Clown Mantis Shrimp Question

[Death Shrimp99]

Is a Clown Mantis Shrimp the same as Odontodactylus scyllarus? If not what is the non scientific name for Odontodactylus scyllarus? Is it a smasher or spearer? And can i have some information about it? Thank you

[moviegeek]

Around here the common name for O. scyllarus is Peacock Mantis Shrimp or Peacock Shrimp. It is a smasher. I'm not sure what the name Clown Mantis refers to.

O. scyllarus is one of the more commonly imported mantis, because they are very colorful and get fairly large. I usually see them for sale between 5 and 6 inches, although I once bought an O. scyllarus that was 7 inches (although it died soon after I got it).

The mantis in my signature below is an O. scyllarus. There is another color morph that is a bright emerald green.

O. scyllarus are fairly easy to keep and are a rewarding animal to have. In my personal experience, they need better water quality than other, smaller types of mantis. As far as care, treat them like a marine fish and you should be in good shape.

If you have more specific questions I know there are several of us here who would be glad to help you out.

[ISFRAEL]

i have started to treat my mantis like a marine fish (like moviegeek said above) and i have noticed a defintie improvement in activity (burrowing, exploring), feedind and molting!

i have been doing a 1 bucket water change every sunday and its paying off! it might be overkill but in a little tank its not to hard to change only a bucket of water a week! 10 mins for 1 day! easy!

and my mantis is definetely worth the trouble! great pets!

[Death Shrimp99]

Can i keep it in a 20 gallon tank when it gets to it full size?

[ISFRAEL]

i have no idea when it comes to gallons and litres.

i keep all my mantis in a custom built tanks which are 20" wide x 14" deep x 16" high. i had them custom made so they where made of thicker glass and also very high so i can have a 6" sand bed as mantis like to burrow!

im guessing the 20 gal will be ok, moviegeek kept a pretty large o.scyllarus in a 20 gal!
just have alot of liverock for filtration and for a place to burrow under.

hope you get one and join us here at the mantis forum regularly!
we are all happy to help!
catch ya
isfrael

[moviegeek]

I have no idea what is best size-wise. I know some people keep large mantis in 6 gallon Eclipse tanks. To me that seems too small. Mantis are more interesting if they have room to roam around and explore. Plus, anything an animal physically occupies an area not much larger than it is long, I have a tendency to think something might be wrong.

Last weekend I moved my mantis from my 20 gallon acrylic tank to a 15 gallon high. I mostly did this so I could add a protein skimmer. Also, I decided to give glass tanks a second chance now that the mantis tank is not plumbed to my reef tank.

I wouldn't get a tank smaller than 10 gallons. If you want a deep sand bed, you don't have many options for tanks under 15 gallons. Something in the 15-25 gallon range would be quite nice.

[Gonodactylus]

Odontodactylus scyllarus is sold under several names, the most come being Peacock, Clown and Harlequin (never could spell).

While I'm thinking about it, postlarval O. scyllarus have a yellow body color. They are about an inch and a half long, By the time they get three inches long the olive body color takes over and at sexual maturity (4 inches)the males start to take on the darker green. However, even O. sycllarus match background to some extent and color will very.

Roy