Mantis shrimp? sys., sm. SW period  12/5/07
Ok so I don't know if y'all know much about mantis shrimp but here goes....So I told my LFS to order a small mantis shrimp for me for my tank. They ordered a peacock. Yeah, they get huge, about 5 inches. So anyways, I have a tom deco 3,
<Three gallon... http://www.theaquaticdepot.com/tom-aquarium-products-deco-kit-3-gallon-nano-ree.html>
would my mantis be fine in my tank, for now? He about 2 inches long...if so, how long do I have until he will grow to adult size?
<Mmm, well... stomatopods are tough animals... but I give you very small odds of being able to keep this tiny volume stable-enough to keep even this alive. I strongly encourage your reading re "Nano" maintenance... and being VERY diligent re daily topping off, matching water spg exactly for regular water changes... Bob Fenner>

Re: mantis shrimp? Sys. and nano  12.8.07
I totally agree it will be hard but I have all the equipment and I am very good at topping off the water in my BC14 every week, if not twice a week. Ill tell you how it goes if you like?
<Please do. BobF>

Sick Pet Mantis Shrimp   10/22/07
Hello WetWebMedia crew,
<Maria>
I really love your site and find it very informative and helpful.
<Ahh, glad you find it useful>
Now, I am an owner of a beautiful 7 inch peacock mantis. It lives in an 8 gallon nano cube with a yellow tail damsel.
<Yikes. Glad I'm not this Damsel!>
The tank has live sand and a few pieces of live rock that form a cave for her to hide in. Mantis shrimps are cool pets and have colorful personalities. However, my mantis has developed a brownish discoloration on its back. It started as a small round speck and is now getting a little bit bigger and oval shaped (around 2 millimeters). I read on the web that peacock mantis shrimps are especially susceptible to shell disease.
<Yes>
I am afraid that this is what my mantis may have. The sites I have visited suggest to feed the mantis everyday to encourage it to molt.
<Along with iodine, sufficient alkalinity and alkaline earth content in its water... VERY hard to supply consistently in this small volume>
They also said that by molting regularly they can get ahead of the disease. I have been feeding my mantis everyday (hermit crabs, snails, and frozen krill). I also read that keeping the tank light on can help expedite the disease. I have no idea if this is true.
<Mmm, can... if adds stress, the "spots" are algal...>
Lately, I have been keeping the lights off on her tank (unless I am feeding her). I have also been performing 2 gallon water changes on her tank every week to try to keep the water quality up. Any suggestions or tips on what I should do? I would hate to loose her. Do you guys think it may be shell disease? Thanks in advance. MR
<Mmm, better environment... a bigger tank... what are your measures for Mg, Ca, Alkalinity? Do you supplement I2? Bob Fenner>

Mantis Removed
Hi Crew,
Dave in China here again. I recently installed some LR into the tank; and after a day or so heard that glass cracking snap every once in a while that lead me to search the site. I have heard some lighter sounds in the past but much less frequent than this, and had 'things' completely disappear which has started me thinking as I write this. Anyway, after much searching in your FAQ and catching a glimpse of eyes at the end of storks on a new piece of rock, it was obvious that a MS was recently added unintentionally. I didn’t react immediately as it looked from the glimpse very small. Imagine my fear in the morning when I saw this 2-1/2" to 3", I must say stunningly beautiful MS strolling around the tank.
<Gorgeous, intelligent animals>
My feelings of this cute little MS staying in the day before were soon re-evaluated in about a millisecond. I tried the bottle and food trick without success, but then he was startled by a fish, small fish may I add and to my surprise, but he shot straight back into the piece of LR and closed his door, which I also think is amazing. Again I had this urge not wanting to dispose of this fascinating creature, but the main tank has small fish, turbo's, small crabs, cleaner and boxer shrimps etc, so had to make the decision to remove. I quickly grabbed the wife to watch the rock for bail out as I removed it from the tank. Then I thought about keeping him in the sump which I am slowly converting to be sump/refug/Caulerpa growth area.
<Good idea>
The sump has (4) sections with a total capacity of about 30 US Gal. Section 1 has the skimmer, 2 has crushed coral and Caulerpa at the moment, 3 has crushed coral and 4 the pumps and heaters etc. I have placed the LR with MS into section 2 where the lights are on 24/7. So the questions:-
1) Do you think it is OK to keep the MS in the sump?
<Yes>
2) Is OK with lights 24/7?
<Should be>
3) Will the LR and other inhabitants suffer from the lights?
<Some, yes>
4) In the absence of food what is best to give him?
<Most anything meaty... the occasional (weekly, biweekly) live crustacean would be best.>
Thanks as usual, Dave
<Welcome. Bob Fenner> 

Questions about nanoreef for Stomatopod
Hello, all.
I'm setting up a nanoreef for a smaller mantis shrimp such as Neogonodactylus wennerae (not about to go for a peacock -- I like my fingers too much). Anyways, what I've got so far are: 11 gal Via Aqua tank/lights, 20 lb live sand, 15 lb live rock, AquaClear 20 filter. Just set this tank up so it'll be a few weeks before it's ready for guests. A few questions: (1) I know I need a skimmer on this small of a tank, in addition to frequent water changes. LFS suggested a Prizm, which I set up, tried in vain to tune and/or quiet, and it's now going on EBay (Grr.. hack spit). After looking at FAQs belatedly I'm getting a Remora (quieter, better skimming). Is this too much skimming for this tank?
<Oversized, but fine>
I might put some hardy corals in here and perhaps a fish or two or three, depending on what the mantis "accepts". Is there such a thing as "overskimming"?
<Yes, but not practically here>
If it's "too much" should I just put it on a timer for a few hours a day? (2) Is there any "cleanup crew" that a small mantis might leave alone?
<No>
Small hermits and snails will be just so much mantis food. I've heard that turbo snails might work, if they're big enough.
Thanks!
Dan
<Time, experience will tell. Bob Fenner> 

More than one mantis per tank? 5/6/05
Hello. Is it safe to house 2 small mantis shrimp in a 10 gal tank? I had 2 mantis shrimp housed together in a 10 gal tank with plenty of separate holes and caves for both. The larger we had about 4-5 months and the smaller about 1-2 months. Both ate well, especially the larger one (frozen shrimp, raw and cooked). <As voracious predators, these critters really benefit from a variety of meaty foods, with as much as possible being whole and with a shell. Small live fiddler crabs and crayfish are great treats and give these very intelligent mantis some much needed mental and physical stimulation! Frozen shrimp with the head (or at least shell) still on are better than peeled. Mysis are very nutritious staples. Cooked foods are never recommended for marine animals.>
They had heat, little live rock and gravel, a power head and regular feeding and water changes. Sadly, the larger one died mysteriously. He/she was fairly interactive for a mantis. Last time I saw him he ate well and then he disappeared and I found him dead a few days later. I thought he was molting but I guess not. I really enjoyed him a lot and miss him. The small one is coming out of it's holes more now. Is it possible the smaller one killed the large one?? Thanks, Maria <It is possible that the smaller one killed the larger, but the battle scars would probably be very evident. It is more likely that age or poor nutrition played a bigger role. As for adding another... it is possible, but risky. Many of the territorial true shrimps (Mantis are in their own family<<Actually Order. RMF>>) will tolerate members of the opposite sex, but some will only do so during courtship and mating. Although they are not true shrimps, I would guess that mantis are similarly unpredictable. My best suggestion if you add a second mantis is to be prepared to quickly separate them in case of trouble. Also, if you do successfully make a pair and they mate, please let us know! Best Regards. AdamC.>

Quarantine tanks and Stomatopods
Hi everybody,
A small piece of advice please regarding QTanks and Mantis Shrimps please. I presently have a 180G simple reef system without QT, yes I know I know, that\u2019s the reason for this. Cut a long story short, I managed to catch a Mantis a few weeks back and asked Bob about placing him into my sump which he said I could. All fine. However, this creature is amazing and beautiful and has actually got me watching his activities just as much as the main system. In fact I quite enjoyed feeding the little guy (3") on hands and knees peering through the glass of the sump, so much so I decided to convert a 10G freshwater into a Micro reef. 
I did this and got a 'Chinese' hang on skimmer (Not too good), internal canister and external power filter to try and emulate the best conditions I could. Put a few pounds of live rock in, a YT damsel and cleaner shrimp for other activity or live food in the case of the shrimp (4 weeks and still there however) and read up as much as I could on mini's. However, due to time, the not so good Chinese available equipment and my own knowledge more than anything; I am struggling to keep the correct parameters and maintenance regimes to keep this small system viable. 
Therefore I had a thought as I would love to keep this guy, and the second mantis from the main system I noticed recently but not been able to trap yet, could I place this 10G alongside the main 180G, pump up from the sump of the main into the 10G, overflow back to the sump thereby using all of the same equipment and water quality from the main system? 
In an emergency then I could also return the internal/external canisters onto the 10G with seeded inserts from the sump I would do, turn off the supply pump to the 10G, remove the live rocks with inserted mantis's back to the main sump, and use the 10G as a hospital? If not a hospital due to still not being able to treat with copper due to future overflows back to main, then at least a QT tank? As a final question about this, is it possible to keep (2) Mantis together in a 10G?
Thanks as always from afar distant China.
Dave
>>>Greetings Dave!
Quite honestly, that little system should be the easiest thing in the world to take care of. The lowest maintenance system I've ever had was a 7 gallon nano-reef sitting on my desk at work. You don't NEED a skimmer on a tank this size, ESPECIALLY for a Stomatopod! ("mantis shrimp") For one thing, the tank being so small, water changes are a snap which negates the need for a skimmer. Secondly, stomatopods are TOUGH little hombres! They are the roaches of the reef world (as far as hardiness goes) and you have to be quite negligent to kill one quite honestly. All you need for that little tank is a shallow layer of sand, some live rock, a heater, and a powerhead to give it some circulation. That's it! Whatever light you have available will work. Just change out 2 or 3 gallons of water every two weeks, keep it topped-off, and you're set. I certainly wouldn't go through all the trouble of plumbing it to the main system as you described. Small tanks are a snap, and I'd be glad to lend you further advice on the matter should have an more specific questions.
Cheers
Jim<<<