|
|
|
|
#1
05/08/2006, 03:09 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
First mantis!!!!!!!
Hiyas everyone. Well I just got back from the LFS where they were kind of enought to order me my first Mantis. I have done some reading and now I am just looking for basic ideas on what people do for their Mantis. I got a Peacock, and hopefully soon I will be able to get some pics up here. He is awesome!!! Spectacular colors and very engaging. He is about 2 inches long and living in a 5 Gallon acrylic, until I grab a buddies 20G from him. I have 4 other salt tanks now 3 reef and one FO. I am a Mantis virgin
 So if anyone could give me some advice on how often they feed theirs, what light cycle do you generally keep for them, do you ever pet yours(j/k), just general advice it would be most appreciated. Thank you in advance.~Shawn P.S. I think I am going to name him Stampy |
|
#2
05/08/2006, 03:58 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I'm pretty sure the Mantis don't really need alot of light. If you're keeping coral with him, just set a 12 hour pattern for them. A 20 Gallon? What are the dimensions of it? Peacocks can get to 8 inches long, that may be a bit large for a 20 gallon, they're supposed to be housed in a 25.
|
|
#3
05/08/2006, 05:42 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Firstly, Dr. Roy says that they almost never exceed 6" in captivity.
(Dr. Roy, if this is a misquote, forgive me). A 2" peacock will be fine for a long time in a 20 gallon. I have 2 that are 5" or so (I just under that size), temporarily housed in 12 gallons,until 30's are cycled and set up. A 2" peacock will take quite some time to reach a large size. Secondly, are you sure that it is an actusl peacock? That name only applies to Odontoactylus scyllarus, and they have a very particular look. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthrop...me=o_scyllarus It seems that every fish store wants to call every mantis a peacock, since there are only a couple of other nicknames floating around (Zevra for L. maculata, Rainbow or False Mantis for P. cilata). I don't profess to be an expert, but I have been keeping them for a couple of years now, and you tend to see the same types of posts/comments a lot. Make sure that you give it lots of small live rock rubble. They like to build, and both of my peacocks are tireles little masons, day and night.It's very cool to watch as it happens. Cheers, and enjoy your new little friend. -Uriel/Ron |
|
#5
05/09/2006, 01:07 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Congrats, make sure you have a deep substrate and rubble rock my peacock sure loves digging and rearranging her digs. I feed mine live Ghost shrimp and housed in a 20G long acrylic with PC lighting, you can see her in my gallery.
|
|
#6
05/09/2006, 08:23 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I actually just found out that the tank I am getting from my buddy is a 25G acrylic. I'm not sure of the dimensions of it though.
Hutton: Now you have :-) Uriel: I will have to look at Roys list again to be sure it is an actual Peacock. There was one other Mantis on there that looked similar. I haven't gotten the chance to compare the 2 pics to tell just yet. How long have you all had your manits'? What is their approx life expectancy? How often do you generally feed yours? |
|
#7
05/09/2006, 11:30 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I feed mine once to twice a day depending on how large the ghost shrimp is, I have had her going on 9 months.
|
|
#9
05/09/2006, 08:20 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
You mantis may not be to active and fun until after his first molt. For mine, after the molt it was like, instant confidence!
|
|
#10
05/09/2006, 09:18 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
#11
05/09/2006, 09:22 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
#12
05/09/2006, 11:23 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
#14
05/10/2006, 08:43 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Mine is certainly not active yet. It just kinda lays there sometimes in a ball sometimes on it side. When I drop in some food, whole different story. Stands right up and, and we play tug with krill :-) I just crushed up a piece of LR I had to create some rubble for my mantis to play in. I also live near the ocean, and I threw in a couple small rock crabs. I found 1/2 of one this morning, looked pretty beat up and emtpy :-)
akrimmel: my tip on how to get rid one is PM me for my address and I'll take it off your hands :-) |
|
#16
05/10/2006, 09:06 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
:-)
|
|
#18
05/10/2006, 11:33 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
#20
05/10/2006, 01:34 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
the substrate right now is 2-2.5 inch. I can certainly add more if need be
|
|
#21
05/10/2006, 11:14 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
I personally would double it. Mine is aprx. 5.5" deep and she burrowed a home under a large piece of live rock and my substrate is crushed coral also I threw in a bunch of rubble LR too, kind of like watching a Ant Farm. Check my pic in the my gallery you can see how deep it is and she burrowed al the way to the bottom. |
|
#22
05/13/2006, 11:31 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Well the tank I was going to be getting for him fell through, so in the meatime since he is still on the smaller side I am going to set him up in a spare 20L I have. I have extra sand around as well so i can make the sandbed deeper for burrowing. I'm going to put a regular flourescent over the tank as I am not going to be putting in corals. Well not right now anyway :-) Theres always something to add.
|
|
#23
05/13/2006, 12:18 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I'm sure they prefer dimmer lighting, mine does. Unless the corals are on a large rock the mantis will move smaller corals around. Keep us posted.
|
|
#25
05/15/2006, 11:43 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
No sorry I don't have any pics as of yet. My digital camera is still packed away after my move. I will try and dig it up as soon as I can. I just put in a couple more green rock crabs that I got at low tide here. I found another half of one today. He seems to be more active during the twilight/evening hours. mmmmm crabs.....
|
|
|
Linear Mode
