New Tank idea??

[craiglanda]

Well i have been keeping "peace reefs" for quite sometime and i have been feeling the need for a little desktop killing machine! I have been eyeing this peacock mantis at my LFS that is just awesome. I have a 20 gallon acrylic tank that i am thinking about setting up for this guy. Im just wondering how often it will need to be fed? I assume it would be everyday but i have been reading some places say 3 times a week. The other thing i am wondering is which foods are best for it? I can breed platties for it but i know people feed them crabs and other live inverts. I wanna make sure i will be providing it with the proper diet so any info here from people that are having success with these creatures would be greatly appreciated!
thanks in advance,
Craig

[craiglanda]

Oh and one other thing is what is the life span of these guys? The one at my LFS is very healthy and eating like a champ but is already roughly 6-7 inches. I dont wanna bring it home and find it has already lived the good portion of its life.

[Angel7989]

you will need more than a 20 gallon for this guy.
you can feed it every day if you like, it doesn't really matter.
you can try hermies, crabs, frozen squid, frozen silver sides, frozen prawn, and snails.
if it is 6-7 inches it probably has lived a couple years already.
all you have to worry about is a failed moult or shell disease.
in both cases it will die.
but there is no specific "life span" because no one really knows how long they live, considering most mantids die from shell disease and failed moults.

[craiglanda]

Sorry i meant a 29 gallon the "0" is right next to the "9"... Anyway, i know it just molted because we were playing with the smashing claw from the molted exoskeleton in the store. I am friendly with the the employees because i frequent them pretty often lol! i watched it eat and it looks really healthy and colorful. I think i may have them hold it for me as i get the tank ready for it. I will use sand and rock from my reef to jump start the cycle so i think i will be bringing it home in due time!!

[Giga]

a 20 gallon is fine for a Peacock

[craiglanda]

its a 29 gallon cube

[justinl]

a 29 gal cube would be fine for a peacock. you dont need to feed it more than once every two days. they are not picky at all, so pick a variety of frozen food- three is a good number- and cycle between them. it is good practice to soak the frozens in a supplement like selcon or vita-chem evry once in a while.

a smasher needs to excercise its rapts on hard shelled food once in a while or you risk the mantis losing the rapts. so feed hermits, crabs, or snails at least twice a month or so.

[craiglanda]

Well thats easy enough i already have all the frozen foods and vitamins for my fish and seahorses

[greddy]

A nice and cheaper alternative to feeding your mantis is using fiddler crabs. I get them from a local f/w store, then I slowly convert them to brackish conditions. A few days later I will toss one in "Little Chuck Norris's" tank (my mantis). He seems to really love smashing them, and I really enjoy watching it too. I havent tried feeding him red claw crabs (fw). Though I have converted some of the red claws to brackish with no issues. Also I feed my mantis, shrimp pieces, snails, and hermits (his other favorite).

[craiglanda]

So what can you use a cleaner crew? do you evven need a cleaner crew with these guys? seems like any cleaners are just expensive food items...

[greddy]

you may find that some cleaners will survive, My mantis sometimes eats the snails and hermits. But when I feed him crabs (fiddler) and shrimp pieces he seems to leave them alone. Its a hit n miss issue...sometimes they eat everything and sometimes they can be somewhat selective in their snacks. In general I would reccomend some cleaners to keep things in order, but they may need to be replenished on occasion. 30 days ago I added 10 snails and 15 hermits, currently I have 7 snails and 5 hermits left. And he also has eaten 2 med fiddler crabs in the last 2 weeks...hope this helps to give you an idea ?

[craiglanda]

Do you think any snails are a safer bet than others...for instance would the survival rate of the large mexican turbos be greater than say small astreas?

[greddy]

Hard to say for sure. I would go with the cheapest snails I could find. In my area lrg turbos are pricey. Maybe try a few varieties of snails and see who does the best ? I'd sure be interested in the results.

[craiglanda]

well i have a wide variety of snails that have made their way into my reef and endless ammounts of hermits in the fuge so i guess ill pull a few different ones out of there and keep a close record. Looks like i have just inadvertantly gave myself a little research assignment haha!! Im thinking the keyhole limpets may be the best for the job. They are strong,good camoflauge, and the shape of the shell seems like it would hold up better than the turbos or astreas. I guess we will find out

[greddy]

I was thinking about the last post before mine, and it sounds logical to assume that larger snails should have less of a mortality rate. I assume this because a larger snail would mean a larger snack, henceforth less snails eaten ? Whereas small snails may be quickly devoured ?

[craiglanda]

Im just thinking a larger snail is an easier target. The large mexican turbos have a lot of the body exposed while grazing and larger body means more torqe for the mantis to knock it off the rock or glass. so id think that would make it an easier meal for it where the limpets are a flat shell with very little of the body exposed while grazing making it a much more difficult target to get to. I guess you can look at it a few ways ill try a bunch and see what happens.

[greddy]

Well some more crazy info, probably usesless but here goes (as you can tell i'm working really hard today). Kinda interesting, the mantis doesnt have to be very accurate with its aim...if the strike misses the target, the cavatation following will often hit the target and sometimes even kill/stun the prey. Kinda like a double whammy ! But I do find your input on limpets quite interesting ! I may have to try some ?

[craiglanda]

Yeah i have no evidence backing that theory or any first hand expierence with stomatopods...just made sense in my head so anyone else reading this dont take that as a truth. Ill be getting the mantis as soon as the nitrites fall off. Shouldn't be to long since i used a lot of water, rock and sand from my reef.

[greddy]

Hey, thats cool ! I think they are one of the coolest pets you can own. Also I think there should be a dedicated section to Stomatopods (especially since they aren't shrimps). It would solve alot of confusion about them. I try to refrain from using the word "shrimp" when talking about them, sadly everyone who knows of them calls them mantis shrimp which is misleading. Though I guess its alot easier to say than Mantis Stomatopod.

[craiglanda]

Im lucky it is snowing really bad right now cause i have the urge to go to my LFS and bring it home!! I'm gonna fight the urge and do it the right way and let the tank cycle but it is so hard being patient LOL

[greddy]

You could always get them to put it on hold for you ? My l.f.s. will occasionally do it. That way no one else will get him...It took me over 4-5 months to finally get one in my area. Up here in Canada they arent that common sadly. But it was definately worth the wait. good luck ! Patience is a virtue..

[craiglanda]

Yeah im sure they will hold it so it...im not to worried about it going anywhere.

[Agu]

If you want it held pay for it now. They may be your friends but it is a business.

[craiglanda]

If they dont hold it there than i wait and find another one. I am not to worried about it... my tank isnt ready for it yet so if they have someone to sell it to than they can sell it and i wouldnt be too upset over it.