Setting up my 1400 gallon tank

[Recty]

Actually, it's a 14g tank

I had another 210 I bought a while back but with the new house, there is literally no wall space that is 7 feet long. There are too many windows and what not, which is great for people but bad for a fish tank. So I ended up selling it (2.4x higher price than I paid for it so that's pretty sweet ) and have been tankless for a couple months.

Trying to decide what to do, I ended up just buying a little 14g biocube to stick in my office at work, it's going to be a mantis shrimp tank.

Here's pictures of the little beast, waiting for me at the LFS while the tank cycles. It's a G. smithii, apparently one of the best mantis for in a small tank with a couple corals.

Pictures/video taken with my iPhone, I was actually pretty surprised how well the video came out, I havent used my phone for video yet.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xfyfsOZnepc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[randomfishguy85]

what kind of corals you putting with him?

 

[LisaD]

That's a fantastic mantis, great find!

 

[Recty]

That's a fantastic mantis, great find!

Thanks. I really do like it. I called around and found this one, I was told it was a peacock mantis but it isnt, it's clearly a G. smithii, or a commonly called purple spot mantis. I think you can see why They are very good for aquarium pets, very hardy and easy to keep. Plus, they arent inclined to shell rot like the larger peacock mantis I was originally searching for.

what kind of corals you putting with him?

Nothing much, some pulsing xenia and the green stuff that spreads like weeds. I might add a ricordia or two but I doubt it. I want the tank to be EASY to maintain.

 

[rpjaws74]

is he the only fish going in there? I hear they are super aggressive

 

[Triton_Z]

Very cool. Watch those crazy eyes...

 

[humaguy]

such cool creatures...

 

[namxas]

That'll be a sweet setup, Recty!

 

[Recty]

is he the only fish going in there? I hear they are super aggressive

He will be the only mobile invert in the tank, yes. There will probably be snails and crabs from time to time, but mainly as a seafood buffet for tiding him over between meals I feed.

Very cool. Watch those crazy eyes...

They have the most sophisticated eyes in the animal kingdom. Crazy crazy crazy vision.

such cool creatures...

I agree. They are very interesting. They are likened to being as smart or smarter than a large octopus. Biologist/scientists have trained them to recognize triangles, upside down triangles, patterns... the list goes on. They recognize their feeder pretty quickly and gravitate towards that person if there are two people in the room. All in all, they remind me of a trigger turned into an invertebrate

That'll be a sweet setup, Recty!

Thanks, I think so too. Something simple and easy to keep at work, but cool enough I wont be bored of it and it will give my clients something to look at when they come into my office.

 

[humaguy]

Very cool, I knew they were intelligent but not to that degree...wow, impressive...beautiful and smart...hey, she have a sister??? lol....

 

[Recty]

She might, but they beat the living crap out of most life forms, so your "tender areas" probably wouldnt survive the first date.

 

[humaguy]

haha...Recty...

 

[Recty]

I speak only the truth.

Anyone here have a 14g biocube? They seem like the perfect tank, nice and sleek looking for an office environment, and everything I need is built right into the filtration. They arent complicated. I dont plan on having a full blown reef, but I'd like a couple corals. It seems more than adequate to maintain corals with.