ID REQUEST & INQUIRY // MANTIS SHRIMP

[Batik]

Hi, good morning everyone.

Recently my supplier has procured a few different varieties of mantis shrimp in his stock. I definitely want to bring a couple home, but I want to verify their species and make sure the parameters at home are perfect before I do.

First mantis shrimp:

The seller ID’d it as a G. Ternatensis which I’m confident it is. It looks to be a female.

Second mantis shrimp:

This one was ID’d by the seller as an O. Latirosis but I’m not too sure as it doesn’t really match the description on Dr. Caldwell’s guide site. I’d like a second opinion if possible.

Third Mantis:

This one I am confident is a peacock, O. Scyllarus male.

Additionally,
I currently have 3 vacant tanks; They are fully cycled with the salinity ranging from 28-30 PSU.

Tank 1:
Dimensions = 80cm*50cm*45cm
Salinity = 30 PSU
Gallons = 45 US

Tank 2:
Dimensions = 80cm*40cm*40cm
Salinity = 30 PSU
Gallons = 33 US

Tank 3:
Dimensions = 60cm*60cm*60cm
Salinity = 28 PSU
Gallons = 33 US

Each one is equipped with a back filter, a skimmer, wave maker, and has been running for more than a year with consistently stable conditions. Are the species available at the seller compatible with these tanks?

 

[Fish Fan]

I'm not an expert on Mantids, but I'm tagging along here to see what others say. I have kept a small N. wennerae mantis from the Florida Gulf of Mexica, USA, area, and I'd like to get another.

I don't know anything about the first two, but the last one does look like an O. Scyllarus. I think a lot of members here kept them in tanks around 40 US gallons/151 Liters. I'm pretty sure they need some secure cave work to be happy, and many keepers use PVC pipes for this. Otherwise from what I know, you're tanks will likely be fine for these guys, with one Mantid per tank, obviously.

@Stomatopods17 and others may have more to add.

Good luck with your Mantids!

 

[Batik]

I'm not an expert on Mantids, but I'm tagging along here to see what others say. I have kept a small N. wennerae mantis from the Florida Gulf of Mexica, USA, area, and I'd like to get another.

I don't know anything about the first two, but the last one does look like an O. Scyllarus. I think a lot of members here kept them in tanks around 40 US gallons/151 Liters. I'm pretty sure they need some secure cave work to be happy, and many keepers use PVC pipes for this. Otherwise from what I know, you're tanks will likely be fine for these guys, with one Mantid per tank, obviously.

@Stomatopods17 and others may have more to add.

Good luck with your Mantids!

Duly noted, I’ll give the peacock the largest tank then.

Actually a few years back, I had a male O. Scyllarus as well. He lived about 3-4 years with me until eventually passing away. I’m quite familiar with the type of burrow/setting requirements for them, but just wanted to make sure the space is enough for the type of mantises I’ll be getting.

For my old one, I provided live rocks in a secure cave-like arrangement for him to hide in and a PVC pipe in a U-shape for a pre-made burrow. He alternated between the two, preferring to molt in the pipes and hang out around/under the liverock otherwise.

I’ll definitely keep all the mantises separate as I know they’re prone to high aggression and cannibalism.

 

[DylanE]

Second one kinda looks like a Gonodactylus chiragra to me

 

[Batik]

More pictures ( front-facing ) from the seller which may help in identification of the two species.

 

[Hadla]

Yep the last one is an actual peacock, I’m Heather from the fb group I’d use the biggest tank you have for the peacock

 

[Batik]

Additional information:

The second one (the one with pink) was procured from Palu, Sulawesi in Indonesia. I hope this helps.

 

[Batik]

Yep the last one is an actual peacock, I’m Heather from the fb group I’d use the biggest tank you have for the peacock

Thank you Heather, I really appreciate your advice and counsel thus far. I hope we can identify the second one soon.

 

[Batik]

Second one kinda looks like a Gonodactylus chiragra to me

You’re right, it does look to be more of a Chiragra… I’ll double check with the seller. He may have Mis-ID’d it. Thank you Dylan.

 

[Hadla]

If it is a chiragra, I wouldn’t get it…. The few I’ve owned were just reclusive and never active out of their burrows

 

[Stomatopods17]

- Female G. Ternatensis

- G. Chiragra

- O. Scyllarus

G. Tern has a bad stigma around reef conservation, in the wild they exclusively live in acropora which needs to be destroyed to catch it. In captivity they don't require it. All the ones I did own never lived in cavities but instead dug under rock in the sand similar to odontodactylids.

G. Chiragra has the hardest hitting pound for pound smashers, depends on individual whether they're reclusive or not, I used to have one that was very active on my desk. Usually swam around at night, and to my discomfort wasn't prone to euthanizing the sick fish I'd offer it like most.

 

[Batik]

If it is a chiragra, I wouldn’t get it…. The few I’ve owned were just reclusive and never active out of their burrows

So they’re not a very interactive species then. Though in terms of hardiness, how were they in your experience?

Are they a species you would not recommend because they’re just very reclusive?

 

[Batik]

- Female G. Ternatensis

- G. Chiragra

- O. Scyllarus

G. Tern has a bad stigma around reef conservation, in the wild they exclusively live in acropora which needs to be destroyed to catch it. In captivity they don't require it. All the ones I did own never lived in cavities but instead dug under rock in the sand similar to odontodactylids.

G. Chiragra has the hardest hitting pound for pound smashers, depends on individual whether they're reclusive or not, I used to have one that was very active on my desk. Usually swam around at night, and to my discomfort wasn't prone to euthanizing the sick fish I'd offer it like most.

Hmm I see. Thank you for the useful insight, this gives me a clearer image of these three species and their behavior.

And if I were to purchase the G. Chiragra, are they notorious glass punchers? I know that breaking aquarium glass is more of a myth kind of thing, but are Chiragra more prone to glass breaking than say a peacock?

The supplier also has another Mantis in stock, could you confirm if this one is also a G. Chiragra?

It looks absolutely stunning and I’m tempted to get this one. Unless of course they are generally problematic as a species?

 

[Stomatopods17]

Also Chiragra.

Glass hitting isn't a myth, its a rare occurrence. G. Chiragra is known to chip glass.

For all 3 you should lay a sheet of pexiglass at the bottom of the tank and position their hide in the middle of the aquarium instead of against any walls of the tank. Specifically O. scyllarus needs a u-shaped burrow structure and tons of rubble.

 

[Batik]

Also Chiragra.

Glass hitting isn't a myth, its a rare occurrence. G. Chiragra is known to chip glass.

For all 3 you should lay a sheet of pexiglass at the bottom of the tank and position their hide in the middle of the aquarium instead of against any walls of the tank. Specifically O. scyllarus needs a u-shaped burrow structure and tons of rubble.

Glass hitting is a thing yeah, I was more so concerned with glass breaking which I heard is more so a “myth”—In which only the largest of mantises will actually break glass of a certain mm.

If the space is accommodating and the environment is enriching, I heard mantises are less prone to glass hitting.

I’ll keep the plexiglass tip in consideration, thank you. Though it may be hard to apply as the tanks are already pre-running for almost years now.

As for keeping the hides away from glass, I positioned a U shaped PVC hide under the main cave in the middle of the tank.

Attached is one of the tanks (33G) with a 6-7cm sand bed. There are plenty of crevices, nooks and crannies for the mantis to hide in and lots of shells (clams, turbo snails, hermits), broken/chipped live rock, and rubble for the mantis to pick up to redecorate as they want.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Glass hitting is a thing yeah, I was more so concerned with glass breaking which I heard is more so a “myth”—In which only the largest of mantises will actually break glass of a certain mm.

The glass breaking does happen - I would expect repeated hits to be needed to break the glass in most cases, but all it takes is one hit damaging the structure of the glass sufficiently to cause the glass to fail (so they don't have to really break the glass themselves, just weaken/stress it enough to cause it break under the pressure/weight of the water).

For some examples of the glass breaking:

Yeah, the breaking glass thing is really more an extreme, rare event with big specimens of large species (likely with thin glass or unnoticed structural integrity issues with the glass beforehand in at least some of the cases as well) - there are a handful of instances (see the quote and link below), but they're so uncommon as to be extreme statistical outliers.

So, the acrylic recommendation is more for peace of mind than anything.

True or False: Can Mantis Shrimp Crack Glass?

Is this a myth or can a mantis shrimp really crack a glass tank? Source

www.reef2reef.com

oh hate mantis shrimp, my father had on in some living rock years ago and it grew and ended up striking at something on the glass , and cracked the 8mm glass. what a performance

Problem with keeping mantis shrimp.

I've had my peacock mantis shrimp for a few weeks now. I've been fascinated by mantis shrimp for ages, from the moment I first saw one on an old BBC documentary. I don't know too much about keeping fish or especially invertebrates, but the first few days it was fine, I followed all the guides...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Batik]

The glass breaking does happen - I would expect repeated hits to be needed to break the glass in most cases, but all it takes is one hit damaging the structure of the glass sufficiently to cause the glass to fail (so they don't have to really break the glass themselves, just weaken/stress it enough to cause it break under the pressure/weight of the water).

For some examples of the glass breaking:

Problem with keeping mantis shrimp.

I've had my peacock mantis shrimp for a few weeks now. I've been fascinated by mantis shrimp for ages, from the moment I first saw one on an old BBC documentary. I don't know too much about keeping fish or especially invertebrates, but the first few days it was fine, I followed all the guides...

www.reef2reef.com

I see. Thank you for the insight, greatly appreciated. I’ll take this into consideration. The glass is 8-10mm thick on average for all three tanks, with currently no scratches or visible damage to the structural integrity.

Do you reckon it is okay for a peacock Scyllarus, Chiragra and a Ternatensis?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I see. Thank you for the insight, greatly appreciated. I’ll take this into consideration. The glass is 8-10mm thick on average for all three tanks, with currently no scratches or visible damage to the structural integrity.

Do you reckon it is okay for a peacock Scyllarus, Chiragra and a Ternatensis?

As long as they don't strike the glass regularly (and the glass doesn't have any unseen structural damage/weak spots), probably (though adding the plexiglass or a piece of polycarbonate or something would probably be wise, especially if these are larger specimens).

If they're larger and happen to strike the glass forcefully, though, or if they repeatedly strike the glass in roughly the same spot, then the glass may break.