15g Caribbean Mantis Build

brandon p

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I've been in the hobby for almost 10 years. I am monitoring ammonia on this tank and it is not a problem. Also mechanical filtration isn't a requirement on tanks.
I understand that. But you had something in a new build die and well...
 

brandon p

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I understand that. But you had something in a new build die and well...
Also, as you know, being in the hobby as long as you have, that ‘scavenger’ is not synonymous with ‘easy’ and that inverts are all very susceptible to ANY fluctuations in ANYTHING. And that smaller environments create a greater affect/effect from much smaller percentages/titrations. I have a very successful sps tank with a lot of acros and a pistol/watchman duo in a 29. And nothing I do with it is the standard way. It’s a beautiful, yet nutrient-rich tank. I don’t even have a hob fuge. I have a hundred dollar skimmer than I run sometimes and a tiny hob filter that I never really change. Got great light though.
Trust me, I’m not a gadget-guy. When I mentioned your lack of mechanical filtration that was simply compounded by the other things I mentioned. Best of luck, friend. Included is a picture of my beautiful mess

image.jpg image.jpg
 

najer

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I've been in the hobby for almost 10 years. I am monitoring ammonia on this tank and it is not a problem. Also mechanical filtration isn't a requirement on tanks.

I have a tank nearly ready (still dry, waiting on acrylic for the base) for a mantis, this is my 13.5 G with no mechanical filtration, there are currently two rescue sps in there, also no waterchanges unless required, I will research this mantis as I don't have room for a peacock in the tank, keep it going, watching. :)

DSC_0001 (1024x759).jpg
 
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Steve Erekson

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I understand that. But you had something in a new build die and well...

Yes I also started it with maricultured live rock and a bunch of fully cycled marinepure from another system and the other inverts in the tank right now are more than happy, including my mystery clicker who I have yet to identify as well as snails, sponges, worms, stars, and lots of other life. My alk, calc, salinity, temp are all rock solid where I want them to be, this isn't my first nano and I understand how stability works.

Sometimes things just die. Mantis' are known for sometimes dying to a bad molt because of how difficult the process is on them. Or potentially the mystery clicker in the tank (pistol or a different mantis) killed it.
 
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Steve Erekson

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I have a tank nearly ready (still dry, waiting on acrylic for the base) for a mantis, this is my 13.5 G with no mechanical filtration, there are currently two rescue sps in there, also no waterchanges unless required, I will research this mantis as I don't have room for a peacock in the tank, keep it going, watching. :)

DSC_0001 (1024x759).jpg

I see you are also a fan of the asterina clean-up crew. I have an absurd amount in my 20g. For a smaller tank wennerae and smithii are usually the best choices according to Roy. Smithii is going to be really hard to find, even wennerae are difficult to find right now but hopefully KP Aquatics and Saltybottom will have some back in stock soon.
 
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Steve Erekson

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No real updates so far. I've been trying to track down the mystery clicker which I really do believe is a second mantis, one that came in with the shipment but that I never noticed. I'm thinking it isn't a pistol shrimp because I am getting multiple clicks in a row. It is still fewer clicks than when I had just introduced the other mantis (double the mantis double the clicks right?) and I think that's also because this one already had its burrow built inside the rock when it arrived here, so less work to do.

I've read some accounts of other wennerae keepers who have had multiple in one tank and one mantis entering the burrow of a freshly molted mantis to murder it is extremely common. It's unfortunate I didn't realize that the tank was already inhabited but I guess I didn't really know what to listen for and what clicks might be the heater relay and what might not.

So the current plan is keep moving rocks around and rotating them to try and see inside every hole and find which one is the burrow. I'll update you when I find it,
 

cshouston

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No real updates so far. I've been trying to track down the mystery clicker which I really do believe is a second mantis, one that came in with the shipment but that I never noticed. I'm thinking it isn't a pistol shrimp because I am getting multiple clicks in a row. It is still fewer clicks than when I had just introduced the other mantis (double the mantis double the clicks right?) and I think that's also because this one already had its burrow built inside the rock when it arrived here, so less work to do.

I've read some accounts of other wennerae keepers who have had multiple in one tank and one mantis entering the burrow of a freshly molted mantis to murder it is extremely common. It's unfortunate I didn't realize that the tank was already inhabited but I guess I didn't really know what to listen for and what clicks might be the heater relay and what might not.

So the current plan is keep moving rocks around and rotating them to try and see inside every hole and find which one is the burrow. I'll update you when I find it,
Cool. Let us know! I still wanna put $5 on a pistol, especially given how elusive it has been. Mantis tend to come out to hunt. I get multiple clicks from my pistols, probably warning shots or going after pods. I’m also positive I have no mantis because I’ve seen the pistol in its burrows by viewing the tank from the underside, inside the stand.

good luck finding it, whatever it is!
 
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Steve Erekson

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Cool. Let us know! I still wanna put $5 on a pistol, especially given how elusive it has been. Mantis tend to come out to hunt. I get multiple clicks from my pistols, probably warning shots or going after pods. I’m also positive I have no mantis because I’ve seen the pistol in its burrows by viewing the tank from the underside, inside the stand.

good luck finding it, whatever it is!

Yeah I've looked under the tank, seen nothing. I've moved the rocks, nothing in the sand under it. I think I've narrowed it down to the big rock where I saw a puff of debris exit a hole earlier today. I'm still betting on mantis but we'll see what shows up.
 

cshouston

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4A3A7D31-19EA-400A-BFD2-7190CB6B811B.jpeg

This is the Alpheus formosus that hitchhiked in with my KP rock. It definitely snaps multiple times in a row. Sometimes, the snapping is actually scraping as I’ve seen that it uses the non-pistol claw to dig against the rock.

Any luck with your hunt?
 
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Steve Erekson

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Any luck with your hunt?

Nope, and it sure isn't for lack of trying either. If it's a pistol shrimp it is 100% living in the rock and never goes to the sand because multiple times now I have moved all rocks to the sandbed and waited a day or so then picked all the rocks up to look under them. I do still think it is inside the big rock, whatever it is, as I'm seeing odd ejections of sand sometimes. However, last night during after hours viewing I caught a very long white wormy thing that moved very quickly out of a hole in the rock, some sand and debris came with it, then it shot back in. No clue what that was but it was super interesting!
 
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Steve Erekson

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Did you ever figure out what was in there?

Nope, it's still there doing it though. Could be a pistol, could be a very reclusive mantis like N. curacaoensis. It doesn't help that I have rock dwelling spaghetti worms that like to dump sand out of the back end of their tubes, made me think for the longest time it was the mantis burrow.

What's giving me the most trouble is just how porous this rock is. I have one rock that's maybe 8 inches across but the thing must have 100 different holes in it, all interconnecting. It's almost impossible to find this bugger.

At this point I may just grab the next N. wennerae or O. havanesis I see in stock and throw it in there and see what happens.
 
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Steve Erekson

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Quick update. I have a new Mantis, purchased it from Saltybottom. It's another wennerae but this one is big, about 3". I've had it for over a week now and it's been doing really great and has been becoming more active and exploring the tank. I don't really have any good pictures of it yet though, so stay tuned and hopefully I'll remedy that!

EDIT: He got busy with some really interesting burrowing and rubble smacking activity so I got a little video. It's bad quality with dirty glass, my hands shaking, and my cat yelling at me. But it's super interesting watching him digging around.

 
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TheShrimpNibbler

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Quick update. I have a new Mantis, purchased it from Saltybottom. It's another wennerae but this one is big, about 3". I've had it for over a week now and it's been doing really great and has been becoming more active and exploring the tank. I don't really have any good pictures of it yet though, so stay tuned and hopefully I'll remedy that!

EDIT: He got busy with some really interesting burrowing and rubble smacking activity so I got a little video. It's bad quality with dirty glass, my hands shaking, and my cat yelling at me. But it's super interesting watching him digging around.


That’s a very cool video!
 

FreshwaterConvert

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I didn’t know you could put nerite snails in a saltwater tank. I know they need brackish conditions to breed but thats all I really now about them. Could you take a nerite from a freshwater tank and acclimate it to salt? If so, my mantis food bill might’ve just gotten a lot cheaper...
 
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Steve Erekson

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I didn’t know you could put nerite snails in a saltwater tank. I know they need brackish conditions to breed but thats all I really now about them. Could you take a nerite from a freshwater tank and acclimate it to salt? If so, my mantis food bill might’ve just gotten a lot cheaper...

I'm not sure if they're the same species or not but I buy saltwater nerites at the LFS, it wouldn't surprise me if they were the same. Also for what it's worth I feed my mantis frozen fish food with long forceps, he hunts for fun.
 
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