species only tank question

[Gabriel]

i have a few questions i was thinking i want a mantis in a species only tank.

so instead of my 10g tank being a nano do you think i could keep a mantis in it?

are mantis reef safe; so that i can have the mantis and some shrooms and other softies?

and my 10g tank is BB right now would it be happy with it BB or CC or a little sand?

[duijver]

Hey Gabriel. You should be fine with a smaller species of mantis in a 10g tank. That's that size tank I started my mantis tank, but it ended up leaking and I upgraded to a 15g. Just make sure to put a layer of plexi / acrylic on the bottom to protect the bottom from possible cracking.

Mantis's are generally reef safe, but they are known to re-aquascape your tank so they can accidently hurt the corals by flipping the rock up-side-down. I have plenty of softies in my 15g and never had a problem. If you get a smasher you can throw a fish in the tank as well and it will probably never be bothered if you don't starve the little guy.

Sand is the best option as they like to burrow under in inside live rock. Just keep in mind that most will agree that DSB's are ineffective in smaller tanks.


So, what species were you looking at adopting?

[Kakalakasha]

Originally Posted by Gabriel

i have a few questions i was thinking i want a mantis in a species only tank.

so instead of my 10g tank being a nano do you think i could keep a mantis in it? I heard that as long as it's acrylic, it's safe.

are mantis reef safe; so that i can have the mantis and some shrooms and other softies? Yes, plenty of people keep corals with their mantis.

and my 10g tank is BB right now would it be happy with it BB or CC or a little sand? Sand is pretty much a requirement.

[Gabriel]

well i don't know much about mantis i think they look cool. of course i will do my homework on them. which species do you recommend?

how thick of acrylic do you put on the bottom?

my tank is glass.
so if im going to go with the sand can i go with the large grain sand? i don't want sand storms every were and i have a good amount of flow in the tank.
how deep of a sand bed?

[Fly Guy]

Ive looked into this very seriously and still plan on it at some point, and to do it well you will find you want at least a 25 gallon system for any of the cool ones

there is a little reading in the mantis forum here, but if you want to talk to and listen to people who are very experienced on the subject as well as check out their set ups........

go here

[Gabriel]

accutally i have found a few cool ones that can live in a 10g tank at this site.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthrop...html#directory

[Fly Guy]

can marginally support, and a well set up system are two very different things IMO


My opinion is worthless on the subject as ive never actually done it. But in reading up on the subject and looking at what all of the people who have well set up systems are using, I personally wouldnt do it in anything less than a 25

[Gabriel]

well i found two i like that say can live in a 40l tank which is about 10.5 gallons.

1) http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthrop...n_curacaoensis

2) http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthrop...ame=n_wennerae


i like #1 but im going to do some more reading before i go ahead and do anything.