis.

 

[vareefer4life]

Awsome, Thanks for the info and advice.