My peacock mantis shrimp chronicle.

[PIMPALA]

A couple of years ago, I acquired a nice looking Peacock Mantis Shrimp (Odontodactylus Scyllarus) from a LFS. The plan was to house it in the 20 long that I was tearing down from being a nano reef.


the reef looked like this:

then it got dismantled, and looked like this:

got the peacock mantis in a 5 gallon bucket. measuring the shrimp based on the area of the bucket it takes up, she measured a little over 6"

2 minutes into being in the tank:

video of the mantis eating the first day it was in the tank (click to watch)

 

[PIMPALA]

here are some vids of the mantis doing some re-decorating :

 

[PIMPALA]

Added a bunch of rock rubble, and empty snail shells for her to smash on, redecorate with.

here is day1 before she touches anything. I just tossed everything in there:

Here is the tank 2 hours after i put that rubble in:

already doing work!





Here are a few cell phone pics I got of her while it was out checking me out:

In this one you can really see the "hammers" good.

 

[PIMPALA]

day 3 of her redecorating, and ALL of the rubble moved to suit her new home.

a "back door" was made by the mantis. I now know this is pretty much a necessity to keep a mantis happy in an aquarium.

 

[PIMPALA]

added several more rocks, and lots of rubble and random stuff to see if the mantis would still be interested:

and overnight:

and FYI... urchins are meals.

mine has eaten both a pencil urchin, and a very large long spine urchin. lol





then I moved the tank from my office, to my house. Re-scaped it, and put the cave on one end.

that little bit of caluerpa grew fast. i also added a RBTA after a split:

 

[PIMPALA]

the macro really grew in fast, and i LOVED the way it looked:

but then, due to me not having light 24/7 on that caluerpa, it got mad at me:

removed the macro, added a 48" UV sterilizer, and a 12 gallon water change.

no losses!



48 hours, and all params back in check.

 

[PIMPALA]

since i got it, my mantis has had 2 successful molts

 

[whippetguy]

Great thread! I wish I had known more about them when I had one as a hitchhiker.

 

[dmatt88]

Jason that's an awesome thread. Welcome mantis Zen master. Keep em coming dude. U just filled my 40 breeder. Just worried about him breaking the glass. Foolish worry? Whattya feed him? Can u keep corals with it

Woohoo Matt has tapatalk back

 

[PIMPALA]

Tore down the 20 long, transferred the mantis, RBTA, Clown, and all rock to a 54 gallon corner tank:

that "pile" of rocks, is completely hollow in the middle. there is a cave entrance in the front, and 2 escape paths in the back on either side of the overflow. the cave in the center is about the size of 3 softballs.



happy mantis in its new home:

now the 54 corner sits back to back with a 155 bowfront, including a "viewing window" between the two tanks:

and here is how it sits today:

 

[PIMPALA]

Jason that's an awesome thread. Welcome mantis Zen master. Keep em coming dude. U just filled my 40 breeder. Just worried about him breaking the glass. Foolish worry? Whattya feed him? Can u keep corals with it

Woohoo Matt has tapatalk back

#1 mine has never even attempted to hit the glass. even when im "teasing" him with the mag float. the bottom glass is tempered, i seriously doubt a mantis could break it even if they tried.

#2 i feed mine all kinds of stuff. live snails and hermits (hes eaten 2 urchins too, but thats an expensive meal, lol) and i buy fresh shrimp and scallops at the deli. i rinse, and cut them up, then freeze them. Then I feed the tank every other day with thawed shrimp/scallops. the lion, trigger, and clown also eat it at the same time. the stupid clown usually overfeeds the RBTA.

#3 you can keep whatever corals you want in the tank, but i suggest softies. I have zoas, and kenya trees in mine. the mantis is thought to be very susceptible to shell rot, which is widely blamed on bright lights usually found in a reef that would be needed for LPS/SPS.


also, he WILL aquascape as he sees fit. so if you put a frag in there, its VERY likely to get moved... maybe even into the den. or upside down blocking a hole or something. lol

 

[Mitchell]

Awesome man.

 

[Funlad3]

I love that shrimp. It's more like a mantis I think though!


!EDIT! Lobster. More like a lobster. I'm going to bed.

 

[dmatt88]

Wow. Thank you. Really well done. Bravo.

 

[PIMPALA]

Thanks guys!


and yea, in actuality, its not a shrimp at all.

 

[Funlad3]

Thanks guys!


and yea, in actuality, its not a shrimp at all.

Really? What is it?

 

[PIMPALA]

Really? What is it?

stomatopods. they are crustaceans like shrimp, but thats as far as it goes. shrimp are their food.

 

[Built347]

Nice tank Jason! You've set the standard.


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[PIMPALA]

lol. thanks man! but i wouldnt go THAT far. there are some really really nice mantis tanks out there. the next upgrade will likely be to move the predator tank inhabitants into the 155 bowfront, and build a much larger reef. (once i build a new house, and have the space/money)

 

[Built347]

Well..the standard for me then.. ill put some pics up in a minute.. my mantis has a box in the projects compared to that castle...

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