My 13.5 Gallon Mantis Shrimp Tank

Ruben's Reef · Oct 15, 2019

Interesting build thread...Beautiful Mantis. Following>>>

Stoney · Oct 15, 2019

I like bambi. Sort of like ironically calling something tiny and then BAM just kidding. So many layers lol

Perpetual Novice · Oct 15, 2019

Here she is. She seems to be adjusting well and has just begun to adopt her burrow. Shes definitely feisty but clearly isn't interested in eating yet.

Perpetual Novice · Oct 15, 2019

still need help picking a name.

Perpetual Novice · Oct 24, 2019

I named her sushi. She’s very timid and doesn’t ever punch the tongs or anything for that matter. Today I saw why. The poor thing is missing one of her punching arms. I hope it grows back.

Malifry97 · Oct 24, 2019

following

RyanSweet · Oct 24, 2019

I named mine Barry. Barry Man(t)i(s)low. I’ll get a couple pics/vids of him uploaded later today.

reef lover · Oct 25, 2019

I really love peacocks!
I hate to say that tank is too small for a mantis of that size. The least i would go would be a 30 gal.
Good luck.

Perpetual Novice · Oct 29, 2019

I'm having an outbreak of cyano at the moment. I guess after such a long period of neglect it's like I never cycled the tank before. Despite that, all seems to be going well. Sushi has developed a ravenous appetite and already seems to have the whole feeding system figured out. Don't worry, I make sure to clean up all the scraps she tosses out of the burrow when she's done.

Squidward · Oct 29, 2019

How did the LFS give it to you? Bag it up or packed her in a special container? And how big can they get? What's a good appropriate long term tank size for one? Would you ever consider giving her a male or is that too risky? I saw 2 at my 2 LFS and was so tempted to get one... ;Drool

Perpetual Novice · Oct 29, 2019

Squidward said:
How did the LFS give it to you? Bag it up or packed her in a special container? And how big can they get? What's a good appropriate long term tank size for one? Would you ever consider giving her a male or is that too risky? I saw 2 at my 2 LFS and was so tempted to get one... ;Drool

I have had bad luck getting them shipped to me. so I recommend getting one in person at a store. and just a double or triple bag like fish.

like reef lover said above, my tank is technically on the small side. But I personally feel it is more about the environment you offer the mantis shrimp. They are much better off in a 20 gallon with lots of rocks, a sturdy burrow, and a deep sand bed to dig into than in a 50 gallon with just a couple rocks and nowhere to build a burrow. My tank is just 13.5 gallons and I think it suits my 6-inch mantis just fine.

As for pairing them up I really don't know. I know color is a good indicator of sex but I don't think it's a sure thing. I've also heard that their color can be influenced by the environment the shrimps are collected from. Beyond that, even if you knew one was male and one was female, I don't know that they wouldn't be more likely to fight each other than pair up. But that sort of knowledge is really out of my depth.

Perpetual Novice · Nov 1, 2019

I just added a pair of small maroon clownfish to the tank. I thought they were a good fit if I was going to risk adding fish and now would be the best time to add them. I feel like their aggressive might help them avoid becoming prey... maybe. Also, now is when Sushi the mantis shrimp is most vulnerable. He's missing one of his clubbing arms and is still adapting to the new tank and the changes I made in the aquascape. I am also feeding sushi smaller meals more frequently so that he never goes hungry and wants to hunt his own food. Hopefully, all goes well and they develop a stable relationship where each is aware and accepting of the other animal in the tank.

I considered going without fish and keeping sushi alone in the tank. but when I was buying salt I saw two tiny, healthy, maroon clownfish for $35 total and totally caved.

Also, I think Sushi is male. Since settling into the tank he has darkened considerably in color and is now more green than orange. Take a look for yourself in the video I added to this post. Its some shots of the new clowns while I feed Sushi.

I know the tank is dirty. The chato algae I added backfired and somehow died. I added media to absorb the phosphates but the nitrates released quickly fed a bloom of cyano. I've been doing water changes every other day and the sandbed is still a mess. Water chemistry is habitable though.

Stoney · Nov 1, 2019

Interesting that he changed color, good thing you went with a unisex name lol. I'm liking the clowns too, definitely needed something in the water column.

Perpetual Novice · Nov 1, 2019

Stoney said:
Interesting that he changed color, good thing you went with a unisex name lol. I'm liking the clowns too, definitely needed something in the water column.

I definitely agree. And if they become food then I guess ill accept that that is the circle of life and I just treated sushi to an expensive meal. My last mantis didn't accept the baby clown I added and it disappeared overnight. It was a little bit of trial and error finding the couple of fish I ended up with that goji wouldn't eat.

Also, I would love suggestions for brainstorming other additions to the tank. I was thinking urchins wouldn't add a bioload and would probably not be eaten. Maybe some GSPs or decorative algae down the line. I'm not sure if the tank could handle any more fish. but I feel like there's still more I can do to make the tank aesthetically pleasing as well as a practical environment for a mantis shrimp.

Malifry97 · Nov 1, 2019

Perpetual Novice said:
I definitely agree. And if they become food then I guess ill accept that that is the circle of life and I just treated sushi to an expensive meal. My last mantis didn't accept the baby clown I added and it disappeared overnight. It was a little bit of trial and error finding the couple of fish I ended up with that goji wouldn't eat.

Also, I would love suggestions for brainstorming other additions to the tank. I was thinking urchins wouldn't add a bioload and would probably not be eaten. Maybe some GSPs or decorative algae down the line. I'm not sure if the tank could handle any more fish. but I feel like there's still more I can do to make the tank aesthetically pleasing as well as a practical environment for a mantis shrimp.

I feel like urchins would definitely get eaten

Perpetual Novice · Nov 4, 2019

I was pruning the field of Xenia in one of my other tanks today and I was about to toss the trimmings in the toiled when I thought about using them to seed the mantis tank with its first coral.

xenia seems like a great choice since it thrives in dirty water, grows fast, looks really pretty, and adds great movement to small tanks (in my opinion). I have already ruled out a real reef tank since my filtration is overburdened for keeping water clean enough for most corals. The mantis would knock them over anyway. But xenia doesn’t care about any of that and will grow regardless in my experience. Plus I won’t be bothered if it doesn’t take because I was going to flush it anyway.

but I have a concern. My last mantis died after red seaweed died off and released iodine into the water, causing the shrimp to mold prematurely. I haven’t looked up the care requirements for xenia in quite a long time but I do remember hearing that it likes the addition of extra iodine in the water. I assume that means xenia collects a lot of iodine in its tissue. And if that’s true, then adding a lot of xenia to my 13.5 gallon tank could release iodine into the water and cause the same problems as last time.

I really don’t know enough to guess what would happen so I’m not going to move forward until I can find some advice. Does anyone know if my concern is valid? Could adding xenia be a mistake? Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Perpetual Novice · Nov 13, 2019

Well, unfortunately, my daily feedings of raw shrimp weren't enough to appease Sushi's appetite. Both the clowns disappeared over the last two nights despite being in good health. I might try the kinds of fish that worked with Goji in the past but maybe sushi just isn't a mantis shrimp that will tolerate fish in his territory.

Stoney · Nov 13, 2019

Sorry to hear that. I always thought smashers weren't interested in fish. Are you sure he's actually eating them or just doesn't like them in his territory? Maybe he'd leave the fish alone if you added some crabs, shrimps, and snails to keep him busy.