Would a biocube hold him? I want to start one just for him or should i get a small acrylic tank?
And if i did go to a acrylic tank how big would it have to be in order to hold two diff species of matis shrimp and would they hate eachother?
i know i had two mantis shrimps in my tank which i killed when i caught them but i am not entirely sure if two different species of mantis shrimp would live in the same tank there so aggressive
So the question is would a bio cube hold just one? Or should i go acrylic? and how big? Would a lion fish or an eel do okay in the tank?
a bio cube would be fine for a mantis. I don't know if I'd try to have 2 of them together in a tank especially since you'll end up paying $50-90 for one of those cool looking mantis. If I were you, I wouldn't do a tank with an eel only because you'll need a large tank for an eel and you'd never see the mantis in it. If I were you I'd get a 10-20g tank with a few pieces of small rock. And if you wanted to have something in with the mantis you could probably do a damsel or another fast swimmer like that. Just my .02
Im thinkin 29g biocube...just dont want the myth to come true and have him smash my class...i was thinkin matis shrimp and a small eel...and or small fish just was more intesreted in the matis. im already lookin on craigslist for a cube.
+1 BL, the smallest lionfish you will need at least a 40g and for a large one a 60-75g is recommended and for an eel they start off with a 40g but will quickly outgrow it. So wouldnt do that, and brian is definitely right about not seeing it. I would say the two mantis would kill each other in a small tank with limited rocks though because i would bet they are territorial towards each other,
29g is not big enough to house a 'small' eel for long at all, the lid would also need to be sealed because eels like to jump.
I wouldn't worry about the glass getting smashed. I've heard that too but, I have yet to hear an actual account from a person it's happened to.
hmm..well to be honest it be fine with just the matis, if i can get a fast fish in there so be it lol...thanks for the info.
No problem, I actually added a mantis to my refugium about a month ago ... I've been really surprised how good he's been. He hasn't attacked the gorilla crabs or mithrax crabs that are in there with him .................. yet
I dont have a skimmer nor a refugium so i want an seperate tank for this mofo...he wont break my glass will he??
No, he will not break the glass, that is a myth, and if it were possible, the mantis would have to be absolutely huge to do it.
It doesn't look like it would be a good idea to keep more than one in a tank: Mantis shrimp are solitary, territorial animals. Because they are so well armed, fights between mantis shrimp could be lethal. In some species, individuals try to kill their rivals, but in most species the territorial contests consist of ritualized displays and selective striking with the raptorial appendages to decrease the likelihood of severe injury to the combatants. For example, spearers will usually attack each other with the raptorial appendages folded-up, so the sharp spines are not brought to bare, while smashers often direct blows towards their rival's heavily armored tail section. Some smashers even adopt a defensive posture in which they roll on to their back, curl their head and tail off the bottom and direct their tail toward their opponent. When the peacock mantis shrimp does this, it displays the colorful eye-spots on its tail, which may scare off predators or allow another species of mantis shrimp to recognize it is a different species.
They don't bother corals either so you could make a little reef out of it since it'll have biocube lights anyway.
I just saw an all set up biocube with a few corals and fish on craigslist in phoenix for $150. I was so tempted to get it to "pair" with my 125g and maybe use as a nice looking QT tank or something. But decided to wait and save the money towards a good light for my 125 first. But I love the idea of a mantis in a bio-cube. I think they are cool little guys!
Mantis shrimp can break your glass, I have witnessed this. I had kept several mantis (never in the same tank) I wouldn't suggest that, they will most likely fight to the death. You are better off keeping only the mantis, they will generally hunt down and eat anything in the tank. You can decorate the tank with coral (just make it leather etc) something easy to care for that likes dirty water. Here is a video of my old mantis this is the one that broke the glass in my tank. https://www.livingreefs.com/pistol-shrimp-vs-mantis-shrimp-t20459p2.html
Maybe while he is small, but about a year ago I woke up at 4:30 am to the sound of shrimp like rapid fire hitting the side of our biocube 32 so I went and got a turbo snail from our larger aquarium and I thought I solves the problem and went back to bed. About an hour later my girlfriend woke me up in a panic and there was water gushing out of the side of the tank and in a panic I just grabbed this Rubbermaid laundry tote and to try to catch the water and I temporarily put him in there and he ended up dying I'm not sure if there was laundry soap or something I don't know but I was completely devastated I was so attached to that shrimp I had had them for a few years and they just have so much character and you get attached to him over time. I would hate for you to make the same mistake that I did. Even though the guy at my local aquarium store warn me that he could absolutely break the BioCube I had planned on upsizing when he got bigger and just procrastinated and said I'll do it later and so long story short absolutely they can break bio cubes without a problem and in my case my little friend lost his life over that so take it for what it's worth but hopefully you didn't decide to go with it and if you did and you see this you might want to switch it up because they get strong quick. That's my two cents and my experience on it I hope it could help you
