Refugiums ok for mantis shrimp?

honda2sk · #1 10/07/2007, 02:31 PM

I have a separate sump and refugium. Each one is 40 gallons. Mostly filled with live rock with a little macro ball. Can I use this for a mantis tank?

abrahamcho · #2 10/07/2007, 06:11 PM

sURE mantis shrimps are tough and if the water is a little bad it is okay. the only problem is the macro ball I dont have any trouble, but some people said one of their shrimps got tangled and died but that is extremly rare. I'll say go for it.

dismalorb · #3 10/09/2007, 01:26 PM

Actually, you may want to read the article on Lurker's Guide to Stomatopods about putting a Mantis Shrimp in a refugium. It definitely made me think twice about it...

danferd2002 · #4 10/11/2007, 03:33 PM

your mantis wont mind but now your defeating the purpose of a refugium because now theres a predator in there.

Angel7989 · #5 10/11/2007, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by abrahamcho
sURE mantis shrimps are tough and if the water is a little bad it is okay. the only problem is the macro ball I dont have any trouble, but some people said one of their shrimps got tangled and died but that is extremly rare. I'll say go for it.

actually mantis shrimp (no s at the end because shrimp can be plural or singular) are VERY sensitive to water quality and change of climate. you'd have to acclamate at least 2 hours to give him a good chance. make sure you dont use any chemicals either because it could kill them.

gholland · #6 10/12/2007, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Angel7989
actually mantis shrimp (no s at the end because shrimp can be plural or singular) are VERY sensitive to water quality and change of climate.

Doesn't sensitivity vary by species?

gholland · #7 10/12/2007, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by danferd2002
your mantis wont mind but now your defeating the purpose of a refugium because now theres a predator in there.

Isn't the primary purpose of a refugium to provide a safe place for pods to reproduce? As long as you don't have some type of Haptosquilla in there I don't see the harm...

Although in reality... my H. glyptocercus eats amphipods all day long and my BC8 is still swarming with them!

???

Giga · #8 10/12/2007, 01:51 PM

angel7989 is somewhat wrong in her statement as only a few are very picky about water quality. Granted you should try and keep the water quality very good but my N Wennerae is very very tough as I only acclimated for like 10 minutes if that(I know I know) and she has been great since then. As a matter of fact she laid eggs 2 days later! I am really busy and kinda forget to do water changes so like I do them at most 2 time a month. There are a couple that need more attention but in general mantis are very very tough

Agu · #9 10/12/2007, 09:30 PM

If my N wennerae is eating pods and worms you couldn't prove it looking at my sump.

Pea-brain · #10 10/17/2007, 03:17 PM

Tough common mantises-most gonodactyilids- are pretty easy going with nitrates, ammo and trites. Also okay with not perfect salinity or PH. But they aren't good with fast changes. Large changes in PH, Salinity, or temp are a very dangerous thing. Also notoriously sensitive to chemicals.

Dan

dismalorb · #11 10/17/2007, 04:58 PM

I second that, Dan.

Any of the "Stop-Aptasia" solutions aren't recommended for Mantis tank. If I remember correctly, the Stomatopooba even discourages it.

DanInSD · #12 10/17/2007, 05:23 PM

I can personally vouch for Joe's Juice for Aptasia control in a mantis tank. I use sparingly, of course. Does not appear to affect the mantis or the corals to any significant degree.

Dan

dismalorb · #13 10/17/2007, 06:19 PM

Awesome! Glad to hear it works for you. Do you remove the goo afterwards or let your filtration take care of it, Dan?

I've considered injecting a syringe of hypo-salinity water in the Aptasia's mouth to see what that does, but I'd probably only kill a few at a time so the waste levels wouldn't increase too much.