Thinking about making a mantis shrimp tank

M

Mattyice008

Reefing newb
Does anyone have experience with these?
Just like a 10 gallon tank for a mantis shrimp, sand, and rocks.
Couldn't really find a bunch of information online about them.

I just want to get one because they look freaking awesome and I want to feed them like live shrimp and stuff.

Also wondering if there's any live organism that you can put in the tank with the mantis that he wont completely destroy?

And where can you buy one of these? All the LFS near me don't deal with these guys.
 
Yea, Dana would be the one to shout at.
Depending on what kind of mantis you want, some wont fit in a 10 me thinks, especially a mantis, but thats my opinion :p
 
Theres a lot of information online about them. Your just not going to find much here. As they said i'm pretty much the hardcore mantis person here. Which mantis were you hoping to buy? A smasher or slasher? This will directly effect which light(if any) you can use, and will effect what size tank you will need. I wouldnt do anything smaller than a 20g. 10g is ALOT of work. There are also many places you can buy them online. Tampa Bay Saltwater you could get LR and a mantis. But they usually only get N. Wennerae....

Dr. Roy Caldwell has been studying them for 25+ years and has compiled a list of the more common ones found here

Roy's List of Stomatopods for the Aquarium

As you can see he give tank requirments ect also.

Do more research and ask more questions....dont just buy it because it's "cool". They arent the easiest thing to keep in this hobby. The water gets dirtier quicker than a normal SW tank dependiing on volume of the tank and size of mantis.
 
Alright dana, I'll read up on that.
I'm not worried about any amount of work I have to do.
To be honest, I like the fact of having something to do constantly with my current tank.
 
Dana42078 said:
Sweet!!!! I'd do a leak test fo sho
Click to expand...

Yea he stated that there was no leaks and he filled it up, but I should pick it up sometime this week.

After searching for HOURS, I see what you mean about it being hard to find a cool mantis.
So far I'm here, Chiragra Mantis Shrimp - Gonodactylus chiragra - Male The coolest looking one that any store has in stock at the moment. Looked them up in google images but I want to see pictures from the store.

I had a few questions for you Dana.
1.) Did you do about 1lb of LR-per gal of water?
2.) How many many lbs of sand did you use?
3.) Do you use iodine to help with his molting? I read about that. Would like to clear that up :P, I wanna keep my guy as healthy as possible.

Just get back to me whenever, I'm taking baby steps but I'm really freaking excited!
 
Mattyice008 said:
Yea he stated that there was no leaks and he filled it up, but I should pick it up sometime this week.

After searching for HOURS, I see what you mean about it being hard to find a cool mantis.
So far I'm here, Chiragra Mantis Shrimp - Gonodactylus chiragra - Male The coolest looking one that any store has in stock at the moment. Looked them up in google images but I want to see pictures from the store.

I had a few questions for you Dana.
1.) Did you do about 1lb of LR-per gal of water?
2.) How many many lbs of sand did you use?
3.) Do you use iodine to help with his molting? I read about that. Would like to clear that up :P, I wanna keep my guy as healthy as possible.

Just get back to me whenever, I'm taking baby steps but I'm really freaking excited!
Click to expand...

I used what i had available to me and bought more every week till i thought i had enough....idk how many lbs are in any of my tanks lol......sand do at least 2-4 inches (make sure you cover your bottom with plexi glass) No ive never used iodine for "helping" with a molt. When they molt, leave em alone....seriously...dont even try looking at em...it adds stress....just let the process do its thing and pray for the best.

Mattyice008 said:
Great news! my LFS said they could get me a 2-4inch peacock when im ready!
Click to expand...

Sweet....what ever you do, dont put them under a lot of light.
 
Dana42078 said:
I used what i had available to me and bought more every week till i thought i had enough....idk how many lbs are in any of my tanks lol......sand do at least 2-4 inches (make sure you cover your bottom with plexi glass) No ive never used iodine for "helping" with a molt. When they molt, leave em alone....seriously...dont even try looking at em...it adds stress....just let the process do its thing and pray for the best.



Sweet....what ever you do, dont put them under a lot of light.
Click to expand...

What lighting would you recommend? Now that I've got the type of shrimp, I'm gunna go look up info about him
And what does the plexi glass do for the bottom of the tank?


e/ I still have the original 1-florescent bulb hood that my last tank came with(Replaces with LEDS for corals) I could use that and it looks like people recommend this type of low lighting. I'll probably see how this works, and if I need more for some reason, I'll look toward some other lights
 
Last edited:
Plexi glass for the bottom so when your mantis digs to the bottom of your tank when he hits the glass he wont break it.....you will regret it if you dont do it.

Peacocks are notorious for shell rot because ppl put a lot of light over them and its not natural for them. I wouldnt use much light if any....when i finally get a peacock i will be doing a NPS tank with em.
 
Dana42078 said:
Plexi glass for the bottom so when your mantis digs to the bottom of your tank when he hits the glass he wont break it.....you will regret it if you dont do it.

Peacocks are notorious for shell rot because ppl put a lot of light over them and its not natural for them. I wouldnt use much light if any....when i finally get a peacock i will be doing a NPS tank with em.
Click to expand...

Yea that's what I'll be doing. I'll give him plenty of rockwork to get away from the rock if needed. Thanks for the tip on the plexi glass.
 
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