Hi everyone.
I have spent a lot of time reading over various messages and information about
mantis shrimps on this forum and i have learned a lot and seen some very impressive set ups.
I have finally taken the plunge and decided to go for it and set up a mantis
shrimp tank. I find these creature to be absolutely fascinating and after having seen a peacock in the Academy of Sciences in San Fransisco on a recent holiday, I just had to see if I could. It looked at me in that way.
This is the tank i have chosen to work with.
boyu TL450- Nano Reef Aquarium
due to arrive Monday. I would of liked larger but my budget wouldnt allow. also my small flat already has 2 FW tanks running.
I also ordered the Red Sea Marine Starter Kit
It is 58l which is just over 15gallons.
From my research this tank should be a good enough size, having read posts on peacocks being kept in smaller tanks than this with no problems. I would ideally like a peacock mantis shrimp because of what i have read about that activeness, interactivity, and intelligence. if it gets huge then i will upgrade it to a being tank when the time comes.
All the tanks hardware, heater etc are in the back compartment so this will stop the mantis having anything to break that could cause it harm.
I intend to post images along the way of setting it all up and eventually the mantis.
I have a few questions I was hoping one of you guys wouldn't mind helping me with, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
As for the tank are there any modifications you can recommend?
I'm a bit worried the lights may be too bright.
I know I need to have about about 2.5-3" of sand. and thanks to a link posted on another thread i will be able to work out how much to get hold of. will post the link once i have a higher post count.
Would using live rock sand be a good idea for this or coral sand? aragonite? I read one post saying they used ordinary play pit sand.
I also know I should replace the media in the filtration chamber with live rock, should this be cured or uncured live rock? The main pieces of live rock in the front of the tank should be cured, is this right?
When it comes to the mantis making its home, in the case of smashers, am i right in thinking that they will effectively burrow and channel their own way to into the live rock and sand achieving what they want? (intelegence like that is one of the major draws to this project for me)
I have seen lots of setups online showing the use of PVC pipe to pre-lay a burrow for the mantis, is this ideally so you can influence the shrimp into choosing its home that is easy for us to see?
Would it be better to let it build its own home using nicely/home-suggesting placed live rock or go with the pipe? if with the pipe 3" + would be a good size with more than one entrance/exit?
Some tanks seem to show the use of extra power heads, separate to the main filter, are these necessary? do mantis like a nice to strong current?
I am thinking one of the Hydor Koralia power heads, most likely the nano or the next one up.
Used to make sure there are no dead spots flow wise in the tank?
I would like to have some corals in there for the decoration as well as for the mantises use, any in particular that are a major no? can corals be added at any time or do they need to be anchored to the live rock to start with? Would be nice to have the whole back wall covered in various growths and organisms as iv seen in lots of pics.
There seems to be some debate as to tank companions for a mantis, depending on if it is a spearer or a smasher and mostly on the whether or not an individual mantis will tolerate something else in its tank or not.
Ideally i would like something else that could take care of any stray foods or unwanted algae etc.
When it comes to feeding the little bugger, as well as prepared foods, is it ok to feed it crabs,limpits,winkles etc.. from rock pools down at the beach? would they have to go through any kind of quarantine? i wouldn't expect them to last long in the tank anyway, but if say i accidentally put a somehow ill crab in the tank and the mantis ate it, would this effect the mantis?
Thanks, Sorry for the long post, I would really appreciate any advice you guys can offer, and I'm sure i will have more questions a long the way.
I looks forward to hearing from you guys.
Jay.
