Tank setup for a Gonodactylus smithii (Purple Spot Mantis Shrimp)

[jenglish]

Originally Posted by quader94

oh and i found a site for nwennerae

http://www.tampabaysaltwater.com/ord...pricelist.html

Just order some of their liverock, you are nearly guaranteed to get one

[Reeftanker3295]

haha well my LR from my LFS is like $3 a pound and i have credit for turning in my urchin who did diddlysquat so i think i have about 15 bucks in credit which should be enough to start off with. I think im only going to get 1 large piece and just a bunch of small pieces. So does that design of PVC look good?

[quader94]

either ways fine because either way the mantis will make it work lol

but i like the 2nd one more

[quader94]

Originally Posted by jenglish

Just order some of their liverock, you are nearly guaranteed to get one

i know their liverock has tons of stuff on it good and bad

[Reeftanker3295]

same haha. Question, do i have to let the whole tank cycle like a regular reef tank for fish or can i just let it cycle while the mantis is shipped then plop him in? the reason i ask is that if they come in your LR and survive the whole cycle, then why would this pose a problem?

[quader94]

Originally Posted by Reeftanker3295

haha well my LR from my LFS is like $3 a pound and i have credit for turning in my urchin who did diddlysquat so i think i have about 15 bucks in credit which should be enough to start off with. I think im only going to get 1 large piece and just a bunch of small pieces. So does that design of PVC look good?

for the second pvc design ide have some liverock to hide it but have that center piece tilted towards the front of the tank so he can get in and out

[jenglish]

Do some survive? yes, but some do not I would guess. I have known folks to have a tank cycle and throw in old live rock that had spent a week in a dark bin and find an anemone surviving (not an aptasia either) I would not recommend this as a nem acclimation procedure. I would wait for the cycle to finish before ordering it to be on the safe side. If you set up with good cured live rock your nitrogen cycle may be quite short or even not be noticed. It is hard to say for sure though

[quader94]

Originally Posted by Reeftanker3295

same haha. Question, do i have to let the whole tank cycle like a regular reef tank for fish or can i just let it cycle while the mantis is shipped then plop him in? the reason i ask is that if they come in your LR and survive the whole cycle, then why would this pose a problem?

well if i had the option i wouldnt let him go through the cycle.
but they make it through cycles alot so if you did get one in a liverock shipment i wouldnt be to worried

[quader94]

Originally Posted by jenglish

Do some survive? yes, but some do not I would guess. I have known folks to have a tank cycle and throw in old live rock that had spent a week in a dark bin and find an anemone surviving (not an aptasia either) I would not recommend this as a nem acclimation procedure. I would wait for the cycle to finish before ordering it to be on the safe side. If you set up with good cured live rock your nitrogen cycle may be quite short or even not be noticed. It is hard to say for sure though

yeah i aggee with a tank that small ide just buy cured live rock so then i wouldnt have to wait for the cycle

[Reeftanker3295]

wait lemme get this straight, so i should like tilt the tube up in the sand so that the entrance would be tilted toward the front of the tank? wouldnt that make it harder for him to walk around in there? Also i might take 2 small rocks i have in my biocube and put them in there, will this speed up the process any?

[quader94]

Originally Posted by Reeftanker3295

wait lemme get this straight, so i should like tilt the tube up in the sand so that the entrance would be tilted toward the front of the tank? wouldnt that make it harder for him to walk around in there? Also i might take 2 small rocks i have in my biocube and put them in there, will this speed up the process any?

well with mantis shrimp they throw things around so if you have the rock all setup i wouldnt be suprised if the mantis knocked some down and stuff.
with the center thing. yes ive have it tilted toward the front so its half in the sand half out and the mantis would clean it out to his liking.

[Reeftanker3295]

i wouldnt exactly know what the cured rock looks like haha but my LFS has all their LR in big acrylic tanks submerged in water and the whole setup goes through about 20 small tanks that are all connected. they arent really tanks they are just like 1 huge tank split into about 15 small ones haha just like 2 cubic foot cubes. some of them have fish in them and anemones, crabs, snails and everything but they are all connected so maybe all their LR is cured and ready to go?

[quader94]

Originally Posted by Reeftanker3295

i wouldnt exactly know what the cured rock looks like haha but my LFS has all their LR in big acrylic tanks submerged in water and the whole setup goes through about 20 small tanks that are all connected. they arent really tanks they are just like 1 huge tank split into about 15 small ones haha just like 2 cubic foot cubes. some of them have fish in them and anemones, crabs, snails and everything but they are all connected so maybe all their LR is cured and ready to go?

ide ask them, my LFS has it organized for cured uncured and the brands.

[quader94]

oh and adding the cured liverock from your other tank would seed the tank and speed up the cycle

[Reeftanker3295]

Originally Posted by quader94

well with mantis shrimp they throw things around so if you have the rock all setup i wouldnt be suprised if the mantis knocked some down and stuff.
with the center thing. yes ive have it tilted toward the front so its half in the sand half out and the mantis would clean it out to his liking.

Yea but like if i have it tilted will a small one have any trouble walking in it because of the tilted angle? and wouldnt this make it harder for him to get out?