OK, I'm interested in getting a mantis shrimp... need some help!

[got chow]

I've been looking into getting a mantis shrimp for a bit now. The pictures I see and the things I hear about them are incredible. I do realize that they will hide a lot though and are not the most active creatures in the world.
So far this is what I have gathered...

1) Get an acrylic tank to house them. Might as well be safe than sorry I guess. I'll probably be getting an eclipse 12. The eclipse 6's aren't bad, but I figured I'd go bigger for a minimal increase in price.
2) There are smashers and spearers. How loud are the smashers? I'm going to be keeping this in my bedroom so I don't wanna be hearing gunshot shounds at 4am every night. Are spearers the way to go?
3) I won't expect them to be out all the time showing off their cool colors and tearing stuff up... and I see that while it might be cool to see them take out live prey, that will get mucho expensive.

Here are some questions I have myself...
What is a good species to get? Looking amazing is obviously one reason why some hobbyists get one, but what about feeding, hardiness, spearer vs. smasher etc. etc.? I've got a reef up for about 6 months so I know a bit about keeping good water quality if necessary for some species.
Heaters... the first thing I thought about is how do you guys heat your tanks??? I would think you wouldn't want to keep a heater in the tank while the mantis is smashing around everything...
Main filtration... Live rock? Sand bed? Use the Eclipse 12 filter? What's a good setup to do?

Anything else I should know? Educate me because I don't want to just go out and purchase one and not have any idea what I'm getting into... RC has always given good info and I figured I'd post before I buy.

TIA!

 

[febtober]

stop buying stuff for your reef, that would be a start

 

[Jared Cooper]

If possible attach the mantis tank to your main tank. This way you don't have to worry about topping it off with freshwater, temp, water changes, etc. I just attached a 10 gallon using a small rio pump fomr my sump then drilled a hole in the tank, threw a bulkhead in and let gravity return the water to the sump. I have a 10 gallon, I used to have an eclipse 6 attached until I got an O.S. I've had a spearer and a smasher, I personally enjoy the smasher more.

 

[got chow]

Thanks for the info Jared. It would be nice to plumb the tank into my main reef, but with the space limitations that I already have, I think this will be a stand alone unit. I really would like to have it plumbed to my main tank, it would take care of a lot of the minor problems I would otherwise be facing.

So if I'm using a stand alone unit, how should I go about things? I'm still worried about the heater the most. I figure I might be able to squeeze a small heater where the media for an eclipse 6 or eclipse 12 would go... Also, would I be able to use a fine sand for a sand bed? Or is the mantis going to cause a sand storm 24/7? I don't mind the occasional sand storm like if the mantis wanted to rearrange some things, but in general, I would like it to be storm free. Would a CC substrate be more appropriate?

I'm rethinking the eclipse 6 vs. 12 idea. I may just want a 6 so there won't be as much empty space all around the tank with a tiny mantis shrimp.

 

[Jared Cooper]

They sell plastic heater guards for some types of heaters. I wouldn't worry to much about it though. Fine sand is also ok. Once the mantis makes a home it will mostly leave the sand alone. Get a peace of 2" pipe and place it in the sand, this will make a good home. I'd get the eclipse 12. If you get a peacock mantis you will wish you had a bigger tank, that is why I ended up getting a 10 gallon for my mantis. But an eclipse 6 will work for a lot of the smaller mantises.

 

[kalim]

Re: OK, I'm interested in getting a mantis shrimp... need some help!

Hiya gotchow:

#1 the normal glass tank is fine..although mantis shrimps CAN break through it if they really got ****ed, this is very rare (and Gonodactylus notes this too).

#2 The smashers are at worst "intermittent" in their smashing (In my experience)...you give em a hard shelled invert though and they just might start working on it in earnest. they can chip their way through the thickest shells over time.

I tend to favor smashers because they tend to be more colorful, but i did once have a Squilla empusa, a drab looking spearer that just sorta lay there.

The way things are though, just be glad if you could get either one

#3 feed them frozen shrimp and stuff most of the time...you're right, it gets expensive giving out live critters all the time.

I've been looking into getting a mantis shrimp for a bit now. The pictures I see and the things I hear about them are incredible. I do realize that they will hide a lot though and are not the most active creatures in the world.
TIA!

 

[got chow]

Thanks for the additional info Jared and Kalim.

I'll go ahead and get the Eclipse 12 then, since it has a light and a small heater will fit into the media compartment, as some nano reef people have told me. I have a small 10 gallon tall glass tank right now but I'm selling that soon. A 10gal T isn't exactly the right tank for a mantis shrimp and since I'll be getting a new tank nonetheless, I figured I'd go with the eclipse systems.

I'm thinking about getting a smasher though, probably a peacock mantis. They seem to be somewhat more readily available at least compared to some other species. I am pretty close with my LFS and they can get one in for me, which is nice considering the shortages I've been hearing about around here lately. If they get one in and it looks good, I'll post about it here and see how I can get some of you guys some. From what they're telling me, they can get a lot of different species.

Thanks for the advice though.

Last couple things... Live rock is certainly fine I'm guessing? Should I still put some black PVC in the sand or should I just give them a place to hide in some live rock?

 

[Scotty]

Yo Gotchow,
Sounds like you know enough about what you want to get going. IMO, unless you get a big 6inch peacock mantis, an eclipse 6 will certainly suffice. From what you've said, sounds like you'd enjoy that species the most. Like me you appreciate the colorful beauty of mantis shrimp and none is more colorful than O. scyllarus. Remember that O. scyllarus will come in many colors. I've had orange ones and brown ones, green ones, tan ones. I saw a beautiful 6 inch female that was royal blue, Gonodactylus has her in his lab. I think you should hold out for a large male O. scyllarus, they are bright green and quite impressive. Whe you ask your lfs to get you an O, specify what color or he will probably bring you a 4 inch female, (tan in color) the most common O in lfs. You may also consider adding the mantis to your existing reef, I did. They dont eat corals or even small fish if you keep them fed properly. The will eat all your snails and such... Don't worry too much about heaters, I've had many mantis an d none has ever broken a heater. And don't get no ugly pvc tube for him to live in. Build him a nice multi entrance live rock cave (make sure it's big enough for him to turn around in or he won't like it). You'll both like it better.
Live rock and he eclipse filter will serve fine, mantis are hardy as damselfish. Good luck.

 

[gregt]

febtober,

[welcome]

 

[got chow]

Thanks Scotty.
Your ideas sound good, however, I won't be putting the mantis in my reef tank. With all these people trying to get them out, and with the risks involved in them eating my fish (I mean even if yours doesn't, most people who have them usually find mantis shrimps eat their fishes).

I think I'll order a male O.S. and see it before I decide to buy the tank. If it's a big guy, I'll get the eclipse 12, if it's a small guy, then eclipse 6. Like I said, I'm pretty close to my LFS so I'm sure they'll let me keep it there for a while as my tank cycles through. Thanks again!