Tank mates for my peacock mantis shrimp, help please

[j4ckfish]

Hey guys I have set up a 35 gallon aquarium for my peacock mantis shrimp and have everything running and just waiting on for the hsc to finish to start stocking.
The question I have is for the possibility on tank mates for my peacock mantis shrimp, I am going to get a smaller mantis to start off with so it will not be such a threat and I was thinking of the following as a companion for him (only one of the list not all will go in):

- fluffy/zebra dwarf lion fish
- Saddle Valentini Puffer
- Humu Picasso Triggerfish or any other smaller slow growing species (buy a baby one and then sell it off when grown out of tank)

My tank is 90W x 36D x 42H and have coral bits and sand substrate with big and small pieces of live rock and planning to add soft corals like xenia and hammer corals.

Cheers for any advice, Jack :hmm5:

 

[nmotz]

I think if you put those fish with a mantis you'll risk the following:

-Mantis consumes fish
-Fish consumes mantis (depending on size ratio)
-Mantis fears fish, becomes reclusive

I'm not saying that you can't succeed, but it would be fairly unlikely to last long-term. Also, it's difficult to know for certain the effect that stress has on Peacocks but I imagine it increases the likelihood of trouble during a molt.

If you do this, at a minimum I would recommend a larger tank, but IMO it will probably not work out. Maybe run 2 tanks?

 

[j4ckfish]

Yea I have a smaller aquarium that is roughly half the size so maybe depending on the size of the shrimp i will have him in that one and put the fish in the tank,
any suggestion on which is best out of the three?
cheers

 

[nmotz]

I'm not too knowledgeable about fish but I do know that mantis shrimp seem to respond best to small fish, usually damsels. I think it's pretty unprecedented to try to keep those type of fish with a Peacock. You can always give it a shot, but I think it's a big risk that will end up costing you a lot of money.

You could use that smaller tank for a while until you save up more money for a tank big enough for a Peacock.

 

[Jlentz]

I'm pretty sure triggers and puffers eat inverts.


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[j4ckfish]

So I got a mantis and have a blue spotted puffer with him along with two gobies, he is looking really stressed and sometimes randomly darts around the tank then stops moving and just sits out in the open not moving, quite nervous about him

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[j4ckfish]

He's a peacock 11 cm btw

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[nmotz]

So I got a mantis and have a blue spotted puffer with him along with two gobies, he is looking really stressed and sometimes randomly darts around the tank then stops moving and just sits out in the open not moving, quite nervous about him

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Does he have a proper burrow? Pictures would help in this case. Usually if the mantis has a dark burrow it will hide there until it feels more comfortable. How did you acclimate?

 

[j4ckfish]

There is a PVC pipe for him and he has used it but he doesnt stay in it, wondering if I should put a blockage at one end so it is darker and safer for him

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[BvN]

Best is to create a larger/longer burrow. Get a straight PVC centre piece and add a 90 degree corner piece at both sides so you get kind of U form pipe. If it's dark in the middle than it's good.

 

[nmotz]

Take a look at this video for an idea about how long/wide to make the burrow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NNNaiRmtAA

The length of that tank is 36 inches so the burrow is roughly 14-15 inches (35-38cm) long. The interior diameter is 2.5 inches (6.35cm).

The reason you want it to be long and not too wide is because the excess light bothers Peacocks if they never have a place to hide. If you can still see the Peacock in the burrow, it's not long enough, and if light can pass freely from one side to the other, it's too wide. Mantis shrimp can fold their bodies in half to turn around inside a tight space so don't worry about it being too narrow. A full grown Peacock will do fine inside a 3 in (7.6cm) diameter pipe for example.

 

[j4ckfish]

Yea I blocked one side and he seems to like that, cheers for the help

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[Bobbitworm13]

The puffer may eat the mantis as they prey on them in the wild. Don't do the fuzzy dwarf Lionfish, one would kill the other. The gobies are probably an expensive meal

 

[ClubberLang78]

2 X Damsels with my Mantis since the beginning and he actually seems to like them. They get along real well and Peacock is still very active.