10 Gallon Juvenile Peacock Mantis Build

[cshouston]

My LFS had a couple of peacock mantis shrimps come in, and I have a spare 10 gallon tank stand, so it was really just simple mathematics. I’m going to be setting up a species tank for one of the little guys and documenting it in this thread. Eventually, I plan to set up a nicer 40 gallon habitat for it, but right now it’s just a 2” little guy, so I’ll be doing that over time.

I’m starting off with a standard 10g tank, CaribSea special grade sand, marine aquarium gravel (coral rubble and pieces of shell), a spare submersible heater, and a Seachem Tidal 35 power filter. I’ll be using the same salt I use for my reef tank: Tropic Marin Pro Reef. I’ll be adding live rock once the initial setup is complete, as well as a small pvc hideaway.

I debated getting some acrylic cut to line the bottom of the tank in order to avoid the risk of having the shrimp crack the glass while digging, but from what I’ve gathered, the risk is very minimal. I think I’ll get some HDPE to line the bottom when I set up the 40, but for the short term I don’t think a 2” mantis is going to do any real damage.

If anyone has some personal experiences and anecdotes to share, I’d love to hear them. Any tips and advice are welcomed.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

I've always wanted to keep a mantis! Following along for some pictures!

 

[FreshwaterConvert]

Wow I’m so jealous. I’m friends with the girl who does the ordering at my LFS and she hasn’t been able to get any in for what seems like ages. I’m definitely taking notes for my own setup for sure. I’m wanting to probably do a smithii or a wennerae or something similar size wise, and that looks perfect. Are you planning on running a skimmer at all with the 10 gallon setup? Or with the 40? Or not at all?

 

[bradzx]

My 15g nano setup

 

[FreshwaterConvert]

@bradzx is that a fluval flex? What skimmer are you running, and what lighting?

 

[cshouston]

Wow I’m so jealous. I’m friends with the girl who does the ordering at my LFS and she hasn’t been able to get any in for what seems like ages. I’m definitely taking notes for my own setup for sure. I’m wanting to probably do a smithii or a wennerae or something similar size wise, and that looks perfect. Are you planning on running a skimmer at all with the 10 gallon setup? Or with the 40? Or not at all?

I’ll be running a small skimmer with the 40, but I’m not going to stress it on the 10. Water changes will suffice for nutrient export. I hope you can find one soon!

 

[bradzx]

@bradzx is that a fluval flex? What skimmer are you running, and what lighting?

Yeas it’s a fluval 15g flex with the fluval ps2 mini skimmer and aqua knight light

 

[cshouston]

Sand, shells and crushed coral went in today. Saltwater will be going in shortly, then tomorrow I’ll pick up a few pieces of live rock to put in there and start cycling!

 

[Tamberav]

Fun! I had a peacock years ago that was only like 1/2 inch ..she grew so fast! Must have been at least 4 inches in less than a year.

 

[FreshwaterConvert]

Where did you get the shells? Is there a specific kind I should try to get or try to avoid?

 

[Daniel]

Love Peacock Mantis! Can't wait to see it in the tank!

 

[cshouston]

Where did you get the shells? Is there a specific kind I should try to get or try to avoid?

It’s just this stuff, but I only used several handfuls and pressed it into the CaribSea special grade reef sand.

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/caribsea-coraline-aquarium-gravel

 

[cshouston]

Sneak peak at the peacock mantis...

The juvenile peacock mantis. It’s only about 2-3” right now. They also have big brother...

 

[cshouston]

Initial setup is done, but I may add more rock later. I also plan to add a few soft corals to the rockwork.

 

[cshouston]

The small amount of ammonium chloride I put in the tank to check the cycle was processed overnight, so the live rock I got from the LFS really was “live”, fortunately. I decided to add a little more Dr. Tim’s just to be safe, and today I added the mantis. It’s doing well, scoping out its new domain, and looking for the best place to build a burrow.

 

[Tamberav]

Beautiful mantis but that small one isn't a peacock. Nothing wrong with that except it may not be what you wanted if you were hoping for it to grow larger.

Maybe Neogonodactylys wennerae? They are still active and entertaining.

 

[cshouston]

You’re absolutely right. I looked it up and it does look like that. It was marked as a juvenile peacock, and I read they’re yellow when small, but this does look like wennerae. Good catch! I’m going to take it back and just get the big peacock mantis which I know is 100% a peacock.

 

[cshouston]

The live rock was apparently hiding a small crab, because they had a showdown that I caught the tail end of. The crab went down the pvc and the mantis gave up.

 

[Mr_Knightley]

I would ay keep the Wennerae! I personally think it looks cooler than the peacock, and something different is always fun to keep. I'll follow along as the little guy grows, this should be interesting.

 

[Tamberav]

You may want to consider a bigger tank for an adult peacock as it will provide a lot more entertainment if they have plenty of area to explore.

That being said, I would keep the one you have as she/he seems very entertaining!!

I am guessing whoever said that was misinformed because they are identical coloring, just smaller.

Here is the one I had many years ago... she ended up constructing a tunnel the entire length of the 20g long from one end to the other.