rynia93
New Member
Hi everyone.
I'm relatively new to aquariums but I've always wanted a mantis shrimp and I finally have one! I've been reading up a lot and thank you all for your previous threads and how much help they have been. My boyfriend is a fishroom manager at World of Water in the UK, so he has been helping as much as he can - although mantis shrimps are relatively new to him. Which is why I was hoping your experiences might help with my concern for Manny (the mantis shrimp).
I have a Red Sea Max Nano 20g tank for Manny, about a 3.5" peacock mantis shrimp. Current water parameters are 25*C, 1.025 SG, 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, 2-3ppm nitrate.
We got Manny on 31st January, initially very shy and didn't want to eat for a few days, he made himself a burrow at the back and hid there for most of the first few days. He then ate a mussel on 5th February and became very active, started redecorating the tank, moved burrow (filled in the old one and started burrowing in the new one, moving rocks etc), there is a little shelf in the live rock which he has jazzed up with some pretty shells found in the sand, and became very inquisitive with us when we were watching him. Didn't eat the next day, figured he wasn't hungry, but then devoured another mussel on the 7th. So all seemed well. The past couple of days he hasn't wanted any food, he's been moving the food further and further away from his burrow, so I got the message, he didn't want it. This morning, checked the water parameters and everything seems fine, checked on him and he popped out to look at me and all seemed good.
Went to do a food shop and when I got back, I popped my head in and he's on his side inside his burrow, just waving his pleopods around, occasionally shifting on to his other side to do the same. His eyes are still moving around and checking things out, have read that some people's mantis shrimp do this when they're napping, or it's a sign of a moult? I then noticed that there are a couple of his pereiopods sticking out of the sand inside his burrow, looks like they have ripped off rather than moulted as they are still bright red.
I have turned the light off on his tank and have left him alone since in case he is moulting.
Does anyone have any knowledge as to what's going on - is he moulting or should I be worried? If he is moulting, is there anything I can do? - I've seen a few comments on dosing iodine but also read elsewhere that they gain the necessary iodine from the water anyway and dosing with extra is actually really bad - any feedback to this? If he's not moulting - how on earth has he managed to rip off his pereiopods?! - he has the tank to himself.
Thanks in advance
I'm relatively new to aquariums but I've always wanted a mantis shrimp and I finally have one! I've been reading up a lot and thank you all for your previous threads and how much help they have been. My boyfriend is a fishroom manager at World of Water in the UK, so he has been helping as much as he can - although mantis shrimps are relatively new to him. Which is why I was hoping your experiences might help with my concern for Manny (the mantis shrimp).
I have a Red Sea Max Nano 20g tank for Manny, about a 3.5" peacock mantis shrimp. Current water parameters are 25*C, 1.025 SG, 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, 2-3ppm nitrate.
We got Manny on 31st January, initially very shy and didn't want to eat for a few days, he made himself a burrow at the back and hid there for most of the first few days. He then ate a mussel on 5th February and became very active, started redecorating the tank, moved burrow (filled in the old one and started burrowing in the new one, moving rocks etc), there is a little shelf in the live rock which he has jazzed up with some pretty shells found in the sand, and became very inquisitive with us when we were watching him. Didn't eat the next day, figured he wasn't hungry, but then devoured another mussel on the 7th. So all seemed well. The past couple of days he hasn't wanted any food, he's been moving the food further and further away from his burrow, so I got the message, he didn't want it. This morning, checked the water parameters and everything seems fine, checked on him and he popped out to look at me and all seemed good.
Went to do a food shop and when I got back, I popped my head in and he's on his side inside his burrow, just waving his pleopods around, occasionally shifting on to his other side to do the same. His eyes are still moving around and checking things out, have read that some people's mantis shrimp do this when they're napping, or it's a sign of a moult? I then noticed that there are a couple of his pereiopods sticking out of the sand inside his burrow, looks like they have ripped off rather than moulted as they are still bright red.
I have turned the light off on his tank and have left him alone since in case he is moulting.
Does anyone have any knowledge as to what's going on - is he moulting or should I be worried? If he is moulting, is there anything I can do? - I've seen a few comments on dosing iodine but also read elsewhere that they gain the necessary iodine from the water anyway and dosing with extra is actually really bad - any feedback to this? If he's not moulting - how on earth has he managed to rip off his pereiopods?! - he has the tank to himself.
Thanks in advance
