starting a mantis ONLY tank

[JLui83]

CAn someone give me the basics on how to keep a 10 gal Mantis ONLY tank?

I was thinking peacock mantis. How many can I hold in a 10 gal?

thanks

 

[justinl]

only one mantis per tank. adult peacock mantids need at least 25 gal and the glass of the tank should be thick. acrylic is better of course.

An N. wennerae is a good candidate for any 10gal tank though. have you considered this species?

 

[JLui83]

I actually dont know much about mantis. But I'm open to ANY species.. I think they are REALLY neat looking and they are aggressive!! hehe I like it! Ok so N. wennerae.. what else do i need to know and have.. etc.?

 

[infalible-one]

Mature LR, fijian works good 'cause it's holey, and if you get a smasher, it will live in the LR. N. wenerrae can be kept with thick shelled snails such as Turbo's, but no small crabs and hermits are off limits unless there like mine and only have turbo shells to live in. A plastic heater works best because smashers see the light in glass one's and will try to get to it, releasing copper into the water. COPPER BAD!!!!!!!!!! absolutely no heavy metals should go into your tank or even near it. no aerosol products like air deoderizers, Axe, cleaners should be sprayed on the same floor as the mantis. No waxing the floor. use soap and a rag or just water. for specifics on on cetrtain species use these links
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/crustacea/malacostraca/eumalacostraca/royslist/
and for the metric conversions use this link
http://www.psinvention.com/zoetic/convert.htm
if you have any other questions about mantis' just post again.
GOOD LUCK!

 

[JLui83]

Wow thanks..

What other species will be ok in a 10 gal tank?
I heard the Green Mantis Shrimp stays small and is perfect for a 10 gal tank..

 

[Pea-brain]

green mantis shrimp=many species. However it is probably referring to a N. wennerae from florida. You can get one for 10$+40$ shipping at tampabaysaltwater.com They are tough, don't get bigger than 3" AND ARE INTERACTIVE.

edit: oops caps lock

 

[Ab3]

are there any other small mantis that are very active?

 

[Pea-brain]

Look at Dr. roy's list. if it says active and interactive then it is well....active and interactive. if it says not interactive or not active...then well you prolly get it. Near the top it says how big they get in metric. You can find an easy english metric converter online. And near the bottom it says min. tank size for adult...use a converter an th ygo.

 

[JLui83]

Awesome... I think I got what I need to start my 10 gal.

Here is what I understand so far and what im planning on doing.

10gal tank
HOB filter
Heater
10-20lbs Live Sand
Live Rock
Marine Aquarium Salt.

1 of these three Mantis Shrimp
-Gonodactylus smithii (Purple-Spotted Mantis)
-Neogonodactylus wennerae (Caribbean Rock Mantis Shrimp, split thumb)
-Gonodactylaceus ternatensis

How much salt do I add? Anything else I need to know?

 

[Pea-brain]

Desperately missing one thing: hydrometer. You need this to measure the salt level. I would recommend shotting for a specific gravity of 1.026, which is the natural salinity of the ocean. You will also need some suitable test kits for marine aquariums. Nothing fancy, just ammonnia, nitrite, nitrate, PH. You will need about 1/2 cup of salt to a gallon of water to make a SG. of 1.023. You will need a seperater mixing container and a heater and air pump or preferably a powerhead to mix water for changes. about 10-20% weekly should do ya. Have to mix the salt for 24 hours before using it to allow the PH and salinity to stabilize. You are looking for a PH between 7.9-8.4. this shouldn't be too hard because most salts will naturally buffer to that level. Your gonna need a few weeks to cycle the aquarium. You can use cheap hardy fish like damsels, buy uncured Live rock and let it cure, or stick a raw shrimp in your aquarium and let it rot. Also if you can afford it a protien skimmer. Ask if you have more ?'s. g'luck

 

[justinl]

one noob mistake i did was trust the hydrometer. all hydrometers are off a bit. Im lucky i didn't kill anything as my salinity was reading (1.018) much lower than it actually was (1.024). so get a refractometer or a friend with one and use it to see how off the hydrometer is once a month or so.

to mix water i have a rubbermaid container with a power head (i hate powersweeps... useless junk) and a heater. if you get powerheads, go for maxijets. very reliable.

for rock you'll want about 10lbs. for sand... you don't need 20lbs. 5-10 lbs would do it i think. you just need a sand bed of about 2-3 inches. eyeball it.

 

[mattyice]

umm im sorry but if you dont know how much salt to add you should be looking at 10G tank with fish in it before you start with a mantis, once you can keep the fish alive for a decent amount of time you can switch it over to a mantis tank but with you not knowing anything you should start a tank with a damsel and learn from mistakes that could happen

 

[topshotta]

I was going to start my own thread on the same subject and just saw this. Here is my current situation and then I'll post my question. I have a 9 gallon nanowave that is currently setup with about 10# of live rock, live sand. It's been setup for a couple months with a few small frags, 1 emerald crab, 1 cleaner shrimp and a very small pair of percs. All of the small frags have been moved to their new home and tonight I'm planning on moving the percs, the cleaner shrimp and if I can catch it - the emerald crab to the same new home that the frags have been moved to. The LFS that I frequent has a wennare mantis in stock that I'd like to put in this tank. My only concern is if I'll ever see it. The live rock that I have in the tank is very open and has lots of little holes and hiding places. I rarely see the emerald crab. Doing a species tank this is something I'd like to do - I'm just concerned about the visibility of the mantis. Also - I'm 99.9% certain that if I can't get the emerald out - he will be come mantis food - correct? What other foods should I keep on hand for the mantis if I do end up getting him/her?