Peacock mantis reef build

mantisreefer

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Hey Everyone! Just want to document here my current reef build for my peacock mantis shrimp.

I picked up a water box cube 20, nero3, ai prime, and upgraded the return pump to a 1.5 syncra silent (stock return is loud!!) I’ll be adding a duetto ato soon too. Still waiting on ai prime from Amazon to show up. I do not plan on running a skimmer but if needed will do.

It’s been about a week since the tank has been setup. The mantis is currently in qt while tank is cycling he’s currently house with a hermit in qt (suppose to be food!) but has shown no interest, he sure does love silversides though.

Was wondering what light cycle I should be running for mostly a soft coral tank with some lps in the future.

stock plans if mantis doesn’t kill everything
mantis
Velvet damsel
Pair of clowns
Possible six line wrasse or tailspot Blenny
Mixed soft corals
Hermits and snails

Thank you in advanced, I do understand the risks I have with a mantis in a reef but I’m willing to try to make it work.

B395D483-8C4F-4F79-B6A4-6ACA7CB7F9C8.jpeg ABC3BEE2-DE5E-4B56-B6C9-1D08D8EBF6CC.jpeg
 

Benjammin

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Cool critter. As for light I’d turn it up very slowly for coral. 5-10% per week, 8 hrs at max and about an hour of ramp up and down. I’d check with other members who have ai prime lights about intensity. Also, if you just get a few softies to start (what I did) don’t worry too much about feeding them. Fish turds will do that.
Also, I have a sixline and he is an ******. Very territorial fish that will claim the whole tank.
 
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mantisreefer

mantisreefer

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Cool critter. As for light I’d turn it up very slowly for coral. 5-10% per week, 8 hrs at max and about an hour of ramp up and down. I’d check with other members who have ai prime lights about intensity. Also, if you just get a few softies to start (what I did) don’t worry too much about feeding them. Fish turds will do that.
Also, I have a sixline and he is an ******. Very territorial fish that will claim the whole tank.
In that case a six line might be the perfect companion for a mantis lol. I’ve seen many threads/videos of other reefers having mantis with other fish I think the #1 rule is to keep them fat and happy.

Thank you for your input on the lighting can’t wait to start adding some frags!! I’ll be starting with zoas and mushrooms to see how that goes.

Is a duetto the best option for a nano ato? I’ve read some mixed reviews on it but it seems like my best option, seems like the nano tunze has more bad reviews than the duetto. Thanks
 

Benjammin

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I got a tunze ato but if the reviews are good then it’s prob good. For the new corals look into a frag rack, I made this out of an old hob filter.
 

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mantisreefer

mantisreefer

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I got a tunze ato but if the reviews are good then it’s prob good. For the new corals look into a frag rack, I made this out of an old hob filter.
How long have you had the tunze set up for? Any problems with it? I am kind of torn between the two because the full-size tunze has good reviews.

I have a magnetic frag rack arriving Sunday from amazon, hopefully that stops him from trying to move the frags around while they’re acclimating to the light.

btw nice zoas!! The one in the middle is really nice!
 

Wick3d_1

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Here's my question and it may seem silly but how are you going to work in the tank? Mantis have a nasty punch and idk if I would risk getting on the receiving end. Is that a possibility? I would love a peacock mantis tank. So, I'm just asking for my own curiosity.
 
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mantisreefer

mantisreefer

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Here's my question and it may seem silly but how are you going to work in the tank? Mantis have a nasty punch and idk if I would risk getting on the receiving end. Is that a possibility? I would love a peacock mantis tank. So, I'm just asking for my own curiosity.
Honestly everything has risk, I’d rather be “punched” by a mantis than be bitten by a dog any day of the week. As long as I’m cautious I don’t think anything bad will happen.

I’ve done some rearranging of the pvc pipes in the qt tank with no reaction from him, the only time he gets rambunctious is when I’m feeding him.
 

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I had a mantis back in the day, and it left fish alone. Any invert in the tank was quickly turned to lunch. It was a G. Smithii though, so much smaller. I’ve heard it’s really hit and miss whether or not they will kill fish. Also, you might want to check on lighting. If I remember correctly, mantis like subdued lighting and strong lights can cause shell rot.
 

Wick3d_1

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Honestly everything has risk, I’d rather be “punched” by a mantis than be bitten by a dog any day of the week. As long as I’m cautious I don’t think anything bad will happen.

I’ve done some rearranging of the pvc pipes in the qt tank with no reaction from him, the only time he gets rambunctious is when I’m feeding him.
Yeah I've heard they are pretty unbothered unless feeding. I was just curious. They are really cool little creatures.
 
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mantisreefer

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I had a mantis back in the day, and it left fish alone. Any invert in the tank was quickly turned to lunch. It was a G. Smithii though, so much smaller. I’ve heard it’s really hit and miss whether or not they will kill fish. Also, you might want to check on lighting. If I remember correctly, mantis like subdued lighting and strong lights can cause shell rot.
Hoping he/she is gentle with fish but time will tell, damsel will be the first test hoping to get one next weekend.

I believe shell rot has been proven to be more of a stress induced situation but still no hard evidence on either theory. I’ll be running my light at a low percentage just to grow softies, I’m hoping if she makes a nice comfy cave she won’t be in contact with too much light.
 
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mantisreefer

mantisreefer

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Yeah I've heard they are pretty unbothered unless feeding. I was just curious. They are really cool little creatures.
They really are, almost seems like he/she is already starting to recognize my face and perks up every time I come by the qt tank.

Can’t wait to get her into the waterbox then I’ll see her true personality lol! She does not like the bare bottom qt tank, always trying to crawl around and dig but can’t and I feel bad.
 

Benjammin

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How long have you had the tunze set up for? Any problems with it? I am kind of torn between the two because the full-size tunze has good reviews.

I have a magnetic frag rack arriving Sunday from amazon, hopefully that stops him from trying to move the frags around while they’re acclimating to the light.

btw nice zoas!! The one in the middle is really nice!
I’ve had the tunze for over a year with no problems. I found long tweezers on Amazon, might be helpful with keeping your hands out.
Thanks for the compliment. Love zoas!
The one in the middle is called “utter chaos”.
 

TheDragonsReef

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Dont get a peacock for that tank get one of the smaller smashing species and youll probably be fine with the fish. My smithii doesn't bother fish
 
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mantisreefer

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I’ve had the tunze for over a year with no problems. I found long tweezers on Amazon, might be helpful with keeping your hands out.
Thanks for the compliment. Love zoas!
The one in the middle is called “utter chaos”.
Yea I found some 20in feeding grabbers on amazon that I’ll be using for feedings and rearranging rock if need be.
 

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Cool critter. As for light I’d turn it up very slowly for coral. 5-10% per week, 8 hrs at max and about an hour of ramp up and down. I’d check with other members who have ai prime lights about intensity. Also, if you just get a few softies to start (what I did) don’t worry too much about feeding them. Fish turds will do that.
Also, I have a sixline and he is an ******. Very territorial fish that will claim the whole tank.
I had a six line in our tank growing up and ours was too. I thought we just had the random jerk. My dad got a rockfish and the wrass was dumb enough to pick on him. Ended up as lunch.
 
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