Mantis shrimp!! Should I?

[Rookie_reefer_420]

Been wanting to do a 60 ish gallon tank just for a mantis shrimp. Anyone have any experience keeping them and if so I would love to hear about your experiences and any advice.

 

[lion king]

I kept a green mantis once, frankly bored the p... out of me; I gave him away.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Be sure you know which species you are getting.-- http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/crustacea/malacostraca/eumalacostraca/royslist/ The ones listed as active/interactive are awesome. I've kept O. scyllarus, G. smithii, O. havanensis, and G. chiragra. My favorite of those was probably the O. havanensis. Same personality as the O scyllarus but in a smaller package, not prone to shell rot, and cheaper to feed. You need to offer the smashers hermits and snails at least periodically or they'll lose their raptorial appendage.

https://www.kpaquatics.com/product-category/marine-inverts/shrimps-and-mantis-shrimps/ has a decent selection. Bluezoo has a few species as well.

ETA--

 

[Mark Gray]

About 25 years or maybe more ago I had a 210 gallon tank that was running for well over a year, it had rock strait out or the south pacific, back then it was always recommended to fresh water dip your rock witch I did. Well I had a clown disappear and then I had a power blue tang just disappear. Turns out I had a mantis shrimp had to take all the rock out to catch him

 

[Rookie_reefer_420]

Be sure you know which species you are getting.-- http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/crustacea/malacostraca/eumalacostraca/royslist/ The ones listed as active/interactive are awesome. I've kept O. scyllarus, G. smithii, O. havanensis, and G. chiragra. My favorite of those was probably the O. havanensis. Same personality as the O scyllarus but in a smaller package, not prone to shell rot, and cheaper to feed. You need to offer the smashers hermits and snails at least periodically or they'll lose their raptorial appendage.

https://www.kpaquatics.com/product-category/marine-inverts/shrimps-and-mantis-shrimps/ has a decent selection. Bluezoo has a few species as well.

ETA--

Yea the one in the second video is what I was wanting to keep. Seems like a cool predator to have in a small tank by itself.

 

[Rookie_reefer_420]

About 25 years or maybe more ago I had a 210 gallon tank that was running for well over a year, it had rock strait out or the south pacific, back then it was always recommended to fresh water dip your rock witch I did. Well I had a clown disappear and then I had a power blue tang just disappear. Turns out I had a mantis shrimp had to take all the rock out to catch him

That’s a cool/sad story lol.

 

[Rookie_reefer_420]

I kept a green mantis once, frankly bored the p... out of me; I gave him away.

Ahh that’s unfortunate. They seem fun to watch eat

 

[Bob Loblaw]

That's an O scyllarus aka Peacock mantis. Need to provide plenty of rubble for it to form a burrow and subdued lighting to avoid shell rot. Mine never killed any fish but it always had live hermits and snails available. I bought hermits/snails in bulk online and reupped every month or two.

 

[Rookie_reefer_420]

That's an O scyllarus aka Peacock mantis. Need to provide plenty of rubble for it to form a burrow and subdued lighting to avoid shell rot. Mine never killed any fish but it always had live hermits and snails available. I bought hermits/snails in bulk online and reupped every month or two.

Thanks for that valuable info on the snails and rubble. I planned on making sure he was able to burrow and make a home.