Mantis Shrimp lighting. Blue LED or full normal Day mode LED.

[Knight_Solaire01]

Hello everyone.

I was wondering if using full day more LED lights for my mantis shrimp was okay or not. Seeing as they see in twelve color wave-length compared to our three, would the day more LED hurt his eyes? if so I can resort to "moonlight" blue LEDs instead. Just curious as I can't tell if it is hurting him. I know they like to burrow and hide, but if the light is making him do so more, than I need to change that.

 

[Steve Erekson]

Many mantis shrimps live in very shallow waters, 10-20ft. Some species are intertidal. Full spectrum light will be very natural for those species.

Also in terms of them having many more color receptors, don't read too much into this. According to studies done by Caldwell et al they really can't discern between two similar colors as well as humans with our own 3 receptors. The brain has a lot to do with it and the stomatopods are compensating for their very simple brain with more complex eyes.

The only time I'd say to be wary of lighting is with a Peacock where we believe more intense lighting can be a cause of shell rot.

 

[OPMantisShrimp]

Don't worry about the LEDs hurting their eyes. Lighting intensity will depend on the species. If you post a pic, I can help ID it. As mentioned earlier, O.scyllarus (Peacock) has an issue with high-intensity lighting. They are normally found at 10-40 meters below the surface so the bright lighting won't be too natural for it. You may counteract this however if you still want to use high intensity by having large amounts of rockwork or overhangs to shadow the lower areas. Just make sure the little guy has a large enough burrow. Shell rot is not a well-understood disease yet but there seems to be a correlation with light intensity.

 

[Knight_Solaire01]

Don't worry about the LEDs hurting their eyes. Lighting intensity will depend on the species. If you post a pic, I can help ID it. As mentioned earlier, O.scyllarus (Peacock) has an issue with high-intensity lighting. They are normally found at 10-40 meters below the surface so the bright lighting won't be too natural for it. You may counteract this however if you still want to use high intensity by having large amounts of rockwork or overhangs to shadow the lower areas. Just make sure the little guy has a large enough burrow. Shell rot is not a well-understood disease yet but there seems to be a correlation with light intensity.

I hope these pics help.

 

[Steve Erekson]

Definitely a peacock

 

[OPMantisShrimp]

I hope these pics help.

O. Scyllarus. You have a peacock

can you get a shot of the whole tank set up as it is now?

 

[Knight_Solaire01]

O. Scyllarus. You have a peacock

can you get a shot of the whole tank set up as it is now?

Hey! Sorry for the late replay. So it turns out my octopus just died of old age at the ripe old age of 6 months old. So I will be moving him to that tank with more natural lighting from the ceiling.

 

[Steve Erekson]

Hey! Sorry for the late replay. So it turns out my octopus just died of old age at the ripe old age of 6 months old. So I will be moving him to that tank with more natural lighting from the ceiling.

That's the main thing keeping me from getting into octopi is how short the lifespan is in the tropical specimens. Perhaps cuttlefish...

 

[Knight_Solaire01]

That's the main thing keeping me from getting into octopi is how short the lifespan is in the tropical specimens. Perhaps cuttlefish...

Yeah his species only lives 6 months or so