Mantis Tank Care

[Zallergik]

I recently found out about mantis shrimp and they caught my attention. I have never owned a saltwater tank so I thought that this might be a good starting point. I was considering either getting a Peacock Mantis or a Smith Mantis. I was thinking a 30gallon if I was to get a Peacock and 10 gallon if I got Smiths. As I am new to saltwater tank and inverts in general any tips/info about care, feeding, tank setup/preparation tips or thoughts about what Mantis Shrimp would be better for a beginner are welcome.

 

[Derrick0580]

Make sure you corner it and pet it every day to curb aggression….lol, but in all seriousness google is your friend. A mantis is going to be like a typical invert, need low nitrate levels….and kill pretty much anything in the tank with it.

 

[Zallergik]

I recently found out about mantis shrimp and they caught my attention. I have never owned a saltwater tank so I thought that this might be a good starting point. I was considering either getting a Peacock Mantis or a Smith Mantis. I was thinking a 30gallon if I was to get a Peacock and 10 gallon if I got Smiths. As I am new to saltwater tank and inverts in general any tips/info about care, feeding, tank setup/preparation tips or thoughts about what Mantis Shrimp would be better for a beginner are welcome.

I forgot to mention this in the original post but my one worry is what to feed a mantis shrimp. I have seen many people feed their shrimp emerald crabs, crayfish and fish. I worry that I wont be always able to supply live foods all the time. Will frozen krill make due or are their some other foods that they will eat that I can buy thats non expensive and easier to get.

 

[Tathamet]

From a few videos I’ve seen. Frozen clams (in the shell) seems to be a popular food choice.

 

[vetteguy53081]

This is not a community specimen and should be in a tank by itself. They are cool and require shelled creatures such as snail, clam, mussel and shrimp for diet. They also must have cave structures in which to hide and will offer snapping sounds throughout the day especially when breaking shells

 

[Zallergik]

As I do more and more research I am leaning towards getting a peacock mantis shrimp. Will a 30 gallon tank be sufficient for it's life.

 

[Feet Pixel]

As I do more and more research I am leaning towards getting a peacock mantis shrimp. Will a 30 gallon tank be sufficient for it's life.

Yes that will be fine. If you want to have more control over where it lives, put a piece of PVC pipe under your rock. Nothing worse than a mantis that builds it's burrow at the back of the tank.
Don't put any fish/inverts in there unless you're okay with risking their death, no matter what size. Mine would also move my frag plugs down to their tunnel, so heads up for that too if you end up getting coral.

 

[Zallergik]

Okay so ive been continuing to do more research as I do more I still wanting a peacock mantis shrimp but not knowing if I will be able to handle due to this being my first saltwater tank and considering just going with a Neogonodactylus Wennerae mantis shrimp and just have a 20 gallon tank due to the smaller tank sizer and the equipment and setup needed being cheaper in price.

 

[Hadla]

Yeah if you haven’t had one before, start with a smaller and cheaper species first! Peacocks have been getting ridiculously expensive recently. If you look at Roy’s list stickied at the top of the mantis forum, you can find all the known species. Try going with any of the gonodactyl or neogonodactyl species they’ll all be fine in a standard 10 gallon as opposed to a 40 or bigger

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I wouldn't Say you can't have a community. Lol. It would just be a sacrificial community/very aggressive community.

Don't put anything in the tank you don't mind going missing. I added a purple reef lobster to a mixed reef tank 1 time. Awsome creature. Came out sometimes. Specially at night or early morning when the lights just came on and starred to ramp.

Downfall. A lot of shells around his hang out. Lol. He ate every single critter in a shell it could. I imagine ur Mantis will do the same.
I'd research others Mantis tanks and see what they keep with em if anything...
D

 

[Zallergik]

Yeah if you haven’t had one before, start with a smaller and cheaper species first! Peacocks have been getting ridiculously expensive recently. If you look at Roy’s list stickied at the top of the mantis forum, you can find all the known species. Try going with any of the gonodactyl or neogonodactyl species they’ll all be fine in a standard 10 gallon as opposed to a 40 or bigger

I think a smaller species is gonna be what I go with for budget reason and since its going to be my first mantis shrimp and saltwater tank.

 

[Feet Pixel]

I think a smaller species is gonna be what I go with for budget reason and since its going to be my first mantis shrimp and saltwater tank.

A Wennerae was my first shrimp, and that was also my first ever salttwater aquarium!

Very low maintenance, it would have taken effort rather than neglect to kill him. I had a lot of coral glued down and back then snails & hermits were super cheap (11 years ago!)

You can feed frozen food with a syringe and I used frozen shrimp to save some money. I had some random fish in there that lived for over a year if i recall correctly.

I recommend a smasher species over a spearing species. Smasher leave their burrows to hunt.

 

[Hadla]

All the species I mentioned are smashers. And yes on the food thing, you can also tong feed them! They’ll learn that it means food and come out to grab on if you want to try, you can hand feed. It really doesn’t hurt much when they hit you. They’re very curious about your hand and will want to check it out

 

[Latte]

All the species I mentioned are smashers. And yes on the food thing, you can also tong feed them! They’ll learn that it means food and come out to grab on if you want to try, you can hand feed. It really doesn’t hurt much when they hit you. They’re very curious about your hand and will want to check it out

Really it doesn't hurt when they punch you? Is that more just a peacock thing? Will they learn not to bother punching your hand? I'm thinking about trialling handfeeding now! Especially while my shrimp doesn't have any hammers!

 

[Hadla]

I’ve had lots of different ones hit my fingers and the hardest hitting is a chiragra which are never interactive imo so I don’t bother with them anymore! It hurts initially but not for longer than that. The worst I’ve felt is a few seconds of numbness on my finger. It does tend to hurt more if they hit on your nail though. It depends on each individual, some hit first and inspect later, some just inspect for potential food and don’t bother

and yeah while she doesn’t have any is the best time to interact with your hands! They very quickly learn what gives them food haha

 

[Latte]

I’ve had lots of different ones hit my fingers and the hardest hitting is a chiragra which are never interactive imo so I don’t bother with them anymore! It hurts initially but not for longer than that. The worst I’ve felt is a few seconds of numbness on my finger. It does tend to hurt more if they hit on your nail though. It depends on each individual, some hit first and inspect later, some just inspect for potential food and don’t bother

and yeah while she doesn’t have any is the best time to interact with your hands! They very quickly learn what gives them food haha

I might have to try! That's interesting, what exactly do you mean by interaction? Just coming out and watching you? I've got a graphurus and she always sticks her head out of her cave when I'm around

 

[Latte]

I just looked up Chiragra and it actually looks very similar to the one I've got! (And previously assumed to be graphurus)

 

[Hadla]

You only have the one right? If you can post a pic in white light, I can help id for you

most likely not a chiragra cause when I had them, I basically never saw them. And by interaction I mean sticking your hand in nearby to see how it reacts haha

 

[Latte]

You only have the one right? If you can post a pic in white light, I can help id for you

most likely not a chiragra cause when I had them, I basically never saw them. And by interaction I mean sticking your hand in nearby to see how it reacts haha

Sorry for the delay I've been away. Do these pictures help?

I've noticed she's been super active recently! Spending more and more time outside of her cave wondering around the tank. She's also been eating out of my hand as of the last few days, and I can 'pat' her (very gently) while she's investigating something outside her cave without her flinching or running away. She will sometimes come out I think to greet me perhaps! (Or beg for food haha)

Would love to confirm the ID if you've got more info! Seems she's a Graphurus from what I've read on Caldwell's website and previous comments on this forum. You can also see some other posts I've made in this thread when I first got her,

if you need more info.

 

[Hadla]

Yeah it’s very hard to tell til the smashers grow back in as there’s no meral spot! But graphurus seems to be the best fit whatever she is, she’s cute!

although now that I turned the brightness up on my phone, she could be a ternatensis! I see faint orange lines between the tail segments…