Setting up Mantis Shrimp tank. Need help from ppl with experience

[ADrunkBrownBear]

So to start, Mantis Shrimps are what got me into Saltwater tanks in the first place. I was quite intimidated at first and decided to start out with a Reef tank first. So far iv had quite a bit of success but now i feel ready to get the Mantis shrimp. Iv already purchased an acrylic tank and iv got my rock ordered so I can start scaping the tank. I got a 40 gallon tank (yes I know thats quite large for a mantis, but im hopeful and going to try and keep 2). My main question is filtration. I was initially planning on the Shark300 Internal Protein Skimmer and a Tidal55 HOB Filter. Would that be sufficient?

 

[Subsea]

Filtration is way much more than what is needed for 2 shrimp.


What kind of rock is going into tank?

What other livestock is going in the tank besides 2 mantis shrimp?

 

[ADrunkBrownBear]

Filtration is way much more than what is needed for 2 shrimp.


What kind of rock is going into tank?

What other livestock is going in the tank besides 2 mantis shrimp?

Do you know what mantis shrimps are? They are insanely messy eaters! Lol I plan to have a couple clowns and thats really it... cant really have a CUC with a Mantis Shrimp lol

 

[Fish Fan]

Do you know what mantis shrimps are? They are insanely messy eaters! Lol I plan to have a couple clowns and thats really it... cant really have a CUC with a Mantis Shrimp lol

I promise you that the poster above knows what a Mantis is

What species are you hoping to keep? 40 gallons is about the minimum for a large Peacock mantis (Odontodactylus scyllarus), but on the larger side for some of the other, smaller species, which isn't a bad thing.

Having kept one myself, I have some concern about your plan to keep two in the same tank, I think that often ends in one very fat Mantis

Likewise, I'm not sure how successful keeping Clownfish will be, though it might work. I know some have decent success keeping small, savvy and quick Damsel fish with a Mantis, so the closely related Clownfish may work out

I disagree about the Clean Up Crew. Yes, the Mantis will go after them, but slowly over time as they see fit. This is healthy for a Mantis' well being, as they can naturally stalk and prey on the CUC critters when the mood strikes them. CUC animals are relatively cheap to replace, and should be a part of any Mantis setup, in my opinion. Take a look at places Like ReefCleaners.org for cheap CUC packages, or I personally recommend CoralMonsters.com.

I personally prefer the Fluval AquaClear filters to the SeaChem Tidal filters, but the Tidals are popular. I'd go larger than the 55, I'd get the 75 or even 110 for increased flow.

I would skip the Sicce skimmer for now. You might not need it, and I don't believe that is a very well regarded choice for a skimmer.

@Stomatopods17 will know all this for sure, if they have a minute to reply.

I hope this helps, good luck, and keep us posted on how it goes

 

[Subsea]

Do you know what mantis shrimps are? They are insanely messy eaters! Lol I plan to have a couple clowns and thats really it... cant really have a CUC with a Mantis Shrimp lol

Yes, I know what mantis shrimp are. The one that I had for a year came in with diver collected live rock. He behaved himself, well enough, with the rest of the CUC. I didn’t notice that he was a messy eaters, but then I didn’t feed him. HE CAUGHT WHATEVER HE EAT AND I AM SURE THAT HE DID NOT WASTE IT.

Maybe you should train yours to have better table manners.

 

[ADrunkBrownBear]

I promise you that the poster above knows what a Mantis is

What species are you hoping to keep? 40 gallons is about the minimum for a large Peacock mantis (Odontodactylus scyllarus), but on the larger side for some of the other, smaller species, which isn't a bad thing.

Having kept one myself, I have some concern about your plan to keep two in the same tank, I think that often ends in one very fat Mantis

Likewise, I'm not sure how successful keeping Clownfish will be, though it might work. I know some have decent success keeping small, savvy and quick Damsel fish with a Mantis, so the closely related Clownfish may work out

I disagree about the Clean Up Crew. Yes, the Mantis will go after them, but slowly over time as they see fit. This is healthy for a Mantis' well being, as they can naturally stalk and prey on the CUC critters when the mood strikes them. CUC animals are relatively cheap to replace, and should be a part of any Mantis setup, in my opinion. Take a look at places Like ReefCleaners.org for cheap CUC packages, or I personally recommend CoralMonsters.com.

I personally prefer the Fluval AquaClear filters to the SeaChem Tidal filters, but the Tidals are popular. I'd go larger than the 55, I'd get the 75 or even 110 for increased flow.

I would skip the Sicce skimmer for now. You might not need it, and I don't believe that is a very well regarded choice for a skimmer.

@Stomatopods17 will know all this for sure, if they have a minute to reply.

I hope this helps, good luck, and keep us posted on how it goes

I still plan to have a CUC but I honestly figured the mantis would just slaughter everything within a month or 2 lol ill look into the AquaClear filters as well. And tbh, i always thought you could only keep 1 mantis in a tank but iv seen a bunch of videos of this guy who has 2 full size mantis in the same tank and I was very intrigued!! As for the clowns, I planned to keep the aquascape about 1/3 the height of the tank so there would be plenty of room for the fish to escape the shrimp. And I figured if I had enough macroalgae, itd break their line of sight. And the Shark Skimmer was one of the first ones I looked into for internal Skimmers. I saw online that they are pretty nessasary for mantis since they are so messy of eaters..

 

[Fish Fan]

I still plan to have a CUC but I honestly figured the mantis would just slaughter everything within a month or 2 lol ill look into the AquaClear filters as well. And tbh, i always thought you could only keep 1 mantis in a tank but iv seen a bunch of videos of this guy who has 2 full size mantis in the same tank and I was very intrigued!! As for the clowns, I planned to keep the aquascape about 1/3 the height of the tank so there would be plenty of room for the fish to escape the shrimp. And I figured if I had enough macroalgae, itd break their line of sight. And the Shark Skimmer was one of the first ones I looked into for internal Skimmers. I saw online that they are pretty nessasary for mantis since they are so messy of eaters..

The Mantis likely will pick the CUC off in time, but that's its natural behavior, and I wouldn't deprive them of this. I would just get a new CUC package every few months as needed.

Consider that a Mantis can "swim" in open water, so they would be able to get to the fish anywhere in the tank. And even if they Mantis can't "get" the Clownfish, is it cool to make the Clownfish live in mortal terror all the time? Just something to think about

The Shark skimmer specifically I don't think is worth it. I don't think it's a very useful or effective skimmer. I don't believe that a skimmer is going to be a requirement for a Mantis, you could simply change the mechanical media out of the system and perform partial water changes regularly. If you really need a skimmer, look for a decent Hang On Back (HOB) skimmer, not an internal skimmer.