Virtues of Acclimatization

[damantislova]

Hi Everyone,

My intention is to start a thread for new mantis owners to read through, as a list of Do's and Don't's when setting up a mantis tank as well as introducing mantes into a setup. This topic is especially aimed at acclimatization. Any posts contributed from experience will be valuable for newbies when it comes to owning a mantis shrimp.

This is the second week in my saga of acquiring a peacock and a female G. Chiragra. I ended up dropping the Chiragra (unacclimatized) in my 10 G setup that is now in it's 4th week. The system is stable with nitrite and ammonia levels at zero and about 10-15 ppm of Nitrate. The ph is about 8.0 and the temp is 79 F. I do a 15% water change religiously every week. To cut a long story short, my Chiragra is doing fine, even though I ended up dropping her in without acclimatization. This was a stupid move on my part but basically occurred due to lack of knowledge of what the species was as well as panic on my part that it would die. It was sorta laying on it's back in the plastic bag I got it in. I panicked and dropped her in. I was lucky in that it's doing well now. However my Peacock ended up meeting a rather unfortunate demise

My peacock was in far better shape, when I got it from the LFS. I did a rush setup of a 5.5 gallon to temporarily house the peacock. The 5.5 incidentally was for the Chiragra since I knew the peacock required a bigger tank. It was about 7 cms and I figured the 10 Gallon would suffice for now. But due to the events described above I ended up dropping the peacock as well in the 5.5 G setup without acclimatization and after a stressful 5 days it died.

I've learned a valuable lesson in this and I'd like to have others who are more experienced contribute to problems that may be encountered and possible solutions (during acclimatization in particular) when introducing mantes into a stable tank.

 

[Tylt33]

This is bad husbandry... killing a mantis, and now you're cycling a tank with a damsel? That's torture on a fish. Keeping a tank takes patience.

 

[damantislova]

According to the LFS, it was recommended that I could use one. I did cycle my 10 Gallon with 2 mollies and they seemed perfectly alright, even after 4 weeks. What I've not mentioned in my profile is that I'm not using any artificial filtration. It's all using Live rock and Live sand with a 240 gph submersible propeller pump. That is 20 pound of live rock for my 10 gallon, and 10 pound for my 5.5. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding was that damsels are hardy fish and are recommended for faster cycling,

 

[Leviathan_XE]

Not to seem like anyone is coming after you but Tylt33 is correct about the bad husbandry. The one thing I've learning about this hobby is PATIENCE. Only bad things happen quickly. Now your LFS is right you can cycle a tank with a fish but it's really bad for the fish, that's why they suggest you use a cheap damsel for this rather than a more expensive fish.
What you're waiting for is the bactieria to colonize the tank and give you biological filtration. This will happen without putting an innocent fish through the truma of survivng a cycle. You can cycle with with rock, sand and waiting 3-4 weeks. And by doing water changes you're actually prolonging your cycle time.
My advice to you is to read, read, read and be patient. When you think you're ready read some more. It's up to all of us in this hobby to be responsible for the creatures in our care and provide them with the best husbandry we possibly can. That's what this board is for. Ask as many questions as you can think of. My tanks been up and running for about 5 yrs and I'm still learning something new everytime I come here.
Trust me I know how hard it can be to be patient, went to my lfs about a month ago and they had a smithii. I wanted to jump on it right then and there, I've been wating for another since my last one died last year (Dann R.I.P). But I didn't have a tank ready for it, couldn't put a deposit on it cause the owners of this place are kinda shady they'll sell anything to anyone. So I ran out got a tank and set it up with already cured live rock and sand from my reef. Waited (that was the worst, just knew it was gonna be gone) 3 weeks till it was ready. Went back, scoured the tank and found her in a hole in a 50 pound rock. Had to catch her myself, clerk was a wuss. But it was worth the wait.

 

[damantislova]

I understand. I'm not saying that I was right in buying the mantis and putting it in an uncycled tank. It does not mean that I'm going to repeat the same mistake again and it was a mistake and I realize the price my mantis had to pay for me rushing the whole process. Since we're on this topic, as far as the virtues of using a cheap vs a more expensive fish, it boils down to the more succinct point of whether the fish is hardy or not (regardless of price) and again by hardy I mean, will fluctuations in water parameters traumatize the organism regardless of whether it will sustain a tank cycle. Your statements would imply that the idea novice aquarists itself is absurd, in terms that one cannot classify a creature as good for beginners, intermediate or expert aquarists. When hobbyists classify them as such, what they imply is the difficulty in keeping these orgamisms alive!! Which means a "clown" is ok for a beginner , while tridacna crocea clams require more experience. This is equivalent to saying that clowns can tolerate fluctuations within a broader range of parameters (hence the novice level) but tridacna clams would die unless the ecosystem conditions are near perfect.

So the question I ask (again, the quest is for knowledge and not try to start an argument as to who's right or wrong) is, if some animals are hardier than the others, what level of fluctuation in parameters is acceptable as to cause minimal stress to those animals in question.

And to bring up the question of cycling into play, is it a no-no for any and all fish, invertebrates and corals because the stress would would be over the thresholds for any known aquarium livestock, or are there any livestock that would work fairly well during the cycling process.

Again, I do understand that the perfect way of doing this is live rock only ( Cured being the best) without any live tock.
The above diatribe is merely a from a standpoint of acquiring knowledge. I've done quite a bit of research on mantes but screwed up when it came to the process of actually setting one up in a tank, and having members point it out saying that it's bad husbandry is understandable. It's not like I didn't consult and take advice of people in the hobby before venturing out and getting one. I guess it was bad advice from some, and I've realized that now. I already feel like crap and I definitely will not be going out and buying another mantis till I've set up a fully cycled tank. But any positive suggestions would be really appreciated.

 

[Leviathan_XE]

From what I understand as far as cycling with a fish goes it's simply just a matter of opinion, some do it some don't. A damsel can definitely survive a cycle and be totally fine afterwards. So do many mantids, macro, sponges, anemones, mushrooms, zoanthids, etc.. That being said, my statements weren't meant to imply that you were guilty of any particular wrong doing. Sounds like you made some mistakes, but it also sounds like you've learned from them. I'm sure we're all guilty of that. Heck, I think I killed my first smithii by doing a large water change during a molt. Just try not to get fustrated. That's the best positive advice I can offer.
As far as fluctuations go, I don't think there's one difinitive answer for that. I've lost critters that I thought should've survived and kept some that I thought should've died. I once read a post on here where somone said that we don't keep animals, we keep water. I try to look at that way, if do what I can to keep the best water quality possible then everything else should fall in line. Hope this helps some.

 

[damantislova]

Thanks Leviathan_XE for the update. I appreciate all the tips and it'll help me and other readers avoid future disasters.

I'm working on a list that would help newbies like me setup a tank and introduce their mantes. For example, in terms of cycling or acclimatizing, what are the pitfalls one should watch for. Hopefully I'll be able to get something started by this week.