20 Gal Mantis

[Distemper]

I've decided to convert my 20 gal FW to a Mantis tank. The first pic is after I tore it down, cleaned it out and siliconed a layer of lexan to the base. Then a pic of the whole thing up and running with filter, ph, heater and the lights that came with this marineland kit. I plan on replacing those with a 24" 48w 2 bulb kit from Current USA.

 

[little_fish]

Sweet! I love mantis tanks! Im excited to see this come along

 

[owen386]

Looks good so far can't wait to see finished product. I see those things at the LFS all the time they look so freaking creepy sweet I just want to take one home. Good luck !

-Owen

 

[Waddi]

To me it looks like you would need a slightly deeper sand bed, but other than that, looks awesome! :D

 

[Dana42078]

To me it looks like you would need a slightly deeper sand bed, but other than that, looks awesome! :D

+1 deeper sand bed and id go to home depot and get a sheet of plexiglass for the bottom of your tank if u plan on getting a smasher.

 

[Distemper]

Already added plexiglass, that was the first pic, and I added more sand, just no pic with deeper bed yet. Any ideas where I can buy a mantis that's colorful and tops out at 5-7 inches for less than $100 with shipping?

 

[Dana42078]

Alot of mantis's dont get that big. Actually most of them dont. and getting it shipped for under 100 might be difficult too. Shipping alone is usually 40 bucks....on my quick links this is all i have for ya. The OS can get that size that u are wanting.

Peacock Mantis Shrimp

 

[Dana42078]

Try talking to a local fish store.....alot of them get mantis's with live rock shipments as hitch hikers

 

[Distemper]

Where did you get your mantis from dana? He's amazing.

 

[Dana42078]

I got lucky. A fish store about 45 minutes away had one in stock and i made an impulse buy.....mines full grown. He shouldnt get much bigger. Pwny ordered his from TBS i think.......check his build thread. 5.5g something or another.

 

[Distemper]

So today's been interesting. I got some more LR for the tank, added a pair of cromis to go with the yellow tail, then my cat knocked my droidx into a bucket or fw from one of my other tanks I was doing a pwc on. I also found out that the salt I have has one of the highest calcium concentrations on the market. Right now my tank sits at 580.

 

[Dana42078]

Jus sayin 580 cal ain't something to brag about

 

[Distemper]

Not bragging at all. I'm saying I need to get a different brand of salt and do some pwc to bring it down.

 

[little_fish]

Wow, that is crazy high

 

[BL1]

I like the rockwork, it looks good. Just make sure it's stable and won't get knocked over if the mantis starts shifting sand around.

 

[Dana42078]

I like the rockwork, it looks good. Just make sure it's stable and won't get knocked over if the mantis starts shifting sand around.

+5000 cant wait to see what u get. Any mantis owner gets many kuddo's :Cheers:

if u never seen this, watch it.....nice vid.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHTTIg7HY80"]YouTube - ‪Sheila Patek: Measuring the fastest animal on earth‬‏[/ame]




[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7Mxc4yZK_4"]YouTube - ‪Mantis shrimps - Deadly 60 - BBC‬‏[/ame]

 

[Distemper]

Good news. My phone still works. Now I don't have to spend $400 of my tank money on a new one. I've seen that first vid before but not the second. That mother's big!

 

[Dana42078]

The zebra mantis get huge...that's why they harvested to eat

 

[Distemper]

Just a quick pic of my 2 chromis and yellowtail.

 

[Distemper]

Here's a couple pics of my tank with the old lights, a small set of led's that came with this marineland kit. First blue only then with white.

The new lights:

and lights on the tank with new power head.

I know it's kind of washed out, but I wanted to leave the camera on the same settings so the difference between the two sets would show.