Are Mantis Shrimp really that bad?

[Wolf89]

If I were to have a mantis shrimp hitchhike, would it really be that bad? Like I've seen them described as bad pests, but I don't see why? I mean are they really that bad?

 

[James M]

Depends on the tank and it’s inhabitants

 

[catfishblues]

I haven't had one, but my dad did in his tank and it ate all of his fish...and all the fish he replaced them with. It took a long time for him to figure out where they were going. But I've also seen a tank online that had one living with small fish but I think the majority will eat any fish they can catch.

 

[Loggerhead]

Depends on the species. Smashers will kill snails and crabs and possibly fish. Spearers will take your fish out for certain and possibly crabs and snails. Shrimp aren’t safe with any. If you feed it well it may be lazy and not attack anything but chances are sooner or later it will make a move on some living thing you like. They may move coral frags around building their burrow but they don’t specifically target or eat corals.

Can you get a pic for identification purposes? Many can be housed in a 5 gallon species only tank. They are actually really cool if you have the proper set up for them.

 

[MTBake]

I just found one today, about an inch long. It's been in the tank for 6 months at least. That's when I added a batch of live rock. It's in my spare 10 gallon tank that has some live rock and sand. There's also a Picasso Clown in the tank. The clownfish doesn't move from the surface of the water so I'm not too worried about it. I have every intention of keeping it in this tank and watching it grow up.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

I just found one today, about an inch long. It's been in the tank for 6 months at least. That's when I added a batch of live rock. It's in my spare 10 gallon tank that has some live rock and sand. There's also a Picasso Clown in the tank. The clownfish doesn't move from the surface of the water so I'm not too worried about it. I have every intention of keeping it in this tank and watching it grow up.

Cool hitchhiker to have. I'd move the clown if possible.

 

[JerseyClowns]

If I were to have a mantis shrimp hitchhike, would it really be that bad? Like I've seen them described as bad pests, but I don't see why? I mean are they really that bad?

I've had them as hitchhikers over the years. They will eat small fish and snails and inverts.

 

[SynGraves]

Cool hitch hikers in my opinion. I've heard that they can potentially crack glass aquariums so I would be careful with them unless you have an acrylic tank.

 

[Strider90]

Cool hitch hikers in my opinion. I've heard that they can potentially crack glass aquariums so I would be careful with them unless you have an acrylic tank.

I don't believe they can crack glass. I have one in a 6mm thick tank, it dug down as far as it can and has been punching the glass at the bottom for weeks, trying to dig down. I think it's a myth, I've never heard of one breaking glass and I've been actively reading up on them for 3 years now. There's 1 article about it, but there's no proof. They can definitely smash plastic and obviously crabs/crayfish of equal or lesser size, but not glass.

I think it'd be fine with fish, but of equal or greater size and not bottom dwellers. Anything of equal or lesser size that's within reach, it can definitely kill.

But they're not as bad as people think though. I feed mine by hand all the time, unless I'm giving it live food.

 

[Kiwi reefer]

On their own no issues but with other tank mates, they'll be well feed haha

They are very aggresive of there patch of ground, and keen hunters and feeders.

Very cool BUT Approach with caution.

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

See if you can cut off its spear or club?

 

[JNalley]

I don't believe they can crack glass. I have one in a 6mm thick tank, it dug down as far as it can and has been punching the glass at the bottom for weeks, trying to dig down. I think it's a myth, I've never heard of one breaking glass and I've been actively reading up on them for 3 years now. There's 1 article about it, but there's no proof. They can definitely smash plastic and obviously crabs/crayfish of equal or lesser size, but not glass.

I think it'd be fine with fish, but of equal or greater size and not bottom dwellers. Anything of equal or lesser size that's within reach, it can definitely kill.

But they're not as bad as people think though. I feed mine by hand all the time, unless I'm giving it live food.

 

[Tbg299]

If I were to have a mantis shrimp hitchhike, would it really be that bad? Like I've seen them described as bad pests, but I don't see why? I mean are they really that bad?

Yes they are. One of them killed half of my clean up crew.

 

[ectoaesthetics]

Yup. Had one as a hitch hiker many years ago. Lost many fish in a 50 gallon until I found him. Was careful not to stick my hands into my rockwork for a looooong time.,

 

[Tbg299]

Yup. Had one as a hitch hiker many years ago. Lost many fish in a 50 gallon until I found him. Was careful not to stick my hands into my rockwork for a looooong time.,

Oddly enough, the small mantis shrimp I have been trying to catch leaves my 2 inch Randall's shrimp goby alone.

 

[A Young Reefer]

@kittenbritches will tell you.

 

[NeiDan]

I don't believe they can crack glass. I have one in a 6mm thick tank, it dug down as far as it can and has been punching the glass at the bottom for weeks, trying to dig down. I think it's a myth, I've never heard of one breaking glass and I've been actively reading up on them for 3 years now. There's 1 article about it, but there's no proof. They can definitely smash plastic and obviously crabs/crayfish of equal or lesser size, but not glass.

I think it'd be fine with fish, but of equal or greater size and not bottom dwellers. Anything of equal or lesser size that's within reach, it can definitely kill.

But they're not as bad as people think though. I feed mine by hand all the time, unless I'm giving it live food.

They definitely can break glass, but most common hitch hikers don't have the power to. There are 3 species common to aquaria that have the power, smaller species could potentially do it, but it would require them to strike the same place repeatedly. They might try to do that while digging, so it can be a good idea to put a simple acrylic liner on the bottom of the tank, but ultimately it's unlikely.

The 3 species capable of breaking a tank:
O. scyllarus: Peacock/Clown mantis shrimp. Very rare to hitchhike, though I've heard a story or two. More commonly bought on purpose. Makes a great mantis for display, the largest of the species people will usually keep (Zebra mantises are larger, but rare and require specialized tanks due to burrowing requirements). Really only need to worry about glass breaking if it's an adult, or at least a mantis close to adult size.

G. chiragra: A somewhat common mantis, it can be hard to identify since it shares a lot of characteristics with other mantises and is very seclusive. It doesn't get nearly as large as a peacock, but it's built like a tank and probably has more power per inch than most. Only need to worry about adults, and even then it's more of a burrowing risk since it's not likely to leave its burrow, especially if there's something outside that might tempt it to take a shot at the glass.

G. ternatensis: A somewhat rare hitchhiker, identifiable by the red stripes between the segments on its tail. Gets larger than most gonodactylids, again you really only need to worry about adults. Hear it's decently outgoing and would probably make a decent pet.

There are other mantises that could break glass, but for the most part they're either coldwater species or don't commonly make it into the aquarium trade.

See if you can cut off its spear or club?

This is cruel, difficult, and won't work. They will regrow a lost limb over the course of 2 to 4 moltings.

 

[ProxyAquarist]

... Smashers will kill snails and crabs and possibly fish.
... Spearers will take your fish out for certain and possibly crabs and snails. Shrimp aren’t safe with any.
... sooner or later it will make a move on some living thing you like. ...

They definitely can break glass, ...

Holly Crustacean Batman !

I can not imagine having a tank inhabitant giving me fear.

My son's fish are looking more friendly with every post.

May your fish not vanish in 2022,
Jim

 

[Aiptaisia anemone]

They need their own tank and they get very large, they are expensive when you purpos buy one so if you don’t want them maybe you can sell them to your local lfs