Mantis Shrimp?

[blues_drummer]

First time I have spotted this in my tank - but I was thinking I had some shrimp, as I have heard a clicking noise every once in awhile.  Mantis? I don't think it's a pistol shrimp.  Or something else?

[patback]

Definitely a mantis. 

[blues_drummer]

7 minutes ago, patback said:

Definitely a mantis. 

Great.. that's what I thought. Time to catch it. At least I haven't added any fish or corals yet.

[Murphs_Reef]

Catch it?? Leave that shit be man.. that is great 

[blues_drummer]

1 hour ago, Murphych said:

Catch it?? Leave that shit be man.. that is great 

I guess the real question is - how much damage can he do, can I safely stock something like a goby, is he going to kill my clean up crew?  If I keep him, what do I feed him so he doesn't much on other things.  Biggest question, what are the chances of him breaking the glass of the tank.

[spectra]

Wont break the glass............ cool little critter.............it will decimate the clean up crew but thats there nature............. I had one in a little 5 gallon and there great............

 

I would just leave it be and no goby it will probably lose but could survive.......... I say just keep updating the clean up crew or maybe toss a few feeder type things in............

 

[NoOneLikesADryTang]

Highly unlikely it'll break the glass - I think that's an old wives tail, to be honest. Everyone online talks about it, but I've yet to see any proof of it happening. 

 

I can't really tell from the photo if it's a smasher, or spearer. If it's a smasher, it'll wreck your clean up crew, and have them as tasty treats (escargot - yum!). We had a G Ternatensis (a smasher), and she would decimate all the clean up crew, and every fish that was put in with her. I've seen other threads where smashers leave the fish alone. 

 

If it's a spearer, it'll probably leave the clean up crew alone, unless it was hungry or bored, but no fish would be safe. 

 

We usually fed clams in a half shell, or a silverside a time or two per week. We'd occasionally throw clean up crew in to the tank for her to destroy and enjoy. Mantis got to mantis, yo! 

 

It's up to you to decided what you want your reef to be - there are definitely people that have species only mantis tanks, that are really cool. They're super interactive creatures once they're comfortable. 

[Tired]

Wow, nice! If you catch it, make sure to keep it alive (a bucket with an airstone would be fine for a bit, or you could put it in a breeder box in the tank) until you can rehome it. It's a pretty color, I'm sure someone will want it. 

 

I've heard that very big ones can break glass, but that it generally happens when they tunnel down and try to 'dig' through the bottom of the tank. Or if someone taunts it from the outside and it repeatedly smashes the same spot, with intent to break the glass. My local public aquarium (which is not very good) has this ridiculous in-wall mantis tank with a foot-square piece of bulletproof glass as the viewport. You can't see in at all. Absurd.

 

You know what you do if you have a big smasher mantis, and want to be sure it won't break the tank? You put it in an acrylic tank. Acrylic doesn't break like glass does, they can't bust it.

[blues_drummer]

I have a 5 gallon I might trap and relocate to instead of my main..  something I'll have to think about.

[Tired]

A 5 gallon would be fine as a temporary enclosure, but won't work long-term. Mantises are big, messy animals whose shells can rot if the water is too dirty, so they need plenty of water volume. And they're intelligent, so they should have plenty of space to dig and build in. You'd want to figure out what species your guy is, so you know how big he'll get. IIRC most people keep mantises in at least a 30-gallon, unless it's one of the bitty species, in which case they have something more like 10-20 gallons.

[hayseed777]

Keep him! They're a lot of fun and interactive once they figure out you're not a danger. I buy fiddler crabs for my purple spot (Gonodactylus Smithii) and give him a small piece of Selcon-soaked shrimp on occasion. Even still, he will take out a member of the CUC for a snack. I've noticed smaller hermits don't seem to tickle his murder clubs as much as the big hermits. Snails are the opposite - he leaves the big ones alone and snacks on a little one when the mood strikes. 

 

Based on the pic, I would guess it's a G. Viridis.

[blues_drummer]

20 hours ago, hayseed777 said:

Keep him! They're a lot of fun and interactive once they figure out you're not a danger. I buy fiddler crabs for my purple spot (Gonodactylus Smithii) and give him a small piece of Selcon-soaked shrimp on occasion. Even still, he will take out a member of the CUC for a snack. I've noticed smaller hermits don't seem to tickle his murder clubs as much as the big hermits. Snails are the opposite - he leaves the big ones alone and snacks on a little one when the mood strikes. 

 

Based on the pic, I would guess it's a G. Viridis.

Thanks hayseed777 - I'll try to see if I can get a better picture of him (it) in the coming days - that was a chance opportunity that it was out in the open, and I just quickly grabbed my cellphone, which isn't the best for close up shots.