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The Mantis Shrimp Guide Thread


travisurfer

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Cliff's tank is a 2.5 which is a bit small for a N. wennerae. He's going to upgrade down the line. There are some species of mantis that would do well in a 3g tank. The problem is that specific species outside of N. wennerae and O. scyllarus are generally hard to come by.

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I wasn't saying that you can't keep a mantis in a 3 gallon, it's just I've never heard of anyone recommending it.

I'm interested in hearing what species could "do well" in a pico because I have never heard of any that would that are available in the trade (not trying to be condescending). How big is this N. wennerae that's in the pico? I can't find the link to Clifford's thread on it. I think it's important that an animal is comfortable in a tank rather than just a specimen with little breathing room so to speak.

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I wasn't saying that you can't keep a mantis in a 3 gallon, it's just I've never heard of anyone recommending it.

I'm interested in hearing what species could "do well" in a pico because I have never heard of any that would that are available in the trade (not trying to be condescending). How big is this N. wennerae that's in the pico? I can't find the link to Clifford's thread on it. I think it's important that an animal is comfortable in a tank rather than just a specimen with little breathing room so to speak.

In general, the mantis does require room with which to make its burrow and hunt; however, they generally do not venture THAT far away from their safe haven. One of the main issues with keeping mantids in smaller tanks besides the obvious lack of space is water quality. When Roy Caldwell himself says that his basis for judging tank size is generally based on the size of the mantis due to keeping water parameters stable, I would believe him. If anyone is interested, I can suggest a few species for smaller tanks- but, like I said before, these are generally difficult to find. That's why so many people have N. wennerae or O. scyllarus(easy to obtain).

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In general, the mantis does require room with which to make its burrow and hunt; however, they generally do not venture THAT far away from their safe haven. One of the main issues with keeping mantids in smaller tanks besides the obvious lack of space is water quality. When Roy Caldwell himself says that his basis for judging tank size is generally based on the size of the mantis due to keeping water parameters stable, I would believe him. If anyone is interested, I can suggest a few species for smaller tanks- but, like I said before, these are generally difficult to find. That's why so many people have N. wennerae or O. scyllarus(easy to obtain).

Sure, make a suggestion Travis, and I'll see if I can find one.

Dan

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Sure, make a suggestion Travis, and I'll see if I can find one.

Dan

Gonodactylellus affinis

Chorisquilla hystrix

Chorisquilla tweediei

Gonodactylellus caldwelli

Gonodactylus childi

Haptosquilla glyptocercus

Haptosquilla hamifera

Any of those would be fine in a 2.5-3 gallon tank. With that said, G. affinis is probably your best bet as far as availability goes. One thing to note however is that many of the smaller mantids generally leave their homes less often.

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I read the thread and he seems to be doing fine. Do you know for sure it's an N. wennerae? Thanks for the link btw, I wasn't thinking of looking in the pico section.

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I read the thread and he seems to be doing fine. Do you know for sure it's an N. wennerae? Thanks for the link btw, I wasn't thinking of looking in the pico section.

Not for certain...possibility that he could also be N. bredini. You're welcome :)

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  • 2 weeks later...
Not for certain...possibility that he could also be N. bredini. You're welcome :)

 

 

 

First post. Looking for a little advice/feedback. I recently purchased a 8g bio-cube to move my maroon clown Toni (named after toni saprano because his list of victims is about as long). I originally just had a large dome shaped piece of live rock sitting on some junk pieces to hold it off the ground. Put in a cleaner shrimp who I found in shambles about a week later. Took me a few weeks to spot the mantis. He has gotten very brazin though. Anyways, lfs told me to kill it but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Hes a smasher and I hear him in the mornings doing his thing in the dome rock somewhere. I have had a blue hermit who has survived for the four months I've had the tank up. He picks his time for being out and about though and always stays in a little nook when he isn't. Must be a smart hermit.

 

I currently have a small anemone in there which the maroon loves, it can barely hold the maroon but they seem to get along fine. Any chance the mantis could get the maroon. I'm kinda partial to him. Had him for 6 years.

 

Also, I haven't fed the mantis actively. I do place a little bit of krill in the anemone a couple times a week. I suppose he may steal that on occassion as it seems the anemone couldn't have eaten as fast as it disappears. I do drop some pellet food in on occasion that sinks for the maroon. Maybe he scarfs that. Hes burgundy with spots kinda like a peacock. about 1". Should I be concerned for the maroon?

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First post. Looking for a little advice/feedback. I recently purchased a 8g bio-cube to move my maroon clown Toni (named after toni saprano because his list of victims is about as long). I originally just had a large dome shaped piece of live rock sitting on some junk pieces to hold it off the ground. Put in a cleaner shrimp who I found in shambles about a week later. Took me a few weeks to spot the mantis. He has gotten very brazin though. Anyways, lfs told me to kill it but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Hes a smasher and I hear him in the mornings doing his thing in the dome rock somewhere. I have had a blue hermit who has survived for the four months I've had the tank up. He picks his time for being out and about though and always stays in a little nook when he isn't. Must be a smart hermit.

 

I currently have a small anemone in there which the maroon loves, it can barely hold the maroon but they seem to get along fine. Any chance the mantis could get the maroon. I'm kinda partial to him. Had him for 6 years.

 

Also, I haven't fed the mantis actively. I do place a little bit of krill in the anemone a couple times a week. I suppose he may steal that on occassion as it seems the anemone couldn't have eaten as fast as it disappears. I do drop some pellet food in on occasion that sinks for the maroon. Maybe he scarfs that. Hes burgundy with spots kinda like a peacock. about 1". Should I be concerned for the maroon?

:welcome: to nano-reef

 

It really is hard to say if the mantis will go after the maroon or not. Most likely, the maroon will be much too large for the mantis to get a hold of so it should be ok. You really never know when it comes to mantids and fish, however. Some will go after fish and some just won't. I would be much more worried about the total bioload in the the aquarium. 8g with a full grown maroon, an anemone, and a mantis could lead to some serious problems down the road so that is something that I would definitely be weary of. HTH.

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:welcome: to nano-reef

 

It really is hard to say if the mantis will go after the maroon or not. Most likely, the maroon will be much too large for the mantis to get a hold of so it should be ok. You really never know when it comes to mantids and fish, however. Some will go after fish and some just won't. I would be much more worried about the total bioload in the the aquarium. 8g with a full grown maroon, an anemone, and a mantis could lead to some serious problems down the road so that is something that I would definitely be weary of. HTH.

 

Maroon is pretty small, maybe an inch and a half. I feed him every 3 days or so. Figured the anemone was a gamble from the get go but thats all I really wanted in there was the maroon and an anemone. The Mantis just came along. First shrimp went in because the girlfriend had to have a trigger in the 24 g which went about as well as you would expect. But what can you do with that.

 

Not gonna get rid of the clown, sounds like you think I should get rid of the mantis?

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I'm thinking about getting a mantis for my new 3 gal. pico ether a Neogonodactylus wennerae or a odontodactylus Havanensis. Do you think a MH in that tank would be ok with him? Im mostly worried about the intensity of the lite.

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BustytheSnowMaam
I'm thinking about getting a mantis for my new 3 gal. pico ether a Neogonodactylus wennerae or a odontodactylus Havanensis. Do you think a MH in that tank would be ok with him? Im mostly worried about the intensity of the lite.

 

If you have lots of LR and places to hide I wouldn't worry.

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Maroon is pretty small, maybe an inch and a half. I feed him every 3 days or so. Figured the anemone was a gamble from the get go but thats all I really wanted in there was the maroon and an anemone. The Mantis just came along. First shrimp went in because the girlfriend had to have a trigger in the 24 g which went about as well as you would expect. But what can you do with that.

 

Not gonna get rid of the clown, sounds like you think I should get rid of the mantis?

Ok, well, it is all relative. As long as the mantis is in the tank, there is always the risk that the clown may become prey. It doesn't mean that it will happen, but it is a possibility. I kept two damsels in with my mantis, an aggressive species, and had the mantis hit one of the damsels leaving a small scar on the side. Other than that I never had any problems; however, when on of the damsels became stuck in the filter intake overnight, the mantis quickly finished it off.

 

I'm thinking about getting a mantis for my new 3 gal. pico ether a Neogonodactylus wennerae or a odontodactylus Havanensis. Do you think a MH in that tank would be ok with him? Im mostly worried about the intensity of the lite.

O. havanensis get's way too large for a 3g tank so definitely no for one of those. N. wennerae is still pushing it a little bit. Just be sure to keep a fuge and stay on top of water changes and it should be ok. If the halide is a 70w and it is high enough above the tank, it should be fine.

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once again thx for your help. Now I just have to find one

No problem. Good luck with your search. Your best places to find one are tampabaysaltwater($50 shipped) and sealifeinc(you may have to request though). HTH.

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If I decide to keep the mantis should I consider some sort of feeding regiment then instead of just letting him scrap for what he finds? I think I'll go ahead and move my blue legged hermit to my 24 though since it seems his survival to date is quite the anomoly.

 

If someone was interested in the mantis I suppose I would be willing to send it to them if it was a good home just to be on the safe side with my maroon. He's quite personable and adventurous. Not afraid of me at all.

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If I decide to keep the mantis should I consider some sort of feeding regiment then instead of just letting him scrap for what he finds? I think I'll go ahead and move my blue legged hermit to my 24 though since it seems his survival to date is quite the anomoly.

 

If someone was interested in the mantis I suppose I would be willing to send it to them if it was a good home just to be on the safe side with my maroon. He's quite personable and adventurous. Not afraid of me at all.

A small(1/4"-ish) cube of chopped shrimp on a skewer works well. Good luck.

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Mantis are beautiful. Here are some photos I took when I went diving in Indonesia. Some of the Mantis were between 6" to 8" long. Some of them were carrying eggs.

I just started a 14g tank and I hope I would not end up with a mantis, because I would like to have all kinds of critters and I would not want to harm any of them, including the mantis.

mantis_01.jpg

mantis_02.jpg

mantis_03.jpg

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Mantis are beautiful. Here are some photos I took when I went diving in Indonesia. Some of the Mantis were between 6" to 8" long. Some of them were carrying eggs.

I just started a 14g tank and I hope I would not end up with a mantis, because I would like to have all kinds of critters and I would not want to harm any of them, including the mantis.

Awesome shots. Good luck with your tank.

 

I found a mantis shrimp in my tank just now, can anybody pls ID it? Set up a small tank for it already. :happy:

post-36609-1232186287_thumb.jpg

It's nearly impossible to id from that pic. He is definitely small though so he should be alright in a small tank for awhile.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here's a question Travis: I'm emptying out a 12g aquapod and will have everything I need (established liverock and sand) to add a mantis shrimp - so what I'm getting at is, what kind should I look for (I would prefer active and attractive)?

Thanks

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