Ahh ok I went through my PM list and this is what Dr. Roy wrote:
"P. ciliata are generalists. They take shrimp and small fish (never more than half their length), but also dead or injured animals that they discover during their wanderings. I have even seen them bringing back Gonodactylellids that they caught. I can think of no stomatopod that occurs in a greater diversity of habitats or with more varied predatory behavior.
They are diurnal becoming active in the field at first light and closing up a little before sunset. If you have windows where the animal is kept, first light will get them active even though you don't turn on a light. It only takes dim illumination to start them up. As to why they retire early, I suspect they time their daily cycle from "lights on".
As for the cat comment, it is because of their fluid movement, often in short bursts, as they stalk prey. You may not see this in an aquarium, but in the field I've followed individuals for hours while they hunted and the behaviour is very cat-like.
Finally, as for size of aquarium, I give people my best guess based on several parameters. First, I have to assume that people do not have the world's most efficient aquarium system. Most don't. That means we err on the side of more water to buffer pertibations. Second, I try to pay attention to the behavior of the animal in the field. For its size, P. ciliata ranges further from its burrow than most stomatopods. I have followed them traveling several meters before returning home. The 20 gal suggestion is based on providing lots of horizontal space to move and is based on the typical shape of a tank. A low, wide 10 gal tank that had the same footprint would be fine, but a tall 20 gal with a small footprint would provide less space to roam. Again, I base most of my recommendations on behavior that I have seen in the field. I have a 4 inch Echinosquilla that NEVER leaves its cavity. I have had it for years and it seems fine in a 5 gal system."
Dan
