Mantis and mangrove lagoon

[razorskiss]

Got an N. wennerae off of a TBS shipment so I decided to spin up a new tank to house it. Wanted something a bit more interesting than just sand and rock so the plan is to plant some mangroves into this and create something like a coastal gulf biotope.

Glass:
UNS 60s

Gear:
Jebao SCP-90
Eheim Jaeger
No mechanical filtration

Substrate:
Mixed live sands
Caribsea mineral mud packed into mesh bags under the sand
A few extra pieces of TBS live rock

Lighting:
Kessil A160we tuna sun (expected next week), will likely add a 2nd if the mangroves grow in densely

Duetto ATO

Have a tiny in-tank nano canister I can add if needed for extra filtration

Plan is to let the tank settle over the weekend before attempting to move the tiny mantis

 

[jmarina]

Cool tank looking forward to watching your build!

 

[razorskiss]

I'm really loving the flow I get with this gyre turned all the way down in this small shallow tank, super dynamic and chaotic. Ordered some mangroves saplings, keep playing around with the live rock positioning. The wennerae is too small to take on hermits, I might add a bunch later next week to get some fun interest from them exploring the gently sloped but wide open sandbed along with a couple of bigger nassarius snails for some sand sifting action.

 

[razorskiss]

"hand" feeding the tiny N. wennerae

 

[officialreefbros]

Looks neat!

 

[Latte]

This sounds awesome! What a cool build

 

[DeniseAndy]

Excited to see this develop and mature. Looks like a great idea!

 

[razorskiss]

The kessil a160we tuna sun arrived, mangroves are expected tomorrow. Set up the kessil on the lowest output, 12h photoperiod. Thinking I'll eventually need a 2nd one if I can get at least one propagule to grow. Added the cannister in stuffed with polishing pad to get rid of the fine dust from the mineral mud. Have it running continuously with the gyre set to provide 4 surges a day lasting 2 hours each. Gives a nice mix of turbulent flow for tank health and calm periods for viewing.

As an aside, after a kessil on my first tank, an AI Prime on my 2nd, and now back to kessil for my 3rd no way I'm ever going back to AI, the color blending and shimmer on the kessil lights is just so far superior! I'm perfectly happy spending extra or buying used for this look.

 

[razorskiss]

Mangroves arrived!

During "slack tide":

During "tidal surge":

 

[razorskiss]

Mangroves arrived!

During "slack tide":

During "tidal surge":

The tank is definitely too small to support all 3 in the long run, but we'll see if they can get established and what kind of habit I can shape them into before thinning down to 1 or 2

 

[Lineatus]

Loving the dimensions on this tank, keep up the good work. Are the mangroves just being supported until they take root?

 

[razorskiss]

Loving the dimensions on this tank, keep up the good work. Are the mangroves just being supported until they take root?

Exactly right!

 

[razorskiss]

I've always felt that wide shallow tanks hit different, they evoke that magical feeling you get looking down into a tide pond or wading into the shallows. Trying to capture a modicum of that magic in this tank!

 

[Rubymoon286]

I'm excited to see this tank pan out!

 

[Stomatopods17]

This is exactly what I was planning to do for a future mantis!

Definitely following to learn from this.

Out of curiousity whats the coldest temp you can grow mangroves at? I was thinking of doing it for a cold water species but keeping it at around 74 which is the bare minimum for tropical and survivable for the mantis. If I could go lower that'd be great.

 

[razorskiss]

That's a great question and I don't have a firm answer. Most of what I've read suggests that temperatures above 68 F are generally well tolerated so I'd bet 74 would be fine. I'm running my tank slightly cool, around 76 F. That being said, containerized trees are often more sensitive to various stressors so no guarantees. Given that many aquarists keep them at 78, I doubt 74 would be an issue but genuine cold water below 70 would probably start to be problematic.

 

[razorskiss]

A bit of a minor diatom bloom, already subsiding. Mangroves are showing initial signs of growth, a few that hadn't been inserted into substrate had root growth, others are showing new leaf growth. Two are showing minor stress coloration on a few.leaves but mostly seem healthy.

The mantis shrimp continues to grow, he's maybe an inch long now and moves between holes in two nearby rocks. He lets me "hand" feed him with a pipette:

 

[Gumbies R Us]

A bit of a minor diatom bloom, already subsiding. Mangroves are showing initial signs of growth, a few that hadn't been inserted into substrate had root growth, others are showing new leaf growth. Two are showing minor stress coloration on a few.leaves but mostly seem healthy.

The mantis shrimp continues to grow, he's maybe an inch long now and moves between holes in two nearby rocks. He lets me "hand" feed him with a pipette:

Glad to see the mangroves are growing!

 

[TripFamAZ]

He’s so cute! Love your setup. Definite future goals for my peacock.

 

[razorskiss]

He’s so cute! Love your setup. Definite future goals for my peacock.

Oh man, a big shallow setup for a peacock would be incredible!