SunWyrm March 22, 2013 Share March 22, 2013 I have always found the Mantis at the National Zoo's invert house very active and interesting. Maybe you can drop by and ask them about it. I was thinking of getting one to keep my Fuzzy Dwalf Lion company in my sump but was apprehensive about the "tales" that they can break glass. I have a 40breeder glass for a sump. I personally wouldn't do it, I'd be too afraid of the mantis doing some light-hits to get the lion to move or some other shenanigans. On a separate note the glass of a 40b is more than fine. I was worried about the same thing but Decadence assured me that the mantis will try to dig downward. Easily fixed; head to home depot or lowes and pickup a cut sheet of acrylic and seal it to the bottom of the tank with silicone. I didn't even seal it, just laid a piece of acrylic down and poured sand on top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decadence March 22, 2013 Share March 22, 2013 I can assure you that a lion won't bite you if you try and pet it... Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2 A lion's natural instinct is to bite you and it is likely to happen. A mantis shrimp does not care about the glass in front of it; it just a wants to dig, eat, molt and wobble its eyes around. Think of it more like "guaranteeing" you won't get hit by a flying tire at a NASCAR race.. Yah, it can happen.. But there is a 99.999999% chance that it won't. The same five "mantis broke my glass" stories have been circulating for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime March 22, 2013 Share March 22, 2013 A lion's natural instinct is to bite you and it is likely to happen. A mantis shrimp does not care about the glass in front of it; it just a wants to dig, eat, molt and wobble its eyes around. Think of it more like "guaranteeing" you won't get hit by a flying tire at a NASCAR race.. Yah, it can happen.. But there is a 99.999999% chance that it won't. The same five "mantis broke my glass" stories have been circulating for years. Fair enough, and not disagreeing, just stating that nothing is for certain, hence that guarantee above in quotes. Thats all.:p Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k March 22, 2013 Share March 22, 2013 You are a very interesting guy Rob. Wow! 2 fans in the same thread. My ego is skyrocketing. Seriously though, I've tried lots of things in this hobby over the last 22 years. I've succeeded with some and failed at others. I do find that there's an overwhelming number of fish tales that get circulated by the general public and club members and I like to point them out when I see or hear them. Just like thinking the mantis is going to break any glass object in an aquarium. Omair thinks he has to put acrylic on the bottom of the tank to prevent the mantis from smashing it. There has never been any factual evidence of a mantis shrimp smashing glass. It's yet another fish tale. "Tales" would be a better name for this particular shrimp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime March 23, 2013 Share March 23, 2013 It's yet another fish tale. "Tales" would be a better name for this particular shrimp. I like it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 March 23, 2013 Share March 23, 2013 I wouldn't say that there are no broken tanks from mantis shrimp, but the thought that they can break the glass pane of a tank is probably more urban legend than anything else. On the bottom, all it takes is the right strike at the wrong place with tempered bottom tanks. I don't think it's likely that a mantis will crack an untempered pane, but a tempered pane if struck just right will shatter, just like a car window. I put a sheet of acrylic on the bottom of my mantis tanks because they have a tendency to dig a lot and unsettle any rock work and then they find a great place to sit and strike the glass. I have seen videos of mantis shrimp cracking glass, but those are very think sheets of glass (probably 1/8" which you wouldn't find a tank made of) and they are not tank walls but barriers placed into tanks themselves. In terms of keeping multiple mantis together, depends on the species and temperament. I kept 3 wennerae in the same tank with a peacock because the wennerae were small and fit into little holes in the rock whereas the peacock was large and burrowed under the rock. This was in a 15 gallon tall tank so it wasn't like there was tons of room. There is anecdotal, possibly even research based evidence that lighting will cause a mantis to develop ulcerated shells but I have always had lights above my mantis tanks including a 150W MH over my last 15 gallon mantis tank without any issues for the molt or shell. In terms of keeping corals in there, I would avoid anything that is highly demanding. Mantises are not exactly clean animals and they end up leaving a lot of debris from what they crack open. They also will do an awful lot of rearranging and so will most likely bury your corals or place them where you don't want them. The solution to this would be a rather large rock with the corals mounted on top, but again, burrowing beneath the rock could shift it (another reason to add the pane of acrylic to the bottom to spread out the impact of a falling rock). If you do opt for a mantis tank, I would get larger crushed coral for the substrate and put a lot of rubble in it so that the mantis can build its den. I used reactor media last time around. Also, as I mentioned before, some of the smashers will eat fish, but again, it's based on temperament of the individual you find. I had one that would attack anything in the tank with it but another that was very meek. All of the mantis shrimp I have had ate fish, though, if that was what I offered as a meal. It's not a good example, but I even fed a goldfish to a mantis once - kind of crazy as it cracked it in the skull a few times and then held it like it was going to either mount it or shoot it out like a torpedo as it ate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omair March 25, 2013 Author Share March 25, 2013 (edited) Got it setup last night. Went to bed at 3AM. UGH. Pics coming soon! Edited March 25, 2013 by Omair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omair March 25, 2013 Author Share March 25, 2013 20 Gallon Long with Custom Overflow Indonesian Tonga Rock with Carib Sea SeaFlor Special Grade Substrate - Need to get some frag rock for the Mantis to play with. Filteration: Avast Reactor (SeaChem Carbon/Phosguard), Avast Kraken (Bio Pellets), Avast CS-2 Captains Reserve Skimmer There he is! Wish he would go into the PVC tunnels I made ... My wife was highly upset at me due to this snail. Apparently it's vulgar and I should be concerned about the innocense of our 3 year old daughter. Frankly, my daughter is a little evil as it is; takes after her mother. I didn't mention that of course. She made a few more lewd annotations about this Snail and that I should get rid of it - she has a dirty mind. I smirked and informed her that this nice, plump, snail would be cracked open sooner or later. Once I explained just exactly what my new, percocious, mantis does for a living - she gasped and lectured me about the evils of torture. As she babbled on, I sat there and thought to myself - will I ever understand women? Honestly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachabballi reef March 25, 2013 Share March 25, 2013 (edited) looks great!!! Are you gonna throw a bunch of rubble in there so he can decorate his home? Invite Rob over so you can take pics of him hand feeding it Edited March 25, 2013 by sachabballi reef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omair March 25, 2013 Author Share March 25, 2013 Yeah. I need to find some rubble rock from a local place. Anyone have some they can sell? Or any advice on how to properly aquascape for a mantis? He's still a small guy, don't think he can do much damage. But if theres anything I've learned over the years - always respect mother nature. She can really surprise you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachabballi reef March 25, 2013 Share March 25, 2013 I have a lot of rubble that came with my brs rock...I am in leesburg where are you at? I can always drop it off to you during the week when you are available. Happy to give it to you.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachabballi reef March 25, 2013 Share March 25, 2013 (edited) go ahead....put your hands in....lets get to the bottom of this and see if size really matters By linking high speed imaging with force sensors and acoustic sensors, we were able to show that mantis shrimp wield two types of strike forces – the first force is due to the appendage physically striking the snail shell and the second is due to the collapse of the cavitation bubble. Thus, for each predatory strike, mantis shrimp work like jack-hammers with a series of four force peaks from the impact of the first appendage, the collapse of the first cavitation bubble and then the impact of the second appendage and the collapse of the second cavitation bubble. All of this happens in less than 800 µs, with peak forces of 1500 N (over 2500 times the animal’s body weight). Edited March 25, 2013 by sachabballi reef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette March 25, 2013 Share March 25, 2013 big skimmer on a small tank, your not going to have to worry about dirty water in there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omair March 25, 2013 Author Share March 25, 2013 WOOOT! He found his PVC tunnel home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omair March 25, 2013 Author Share March 25, 2013 I have a lot of rubble that came with my brs rock...I am in leesburg where are you at? I can always drop it off to you during the week when you are available. Happy to give it to you.... Jenn - I'm in Reston, just up the road from Rt 7! I can head down and pick it up whenever. Sending PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omair March 25, 2013 Author Share March 25, 2013 (edited) His first feeding. I purchased some frozen scallops at a local grocery store. He grabbed it and has been hugging it fo the past hour. Hope he likes it. Just noticed that he has some amazing harlequin coloring. After he molts and grows bigger he's going to be an amazing! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyVL386XIY0 Edited March 25, 2013 by Omair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omair March 25, 2013 Author Share March 25, 2013 Do you think I can plant some mangroves along the back of the tank? Would that be possible? Or would they die due to lack of direct lighting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef March 26, 2013 Share March 26, 2013 They would do to well...what about some feather caulerpa? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k March 26, 2013 Share March 26, 2013 feed it by hand. it's so tiny that it can't hurt you. even when they are 8" long, it's nothing to worry about. you're more likely to hurt yourself when you flinch from the strike if it thinks your hand is a predator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds March 26, 2013 Share March 26, 2013 marine scene usually has a bunch of rubble. fully cured too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachabballi reef March 26, 2013 Share March 26, 2013 Dropping some at his house today Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy March 26, 2013 Share March 26, 2013 neato, sir! he's a teeny guy which is even better so you get to watch him get bigger! your post on your wife's comments was entertaining to read, haha - thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omair March 26, 2013 Author Share March 26, 2013 neato, sir! he's a teeny guy which is even better so you get to watch him get bigger! your post on your wife's comments was entertaining to read, haha - thank you! Thanks buddy! I'm pretty excited about this small little 20 gallon. It doesn't compare to your mammoth build but I'm trying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omair March 26, 2013 Author Share March 26, 2013 Dropping some at his house today Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2 Got it! Thanks so much for taking the time to do this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omair March 26, 2013 Author Share March 26, 2013 What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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