Please advise -- Need a quick mantis set-up!

[Alesia]

I've been planning/plotting my first voyage into saltwater for about 6 months now with the sole intention of keeping a mantis shrimp. It's since branched off into keeping corals and all sorts of things, but the mantis is what got the idea into my head. I've just ordered a 22g CADlights nano and I'm biting my fingernails waiting for it to get here.

Long story short -- I have a 2 inch long G. smithii (99% sure it's a smithii, deep green body, purple meral spot, perfect BRIGHT white ring around it) waiting to be caught in a rather unfriendly LFS tank. I have a feeling that if I wait more than a few weeks, the owners of the store will either catch him and flush him, catch him and try to sell him, or catch him and contact me before I am ready for him! I have the 22g tank in the mail on its way, but I know it will take months to get that set up, cycled, and mantis friendly. Also, will the size of the tank be TOO large to keep track of the mantis? I would like to be able to see him and monitor him and I worry he would disappear into the LR and never be seen again in the 22g.

Could I set up something like a 5g mini-bow for him and buy cured LR to speed up the cycling/set-up process? For a bare bones set up exclusively for the mantis, do I need to worry about lighting or anything other than adequate filtration/LR?

Normally I'd take my time and be very patient with all things marine -- but come on, it's a smithii!

 

[dragonforce]

Alesia, you can go get a 5g all glass standard aquarium from you local petco. Then grab about 5 lbs of cured live rock and a bit of sand with a filter and a heater, i would let it run a minimum of 1 week and then do a 50% pwc and toss in a ball of chaeto. Good luck

 

[Ehudd]

I have my G Smithii in a 29L tank. And i hardly ever see him, cept now he roams a bit. Well when we buy our tanks and put our LR in there, the mantis usually last the cycling period anyways. Not that thats the best Idea. But i would put it in the Small 5g, u might have a better chance of seeing him.

 

[justinl]

do the 5gal set up as dragonforce advised. make sure it is mature cured rock (from a fellow reefer idealy) and if possible, live sand as well. i would highly discourage a cycle with a mantis in there... he'll probably survive, butis that a chance you wanna take? i wouldn't.

you may even consider just leaving him in the 5gal. i had my smihtii in a 60gal (i know its a big difference) and he never came out. just half his head and not much else. I now have him in an 8gal biocube and he is easily my favourite animal on the planet. much more ineractive now.

 

[Alesia]

Thanks so much for the suggestions -- I have no intention of subjecting the little guy to a cycle, I'm just looking for the quickest way to get through the cycling process. I'd rather see him go to another home than just "hope" he lasts through a cycle with me. I hate to cut corners, but I got a bad vibe in the store (Speaking of which, if I absolutely can't give this guy a decent home and the mantis is in danger of being flushed, I'll do my best to find someone else who wants him).

After a bit more thought, I think I'm going to make the 5g a semi-permanent home for him and focus on making the larger tank a standard reef (this means if he's going to live there long term, I'm much happier to spend more money!). If push comes to shove and he starts to look cramped in the smaller tank, he'll always have a larger one to move into.

I'll be going back to that store sometime in the next few days to check on him and maybe buy my 5-6 lbs. of LR from there as well (they had some rather nice looking cured stuff in a couple of large tanks) to play the part of loyal customer. Still keeping my fingers crossed that they won't get fed up and flush him...

Thanks again guys!

 

[Ehudd]

I would not advise it either....
but if the tank is not fully cycled i dont think it will die.
Man G Smithii's are really tough. I wouldnt be concerned at all.

 

[Str8baller]

This is what I would do, get your tank, but some sand, get that mailed and get your cured live rock (i would get it from your local fish store, then add something called bio-spira. In essence its an instant cycle, adding all the bacteria that come from a month of cycling, instantly. (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=15462&N=2004+112990)

But after you add it, about 24hours after, you need to add livestock, or the bacteria from the bio-spira will die. It creates an instant cycle, and from what I hear works great.

Good luck with your mantis

 

[mikeosoft]

Bio-spira is no where near an instant cycle for a SW system. It will help, but the cycle in a marine aquarium is much more complicated than just dumping in some live bacteria.

I've used both the FW and SW bio-spira. I've had a lot of success using the FW product. After using the SW product it pretty much knocked out the ammonia, but I was still testing nitrites for a couple weeks.