Newbie Q

[Gabs]

This may be a dumb question, but I have been having alot of trouble getting solid information on mantis shrimp

Is it possible to have n. wennerae or g. smithii in a 20l tank without liverock? I would like to have a plain display that doesn't distract from the mantis if it's possible.

Also I dont suppose there is anywhere in australia thats good to pick up mantis shrimp?


Thanks heaps

 

[Gabs]

ahh, preferably melbourne, not the reef

 

[BALISTIK]

Im also new to the mantis shrimp community, welcome! But one thing i can say with fairly good certainty is that mantis shrimp need some sort of dwelling. A cave or burrow of sorts. I dont think you necessarily need to have live rock, you could use a pvc pipe as i've seen others do.

 

[Pea-brain]

If there is no live rock and just a PVC burrow the mantis will be afraid to come out without cover. That said G. graphuras (I think. Check Roy's list) is very common in australian waters, so it might be fairly common in pet stores.

Dan

 

[richofoz]

Hey gabs, Reeflections in moorabin is a good place to try. They had a 3" spearer for sale about a month back... Other places I have bought mantis shrimp from are Mentone aqarium. Fishy business which i think is in Burwood and the coburg aquarium (these guys can be a rip off though... twice i've paid a deposit on fish there and when i went to pick them up they tried to tell me that the price had gone up. One of those time the price nearly doubled. ) they do get some good stuff in just don't let em charge you too much...
Rich.

 

[Bmeup]

As Rich said, Reeflections will be the best place to try, they always seem to have a Mantis Shrimp in a tank on their front counter.

I was in at Fishy Business (in Blackburn) yesterday and they definitely don't have any in at the moment..

 

[Gabs]

okay guys thanks heaps! I'll put some live rock in i guess
And i'll take a look at reeflections this weekend. Thanks again guys

 

[Bmeup]

Reeflections get a shipment of fish every Thursday night, so Friday and Saturday are the best days to drop in..

 

[Bmeup]

Sorry GABS, I might have given you bad info about Reeflections. I dropped in there today and they are in the process of fixing up all their marine tanks, and as such have very little in the way of Marine fish at the moment (And no Mantis Shrimp...)

On a better note, I also called in to Keysborough Aquarium this afternoon and they have 3 Mantis Shrimp for sale, so it might be worth a trip over there. (214 Cheltenham Road). Cheers.:rollface: