Mantis shrimp in a nano tank?

[HingleMcCringleberry]

Hi all

 

ive decided to get a peacock mantis shrimp and give it its own tank. I found an old oceanic 8 gallon bio cube on Craigslist for 35$ and was thinking of using that. It fits perfectly on my nightstand. I also have a 20 gallon setup that I took down a few months ago when I upgraded. But it is a budget 20 gal setup and not exactly quiet or pretty. I think 8 gallons could be big enough for a mantis shrimp if I provide it with lots of burrowing spaces and a deep sand bed. What do you think?

[pgrVII]

No, a peacock mantis gets quite large,8"+ and the 20 wouldn't even be ideal for it,although better than the 8. There are quite a few good mantis species you could house in an 8 gallon if youre sold on using that. Check around the forum theres a few mantis builds you can check out for sure. And plenty of good sites to help.

https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/crustacea/malacostraca/eumalacostraca/royslist/index.html#directory

 

[mndfreeze]

Roys list is an amazing resource.  Keep in mind MOST of the species listed there are not available in the hobby.  Most of the Florida/Gulf species though like Wennare are great for nano tanks.  

 

Make sure you read carefully about the specific species.  Some are hardier than others, some are more interactive, some have different burrow requirements.  

 

Another thing to keep in mind is you MUST stay on top of your water quality.  Mantis LOVE to bury uneaten food, usually where you're human fingers can't find it, and it can foul the water in a small tank pretty fast.  

 

I recommend these Gulf species:

Neogonodactylus oerstedii

Neogonodactylus wennerae

 

From elsewhere:

Gonodactylus smithii

 

Special mention:

Gonodactylus chiragra

 

This one might get too big for that size of tank, but just barely.