peacock mantis & cuc???

[Valkyrie]

Hi guys,
I have a beauty of a peacock mantis named Harley Quinn, living in a 20 long. A 45g will be the permanent home, but it needs to be set up and start cycling. I adore my sweet smasher and I'm learning that feeding everyday isn't a great idea. Every other day HQ kicks out the dinner from the night before. Is this usual?

What on earth do peacock mantis shrimp keepers do to keep the dang algae and detritus cleaned up? HQ smacked down a huge brittle star for having the gall to grab some grub that I put in for the star! Dead in less than 24 hours, with that piece of krill underneath it. I felt so bad. Someone had told me, oh no worries, as long as a peacock mantis is well fed they'll not bother a brittle star. Seriously? HQ said, "NOT IN MY HOUSE! and that was the end of that.

 

[Tyler_Fishman]

Mantis shrimp =- cuc, it's a simple equation that every reef keeper knows . They keep their algae down by low nitrates and phosphates most likely.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Your best option is probably diligent nutrient export in the form of filter media and water changes. I would say manual removal of any nuisance algae but I don't think it's ever a good idea to put your hands in the water with a mantis shrimp

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

If you having algae in Mantis tank then you are having too much light and it would be bad for the Mantis, it's required low light and even better if you using very dim blue light just enough to light up the tank so you can see your pet, I kept mantis shrimp for over 5 years and never have algae issue in its tank and I target feed it every 2 days, I kept it with 9x Fiji Damsel. If you have a right condition for the mantis you will see it out and around the tank pretty all day long (day time) collecting rubble coral/rocks to decorate its burrow/caves, you will have to add rubble material in your tank from time to time to keep the mantis busy and will be shock how much it can do with those rubble corals/rocks.

 

[Valkyrie]

Thanks. I had thought strong lighting was what was problematic. S’okay, I don’t mind running blues.

I know the ideal is to have low phosphates & nitrates and I do my water changes. Reality is that there is a reason we stock our reefs with cuc. I just thought I’d ask since even in this forum there is mention of inhabitants I did not think would survive a mantis domain. My plan is for HQ and corals, I’ll stick to it.

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

Thanks. I had thought strong lighting was what was problematic. S’okay, I don’t mind running blues.

I know the ideal is to have low phosphates & nitrates and I do my water changes. Reality is that there is a reason we stock our reefs with cuc. I just thought I’d ask since even in this forum there is mention of inhabitants I did not think would survive a mantis domain. My plan is for HQ and corals, I’ll stick to it.

It will kill most CUC even snail will get eaten, if you plan to add coral then you must glue it down to your rock work or the coral frag will ended up in/on the mantis home, also it will dig or hammer anything it like into pieces and took it home so don't surprise if you have a arco missing a branch, or a hole appear in 1 of your priceless Acro or any sps corals Mantis shrimp own it own species tank for a reason!

 

[Valkyrie]

Harley Quinn and I are both SPS killers
It’ll be mushrooms, toadstools and LPS. If they get killed, then I’ll not add anymore.

 

[TheMantisman]

If you do not want corals then you don't need a bright light on the tank at all I never use to realllly keep coral tanks I mean that's why I'm the Mantisman and not the... Coralman ?

As others have stated with Mantis Shrimp (Particularly Peacocks) you want to be careful about your lighting however there is one area (which you kinda made obvious might not be the go anyway) that allows individuals to have very bright lights with their peacock mantis shrimp and that is very very good water quality consistently because the problem isn't the lights the problem is a "phase" thing and this problem is Shell Rot a common disease in certain species of stomatopods and lethal if left unchecked.

So this is how I Problem Solve Shell Rot...Problems lol.

#1 Problem - Water Quality (The disease is water born and needs poor water quality to grow).
#2 Problem - Bright Lights (The disease seems to be highly photogenic in that bright lights make it rapidly grow/spread).
#3 Problem - Stress (This is typically a byproduct of a neglected mantis that also is currently under Problem #1 & 2).

The following can be gathered from the above...thus making the answer clear.

Great water quality negates the ability for the virus to itself live in the water(or be physically present), thus making bright lights no problem because the disease itself simply is not present.

This is why some veteran mantis reefers have combined the best of both worlds, a giant colorful as a rainbow peacock mantis inside a huge fully stock reef tank filled with what is effectively a mantis buffet and yet these individual veteran mantis reefers don't lose those insanely prices tiny inverts to the peacock mantis nor does the mantis undergo any Shell Rot from the crazy light systems used to grow the equally crazy SPS/Clams within the tank.

But if your not 110% confident in your ability to maintain that very good water quality so you can have bright lights to keep things like SPS then there is still a balance that can be had!

Less light demanding corals (Some LPS, Mushies, Softies, NPS, etc) are the next best thing!

The basic principle is this when it comes to a certain lack of understanding/confidence in ones newly found cretaceous overlord (the mantis...).

Less Light is Best!

The less light you have entering the tank the less risk you will have shell rot, even if your water quality isn't up to the standards of harvesting SPS every dang weekend (but we are still talking Protein Skimmers people!)

For myself personally I understand the animals (and really like them if that ain't obvious!) which is why I give them exactly (through my knowledge from others, I ain't no professor lol) what they need, lots of personal trials and errors taught me lots of things (far more errors lol).

 

[Valkyrie]

But if your not 110% confident in your ability to maintain that very good water quality so you can have bright lights to keep things like SPS then there is still a balance that can be had!

Less light demanding corals (Some LPS, Mushies, Softies, NPS, etc) are the next best thing!

The basic principle is this when it comes to a certain lack of understanding/confidence in ones newly found cretaceous overlord (the mantis...).

Less Light is Best!

The less light you have entering the tank the less risk you will have shell rot, even if your water quality isn't up to the standards of harvesting SPS every dang weekend (but we are still talking Protein Skimmers people!)

For myself personally I understand the animals (and really like them if that ain't obvious!) which is why I give them exactly (through my knowledge from others, I ain't no professor lol) what they need, lots of personal trials and errors taught me lots of things (far more errors lol).

Thank you for your detailed reply. It's greatly appreciated.
I'm much happier with the low lights, LPS & mushrooms.

 

[TheMantisman]

Even though I'm more than knowledgeable to grow SPS and harvest it alongside Mantis Shrimp (as I use to be heavily into corals) it's just not for me now anyway and the one thing I've learned by just not having them is that it allows me to focus a whole lot more on the Mantis which is what I am ALL about

I go so far now as to treat my mantis systems like Old Skool Photography Dark Rooms (prevent as much light as possible from not only entering the tank, but the room itself! It works very well specially against any potential algae problems, it really comes down to how you "Reef" though.

Most people don't do what I do which means I need to think differently to them, not only that but I can't...ask people for help O_O because there is no one...to ask, a lot of what I do now is trial and error with certain successes now cemented (aka PVC!) after the decade long experiences.