Thinking about a mantis...

[SeaCucumberFan]

I'm thinking about getting a mantis shrimp if my LFS has some, so I have some questions:
-Will they keep me awake with their little clicks?
-Nocturnal or diurnal?
-Will my valentini puffer bother it?
-Will it bother the fish ?
-Will it go for Shrimpy the CBS and Vice Versa?
-Will it break my glass?
-How big do they get (peacock)?
-Will it bother anything else (sea cucumber, camel shrimp, etc)?

Tank is 50 gallons, glass is 0.5cm or 0.2in thick, plenty of rock work and crevices, substrate is around 1.5in or 4cm, sand+crushed coral mix.
Potentially aggressive livestock:
-Blue damsel
-Javanese damsel
-Black and white damsel (2 of em)
-Blue and gold damsel
-Valentini puffer
-Shrimpy the CBS

Thanks mantis-ers! :thumbsup:

 

[nmotz]

I'm thinking about getting a mantis shrimp if my LFS has some, so I have some questions:
-Will they keep me awake with their little clicks?
Depends on the species, but mine has been known to find a crab or two at night. More commonly it finds something very early in the morning right when the sun rises and I can hear it in the other room unless I close the door to the tank room. If you want a Peacock I recommend a tank in a room with a door.

-Nocturnal or diurnal?
Species dependent, Peacocks are most active in the day but will also roam around at night too sometimes.

-Will my valentini puffer bother it?
The short answer is yes, but that depends on the size ratio between the fish and the mantis. If you get a Peacock, you will need to be concerned about the fish getting eaten as well.

-Will it bother the fish ?
see above, mantis shrimp personalities vary WIDELY. Some kill everything, some seem content with a range of different tank partners. Difficult to know for certain what will happen, but my guess is that it'll be somewhere in between. If the mantis gets hungry, it'll kill something, end of story.

-Will it go for Shrimpy the CBS and Vice Versa?
This one I would definitely say yes. My Peacock HATED the CBS that I put in its tank. That battle was short-lived, no reward for guessing who won.

-Will it break my glass?
A 50 gallon tank should have thick enough glass but it's not impossible. You just need to make sure that it isn't repeatedly striking the bottom or sides of the tank. Get a PVC pipe for a burrow and that'll help a lot.

-How big do they get (peacock)?
Peacocks can grow to about 6.5 inches. By that time they normally start having issues with shell rot or die during a molt.

-Will it bother anything else (sea cucumber, camel shrimp, etc)?
It will try to kill any type of shrimp, especially smaller species. Sea cucumbers, starfish and urchins are usually safe companions. But it's important to accept that mantis shrimp, especially Peacocks, are known to big changes in temperament. Before/after they molt, they sometimes go crazy and start killing everything. That's what mine does anyway.

Tank is 50 gallons, glass is 0.5cm or 0.2in thick, plenty of rock work and crevices, substrate is around 1.5in or 4cm, sand+crushed coral mix.
Potentially aggressive livestock:
-Blue damsel
-Javanese damsel
-Black and white damsel (2 of em)
-Blue and gold damsel
-Valentini puffer
-Shrimpy the CBS

I still would recommend a PVC pipe. Interior diameter needs to be 1.5x the width of the animal's body. Make it at least 12" long (preferably longer) with a bend or two that helps keep light out of the interior. I recommend black or grey PVC for even less light pollution. This is important to mimic their natural environment.

Thanks mantis-ers! :thumbsup:

 

[SeaCucumberFan]

Ok thanks. I will try to get one of the smaller (possibly less colorful) species.

 

[Calappidae]

If you're still trying to get a mantis based on current tankmates, you're not going to win.

The only outcomes you'll get are:

-The puffer will kill any small specimens, they knaw on inverts and mantis shrimp are especially targets due to their defensive nature.

-The mantis will never come out in fear of being eaten, only grabbing food that comes near the burrow and peeping through it.

-The mantis will strike anything that passes by either in defense or offense causing infectious wounds inevitable killing the fish.

Peacocks have a history of being "tame-able" but that's like housing a lion with a zebra, you're going to be up all night with that pair unless that thing is very well behaved. The puffer could nip at the peacock's antennal scales or uropods just like they sometimes nip at tankmate's fins.

Throwing a mantis in a tank designed for reef specimens isn't the best idea, its a different story if you were to throw reef specimens you won't miss in a tank designed for the mantis.

You can always house a smaller specimen in a little desktop tank, or in a sump /refugium system.

 

[SeaCucumberFan]

Ah ok. So I guess I won't get a mantis

 

[BvN]

Ah ok. So I guess I won't get a mantis

No thats the best. It needs a place of it's own.
To make an addition to the good feedback already given I'll never put a sea cucumber in the same tank. Think of a scenario where the seacucumber decides to go into the mantis' burrow. The mantis will want to have it out of there and does it by smashing it. Seacucumbers shoot out their intestines, which are poisonous, when threatened and the beating is a major threat.

 

[johnike]

I keep one in the sump of my FOWLR system.
By itself.

 

[EI Gringo]

I have a peacock with big robust fish that A, won't bother him B, are quick enough to get out of the way and C, are cheap enough for me not really to care if they don't. Think damsels with peacock mantis and you won't be going too far wrong.

 

[gozermantis]

I have a peacock with a smaller common puffer from the Gulf of Mexico they hang out often side by side lol, and I had a smaller species mantis (smasher) with a full marine green spotted puffer and they never bothered each other. But I tend to get lucky with my fish and mantis combos. But I can't say it will be like that for everyone else.