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The Mantis Tank Thread


travisurfer

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travisurfer

Thanks. They take awhile to load so I most likely wont be loading that many unless they are super cool. Ill try to get some more pics soon. This weekend, Ill get the good camera out. :)

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FishFreak77

I have not been reading up on the forum lately(sorry Cozmo) so I just reread the whole thing! I think that you should publish this into a book called The Adventures of Cozmo the Mantis Shrimp. Can't wait to hear more about what happens.

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travisurfer

Still havent seen him this morning yet. If I dont see him at all today he may be molting. Time to get some giant turbo snails so he wont eat them right away.

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travisurfer

I just got an astrea, three ceriths, and a turbo. Also, the zombie snail; cant remember if I posted about him but he was half eaten but still alive; is starting to regenerate his shell. :scarry:

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How big of a tank is needed to keep a mantis? glass or acrylic? and how often do you feed him? (doesn't it get expensive buying snails etc?)

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Cozmo has been confirmed G. graphurus after inspecting his molt. :D

 

Great!, you were able to find the median carinule then? It's always nice to have a positive ID. Are you going to have the molt bronzed? ;)

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Argent,

it depends on the type of stompatopod. Most are fine in a glass tank. But ones that get over 4'' long such as the G.chiragra or O. scyllarus (peacock) needs a tank with glass over 8mm thick.

 

I use a acrylic cube with fake back wall and built in skimmer for my peacock. Its 3/4'' acrylic. With acrylic stand and canopy to make it look good lol. In the pic sorry about the dirty glass.

 

~Brian

 

aut0406aog7.jpg

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I have a 3 gallon eclipse aquarium that's now looking for something to inhabit it -- and was hoping I could put a small smasher in there.

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travisurfer

Ok, here it goes.

>>halfpint, I will take a pic of his the one piece that I found since they eat most of the rest of it. Too bad I couldnt get his raptorial appendages.

>>argent, you could get a small species of mantis in a smaller tank but they would make for a heavy bioload. you would need a long, wide tank for him to roam around. The problem is that some species burry their molts, they tend to save their food occasionally, and the molt can stop powerheads. all of those can spell doom for a mantis. acryllic holds up better than glass but G. chiragra and O. scyllarus are the only ones you really have to watch out for since they are the agressive ones. I feed him every other day with frozen shrimp soaked in zoecon. snails arent very expensive. I just keep them in there to give him some live prey and keep him in hunting shape. Feeding isnt that expensive and thats coming from a cheap high school student.

>>doctoxyn, yes I found the median carinule. I took the tail piece out and examined it. The little arrow is barely recognizable even when its sitting still in front of my face. lol, anyway it feels great to get a positive ID on him so I can know what I should expect from him. Im not going to get the molt bronzed but the one piece I have is sitting on my desk.

>>mantis_man, that O. scyllarus tank looks nice but a bit small. I can tell where his burrow is too. Not very secretive your mantis is he. Anyway, what size tank is it?

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its a big 20x20x25'' cubeish custom tank. rounded corners with skimmer and everything. I have a small 1.5'' N.wenn in a 2.5gal tank. The bioload is big. But i have a 2.5gal sump, Fuge, And a skimmer.

 

This is the 2.5gal and its 28'' tall. With 2 13watt PC's over it. Thats before corals. Its a nano reef.

 

aut0553ahf9.jpg

 

aut0554kl8.jpg

 

aut0564alw1.jpg

 

aut0558zm1.jpg

 

Crappy pic but you get the idea on what he did.

 

aut0624aer0.jpg

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yankeereefer

Trav-

 

News! Got some plumbing last night for my soon to be 5.5g mantis tank - I also have a local guy tearing down his tank so I'll have cured LR/LS this Sunday. Spoke w/my LFS too. He still has the mantis. So I confirmed with him that I'll be taking the mantis of his hands. I can't wait!! Need cool name now...Perhaps I'll post pix upon arrival and start a Poll...

 

Anyway Travis, now that you've had Cozmo for a little bit, perhaps you can share what changes (if any) that you have noticed in the upkeep and maintenance of the mantis tank vs. reef tank (w/fishies)- Are you having to change water more frequently? Do you see differences in water tests (more nitrate) b/c of mantis eating habits? Have to maintain sandbed cleanliness (w/o shrimps, snails, hermits)? Stuff like that.

 

YR

Edited by yankeereefer
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