Mantis Tank Project

[SnoQ]

A friend I work with decided she didn't want to maintain her acrylic 30 gallon long tank anymore and offered it to me. I was originally thinking I'd set up a FOWLR, but when I stopped by my LFS to drop off the freshwater fish that had been living in the tank, the manager pointed out that it would make a great Mantis tank. A couple of months ago the LFS had a large Mantis shrimp that they'd ordered for someone and I really liked it, but didn’t have a tank for one. So it didn't take any convincing to get me to change my mind and get on board with setting up a Mantis tank instead.

The cave:

Today I picked up a 3" wide ABS plumbing T to build the cave. I'm going to cap the end shown bottom left in the picture. I'm then going to butt that right up against the end of the tank. I'm going to cover the pipe with live rock, building up a hill that will top out at the top of the pipe that goes straight up. This will give the Mantis 2 different entry points to his home. I'll add some additional live rock, mainly rubble, that the Mantis can use to redecorate and if I can find a nice long piece of Tonga, I'd like to cover it in Zoas and have it stretch end to end. I'll also add some different types of algae to give the tank more color.

Tomorrow I'm going to buff out the tank and pick up sand & water. (I don't mix my own water yet.) When I do a water change on my established tank this week, I'll have about 10 gallons of water to move to this tank. For the next couple of weeks I'll keep adding old water from my established tank to the new tank to get it fired up.

My LFS is going to be on the lookout for a nice, small Peacock Mantis that I can watch grow up. I'll add pics as the tank progresses.

 

[catran]

A friend I work with decided she didn't want to maintain her acrylic 30 gallon long tank anymore and offered it to me. I was originally thinking I'd set up a FOWLR, but when I stopped by my LFS to drop off the freshwater fish that had been living in the tank, the manager pointed out that it would make a great Mantis tank. A couple of months ago the LFS had a large Mantis shrimp that they'd ordered for someone and I really liked it, but didn’t have a tank for one. So it didn't take any convincing to get me to change my mind and get on board with setting up a Mantis tank instead.

The cave:

Today I picked up a 3" wide ABS plumbing T to build the cave. I'm going to cap the end shown bottom left in the picture. I'm then going to butt that right up against the end of the tank. I'm going to cover the pipe with live rock, building up a hill that will top out at the top of the pipe that goes straight up. This will give the Mantis 2 different entry points to his home. I'll add some additional live rock, mainly rubble, that the Mantis can use to redecorate and if I can find a nice long piece of Tonga, I'd like to cover it in Zoas and have it stretch end to end. I'll also add some different types of algae to give the tank more color.

Tomorrow I'm going to buff out the tank and pick up sand & water. (I don't mix my own water yet.) When I do a water change on my established tank this week, I'll have about 10 gallons of water to move to this tank. For the next couple of weeks I'll keep adding old water from my established tank to the new tank to get it fired up.

My LFS is going to be on the lookout for a nice, small Peacock Mantis that I can watch grow up. I'll add pics as the tank progresses.

Great idea to set up the abs "T" for him. That'll be cool that he has 2 entry and exit points. I'm going to tag along!


I love reefers...

 

[larryl]

Great idea I cant wait to see this in action.

 

[ritter6788]

Following along!

I don't think the T will be of any benefit. In the wild they make simple U shaped burrows. Depending on the type of mantis it will probably close off one of the ends, especially when molting. Just add loads of rubble rock and shell so the mantis can construct the burrow how it wants.

Small O. scyllarus are very hard to find. The smallest ones I see for sale usually start out about 4 inches. I saw a 3 incher for sale once when stomatopods.com was in business but I haven't seen another in years.

Good luck and post lots of pics!

 

[BarbH]

Look forward to following along with this and seeing pictures of your progress.

 

[revsgirl]

1smile1 Lookin' forward to seein' how it goes!

 

[SnoQ]

I've been a total slacker when it comes to updating this thread, but there hasn't really been much to show. I heard from multiple people that the pipe idea would probably just take up space in the tank because they like to burrow, so I pulled it out. Right now the tank is just sitting there running with sand, live rock and some Caulerpa. A couple of times my LFS tried to get a Mantis and someone else got them first, so I was really excited when they got not one, but two in on Friday. One has pretty muted colors but the other has very vibrant coloring. The really colorful one is all mine! My nitrates were up a little bit, but I was throwing water from my other tanks that came out during water changes into that tank. I did a water change this weekend and will do one more on Friday and the tank should be good to go. With any luck "Bruce Lee" should be in his new home by Saturday. I'll be sure to take some photos and video.

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

Good luck, mantis shrimps are defenitely cool little guys!

 

[ritter6788]

Any idea on the species?

 

[M@!]

Congrats, can't wait to see the pics!

As for the PVC, Dr. Caldwell does recommend using PVC for Peacocks. The PVC ensures they have a perfectly dark cave with a smooth interior. Here is a quote from the man himself.

"A cheaper way to go is to use pvc electrical conduit "elbows". You can get them at most large hardware stores (Ace, Home Depot, etc.) I use 45 degree pieces the right diameter and cut them to the correct length. For a burrowing species such as O. scyllarus, the bend is similar to what they would build in the field."


Roy

 

[SnoQ]

Bruce Lee has arrived and is settling into his new home. Right now I have some extra rubble rock stored in his tank that will be going into a refugium. Once
it's out I'm going to add some PVC joints and a pipe since they apparently do like to cruise through them. Thanks for the tip on that M@!

Bruce Lee the Peacock Mantis Shrimp - YouTube

[video=youtube;fhnVpif_9bc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhnVpif_9bc[/video]

 

[ritter6788]

Very nice! Congrats!

Any idea of the sex?

 

[SnoQ]

I don't know yet, but I do know what to look for thanks to a tip on another forum. I'm assuming male because of the bright coloring but could very well be wrong. I'd like to know because I will eventually set up a bigger tank and I'd like to have a pair of them.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

That is one cool shrimp!