Wennera Mantis hitting bottom of tank

[jenlovesty]

I have a Wennera Mantis in a 10 gallon aga. He is digging and hitting the bottom of the tank. What are the chances that he will break the tank?

If necessary, I could put starboard down.

Jen

 

[bpd964]

The glass on a 10 gallon AGA is super thin. Consider yourself lucky that it hasn't broken yet. If it see's it's reflection he is probably trying to pick a fight with it.. Putting starboard would be a very good idea..

 

[mattyice]

to tell you the truth i would just get some more sand to put in there, it shouldnt be able to break the glass i dont believe the wennerae are strong enough to do that, but to be safe either lay a piece of starboard on the bottom or add some extra sand to the tank

 

[Gonodactylus]

The most important thing you forgot to mention is the size of the animal. The very largest N. wennerae at 7.5 cm might be able to chip or crack the glass. Anything under 6 cm is very unlikely to cause any problems.

Roy

 

[Agu]

With all due respect to Dr Roy an n wennerae can cause major damage to a tank over time. My N. wennerae over the last three years through diligence has completely hollowed out a 5" piece of live rock. There's an outer shell and the rest of the rock is now substrate. If your mantis continues to strike the bottom glass it will chip it away and eventually break through. If putting in starboard would be easy I'd recommend doing it.

 

[mattyice]

but that also took three years

 

[Gonodactylus]

First of all, we still don't know the size of the N. wennerae in question. This species lives for a maximum of around 6 years over most of its range. A three year old animal is around 4 cm. After another 3 years, it will be around 6 cm max. This is just approaching the size that glass might be damaged. (In more temporate waters such as Bermuda, N. wennerae may live longer and reach 7.5 cm in 7 or 8 years. At this size it could cause damage to thin glass.)

As for breaking rock, coral or coralline algae, that is how these animals generate cavities on the reef. By repeated striking of the substrate month after month, they gradually wear away the substrate. Often this is done as a combination of trying to alter the substrate as well as when using the cavity of an anvil. There is a big difference between calcium carbonate and silicon dioxide. Glass does not erode and crumble with repeated blows like coral does. Tens of thousands of strikes will erode calcium carbonate.

We have collected literally over 100,000 N. wennerae and I have kept thousands in various kinds of aquaria. I have not had one break standard thickness aquarium glass. I'm not saying that the largest N. wennerae could not chip or crack a 10 gal tank, but it is very, very unlikely. I would not think twice about keeping a 6 cm N. wennerae in a 10 gal. aquarium.

Roy