Skin Posted November 6, 2003 Share Posted November 6, 2003 Thought I would share... 6 gallon eclipse with stock lighting and filtration... 50 watt heater, 6 lbs live rock.. one 4 inch mantis... 2 soon to be toast damsels.. Link to comment
sturuomo Posted November 6, 2003 Share Posted November 6, 2003 Nice! word of warning though...mantis shrimp's can flick tails with the power and velocity of a .22 rifle. They have been known to crack aquariums.... Link to comment
Bin Weed Posted November 6, 2003 Share Posted November 6, 2003 12 gallon eclipse=plexi right? Wow i really want a mantis tank like that... today i just got a 3/4-1 inch mantis as a hitchiker on my rock How lng will it take him to grow that big and develope those colors? Ben Link to comment
SLOreefer Posted November 6, 2003 Share Posted November 6, 2003 cool tank....some of them never get colors it depends on what kind of mantis it is. i like this mantis Link to comment
Skin Posted November 6, 2003 Author Share Posted November 6, 2003 Hey Sturu.. Thanks for the warning.. I have been doing research on these particular creatures for the past few months and I am well aware of the capabilities... heck that's why I wanted them.. I did have to take a few precautions.. it's hard to notice but the heater is actually in a black pvc pipe, painted black.. so in case he gets a little agro, he won't be able to break it.. that's also why I got an acrylic / plexi tank... glass is much easier to break. I have talked to several mantis owners and though they do occasionally break thermometers.. they typically don't break aquariums unless they get over 8 inches... even then they can only break glass from what I have read.. I guess we'll see!!! They only break stuff when they are agitated.. Most other mantis owners say they keep em' fat and happy and have no problems.. Thanks for the concern though!!!! Link to comment
Skin Posted November 6, 2003 Author Share Posted November 6, 2003 Hey Bin.. The answer to your questions.. This is actually a 6 gallon eclipse.. As for the growth rate, I'm not sure what to tell you.. I would assume that depends on the specific species and habitat.. On to the colors.. This particular mantis is a peacock mantis.. they have a lot of vibrant colors.. I've seen some that are bright green.. there are several different species that range from brown to yellow... so depending on what type you have, will determine the color as it matures.. If you'd like more information on these cool creatures check out.. http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/ People don't like em' because they will pretty much take down any fish in the same tank.. they also move stuff around quite a bit.. I know some people have coral with them, but I'm not sure of the specifics on what types are "friendly" ,with a mantis.. If anyone has any info on this, please pass along. Link to comment
reefer20G Posted November 6, 2003 Share Posted November 6, 2003 Skin, Awesome. Tanks looks great. I have been thinking about doing the same thing. Where did you get that guy? Oh, talk to Kennerd about his mantis tank. Link to comment
Littleoceans Posted November 6, 2003 Share Posted November 6, 2003 Nice, looks awesome! Link to comment
Korbin Posted November 6, 2003 Share Posted November 6, 2003 Cool stuff. I captured a red one from my tank and kept it in a bucket for awhile. I don't know if he was angry or what but I would hear him snapping all day. I think he was working on his burrow. Word of caution - be aware that stomatopods are very sensitive to volitile organic chemicals. Like chemicals found in cleaners and stuff. I've heard stories of peoples' mantis dying after washing windows in thier house and stuff. If you get tired of him, I hear they are good eatin'. Link to comment
Skin Posted November 6, 2003 Author Share Posted November 6, 2003 Thanks for the comments people.. I have my tank(s) at work so I'm not to concerned about the chemical problems... (nobody cleans my office ) I got her in Huntington beach... www.fishsupply.com. She was 25 bucks.. I ordered her and she arrived 3 days later.. great customer service.. awesome selection of corals too... fair prices.. Link to comment
kennerd Posted November 6, 2003 Share Posted November 6, 2003 OK, since reefer20 and Skin were asking, here's some 'Nerd input: Peacocks do get rather large, so make plans to have a bigger tank for it for the long term (after another year or so). Absolutely Fish had an 8" Peacock once. Amazing. My Neogonodactylus wennerae female came in on Gulf View rock. shown below was in a 12 gal tank and was about 3" and lost her unexpectedly. The other is a little Gondy from the same area, about 2" lollipop green and is in a 5 gal eclipse-style tank. Smashers, for the most part like to each shellfish, inverts and most likely fish only when really hungry, and when they are large enough to handle taking them out. I feed the little guy any of the following on a rotating basis, all frozen and sliced off, feed with long tweezers: shrimp (save one from a dinner-style order from the gorcery store, and carve a chunk off) krill clam I used to feed them freshwater snails for kicks: they would beat the snot out of them. Be sure to dose iodine to aid in molting. A bad molt can and will kill a mantis. Pop a few questions on Reef Central's Mantis forum Link to comment
TiGs Posted November 6, 2003 Share Posted November 6, 2003 When doing tank maintenance do mantis shrimps generally attack your hands? Link to comment
Skin Posted November 7, 2003 Author Share Posted November 7, 2003 Thanks Kennerd... I appreciate the info... As for the cleaning.. I wouldn't put my hand in the tank... that's what scrapers and tongs are for!!! Link to comment
wetworx101 Posted November 7, 2003 Share Posted November 7, 2003 I used to love putting crayfish in the tank with the mantis I had. The fight was really something else!!! The mantis always won however...once it shot off one of the crayfish's pincers it was over. Dont get me wrong, Im not into animal cruelty or anything, but the mantis had to eat anyways...and entertaining it was!! Link to comment
kennerd Posted November 7, 2003 Share Posted November 7, 2003 They will normally stir up the sand bed pretty well, so not much to worry about in terms of cleaning. One other thing: make sure to avoid overfeeding, as mantis have a tendency to bury uneaten food. Link to comment
hickncali Posted November 7, 2003 Share Posted November 7, 2003 never seen a pic of one of a mantis shrimp, i always figured they would look like some hidiously ugly creature from the movie Aliens. But that one looks really cool. Maybe I'll start another tank. Great another reason to keep me broke Link to comment
cjm033 Posted November 7, 2003 Share Posted November 7, 2003 "mantis shrimp's can flick tails with the power and velocity of a .22 rifle." its not its tail its the animals claws just so ya know. Link to comment
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