Mantis in frag tank?

[musty baby]

I'm setting up a dedicated 30 breeder as a frag tank and am hoping to keep my 4" peacock mantis in the same tank. My question is: if I supply the tank with lots of small live rock rubble and a few larger rocks laid together for the mantis to construct a burrow, will I have to worry about it hauling frag plugs around to construct the burrow? It won't be a problem to section off a section denying it access to the frags, it would just be an extra step and I wonder if anyone has any experience with a situation like this.

Thanks

[icy1155]

My guess is that he would still move things around a little... and do you really want to play mantis-roulette with your fingers every time you want to get a frag out of the tank?

[musty baby]

It's a wide open tank with a white eggcrate rack in it, I don't think mantis roulette will be an issue as I'll be able to see where it is unless it's in its corner of the tank. If it ever becomes an issue I will build a removable divider for the few moments when my hand needs to be in the tank, but I'd like to leave it open most of the time.

[DanInSD]

If it were me, I'd use a species less likely to move things around. Also a frag tank is likely to have big lights. This will likely result in a very unhappy mantis.

[Thurge]

Peacocks don't like bright lights.
Also as fast as a mantis can move I wouldn't chance it with a Peacock, and this is coming from someone who on occasion hand feeds his G.chiagra.

[justinl]

imo peacocks are just too big to be reef safe. look into one of the smaller species like N. wennerae. the main worry in a frag tank with a small mantis would be his landscaping. supply plenty of rubble all over the tank and try to make sure all the frags are glued/attached to something the mantis cant move and there should be no problems. again, this is another reason why a small mantis is desirable... cant move large rocks like a peacock.

[dismalorb]

I have to agree with Thurge and DanInSD totally on this one.

Aside from a few species, most Mantis Shrimp come from lower depths than the corals in your frag tank and can be sensitive to high light. Those lights are bright to us, imagine how they look for a Mantis.

If you want to do something like this, I would suggest its home under a very nice, shady area under the frags with even over-lapping shelf rocks so the mantis will have alot of shaded area to roam under.

I bought my 5" Peacock out of a frag tank with PC lighting on it and he was miserable in there! They also refused to give him ANY type of rocks to hide under.

[justinl]

mmm, yes good point, if it is a peacock, then the bright lights that are required could be a problem. however, N. wennerae and G. smithii are both intertidal mantids and are plenty used to bright lights. i really think N. wennerae would be the best choice.

[dismalorb]

Yeah, this might not be a good idea, man. Not unless you want to do a zoanthid or sun coral frag tank.

Hasn't bright light been found to be a cause of shell disease?

[Pea-brain]

I got it! P. ciliata! Bright, interactive, and a shallow water species. Just give it a 3 inch sand bed and some rocks to burrow under. Mine wasn't prone to stealing construction materials I provided (But he was quite fond of taking chaeto macro algae to disguise his burrow entrance....)

Dan

[justinl]

yeah i could agree with that Dan. Ponly thing id worry about are those spears! but, yeah, overall P. ciliata wouldnt be a bad choice at all.

[musty baby]

Went without an internet connection for quite a while there, thanks for all the info/opinions.

I did not stop to think about the lighting, and will definitely not be housing my newly acquired 4" peacock in the upcoming frag tank. I am instead going to clear the large rocks out of my refugium, where it is already residing, throw plenty of rubble in there, and let him live out his days under a sky partially clouded by chaetomorpha. Or, I may partition a good section of my 55 refugium off for it so that the chaetomorpha doesn't overgrow my view.

Thanks again all.

[Redbellyjx]

but if it gives it a 3 inch sand bed, isnt that border line DSB? if the mantis burrows and digs, wont that just release toxins into the water?

[DanInSD]

I think that if you give a P. ciliata a number of dark tubes (I would do some pieces of flexible PVC scattered throughout the frag tank), it would be "reasonably happy" and not need a sand bed. Better ask Dr. Roy to be sure.

Dan

[Pea-brain]

Originally posted by Redbellyjx
but if it gives it a 3 inch sand bed, isnt that border line DSB? if the mantis burrows and digs, wont that just release toxins into the water?

It is borderline but not quite. In order to become anaerobic it would need to sit undisturbed for a while. Even if it did become anaerobic it takes a while-months or even years-to build up deadly toxins. Also the mantis won't leave any area so undisturbed for a long time that it could become fatal if it dug there. Very little chance of it becoming a problem in a 20 gallon with a 4-5 inch sand bed, less of a chance with a 2-3 inch sand bed

Dan

[justinl]

imo, i dont think a sand bed under 4 inches would ever become significantly toxic enough to be dangerous. not in a standard aquarium at least, let alone in a tank worthy of supporting coral.