Depending on species, go with medium to bright lighting. I PERSONALLY want to convert my mantis tanks into beautiful REEF tanks! With a specially selected clean up crew (star fish, some snails, and some hermits may be able to coexist depending on the species) if you get a spearer, like a P. ciliata a full clean up crew is little worry. With my peacock (had for 10 months), he wont eat my LARGE turbo, any of the ~40 illyneous (unicorn) snails, doesnt bother red knobby star, BUT ate my pincushion urchin, eats an occasional hermit and margirita snail, However, doesn't bother my 4 inch Allardi Clown. Infact, when i put live food in there, they team up and the allardi will round the crayfish or crab up and pick on him while the peacock stealthly creeps in for the kill! Pretty damn cool to watch! My wennerae on the other hand, only had for a week, seems to harrass the clean up crew more, and i have heard, and witnessed an ambush on an emerald crab, he has a big dent in his shell now! The wennerae also closes her burrow at night, but has such an intircate system of caves, tunnels, and pathways through the LR, she is so hard to find sometimes, UNLESS you dangle a little krill or scallops around she'll peep her head out and fly out and attack when in range!
I feed vitamin enriched frozen (garlic, zoe, cyclopeeze) about everyday:
Peacock: gets 1 small garlic soaked farm raised scallop, or one decent sized frozen krill. Live food about once or twice a month...
Wennerae: been feeding everyday, small sliver of scallop or a small krill. Munchin on the cleanup crew when pleases...
I have been thinking about my ideal tank, and I want to convert my 55 gal to a full blown reef tank (primarily, LPS, ZOOs, & Shrooms), The main inhabitant being Boris, I also want a large Rose BTA hosted by a pair of Clowns (clarkii or allardi- my allardi is awesome!), then, I was thinking about adding either a medium sized fuzzy dwarf Lionfish, or another smaller wennerae, OR BOTH! Of course taking into consideration the two mantid's will have signifcant size difference, and secured burrows so they cant kill each other during molting (this may be risky, but I heard of people doing it, they can live close together in nature, and my mantid's are pretty well mannered....) The dwarf lion and the wennerae may be problematic...maybe should stick with just the clowns and mantids! Anyway, very colorful, dynamic, and UNIQUE Aquarium!
