Mantis Tank Project

[SnoQ]

A friend I work with decided she didn't want to maintain her 30 gallon long tank any more and offered it to me. I was originally thinking I'd set up a FOWLR, but when I stopped by Blue Sierra to drop off the freshwater fish that had been living in the tank, Doris pointed out that it would make a great Mantis tank. A couple of months ago Blue Sierra had a large Mantis shrimp that they'd ordered for someone. I really liked it so it didn't take any convincing to get me to change my mind and get on board with setting up a Mantis tank instead.

The cave:

Today I picked up a 3" wide ABS plumbing T to build the cave. I'm going to cap the end shown bottom left in the picture. I'm then going to butt that up right up against the end of the tank. I'm going to cover the pipe with live rock, building up a hill that will top out at the top of the pipe that goes straight up. This will give the Mantis 2 different entry points to his home. I'll add some additional live rock, mainly rubble that the Mantis can use to redecorate and if I can find a nice long piece of Tonga, I'd like to cover it in Zoas and have it stretch end to end. I'll also add some different of algaes to give the tank more color.

Tomorrow I'm going to buff out the tank. It's acrylic and has just a few minor scratches. I've got sand already and when I do my water change this week, I'll have about 10 gallons of water to move to this tank. For the next couple of weeks I'll keep adding old water from my established tank to the new tank to get it fired up.

I'll add more pics as the tank progresses.

 

[Peppie]

Nothing like building a cave to go into a mancave!!!
Neat build to tinker with.
Sump? HOB? Lights?

 

[justforfun]

LOVE IT!!! always wanted one gave me a nice idea for my qt tank

 

[N1Husker]

I think it would be a mantis cave instead of a man cave. Just an observation.

 

[SnoQ]

The tank came with an AquaClear filter that I'm going to use. Instead of the AquaClear media I'll do Chemi-Pure Elite & probably Purigen. No sump, at least I don't blame on doing one as of now. Would one really be necessary for this size tank?

 

[SnoQ]

No sump, at least I don't blame on doing one as of now.

That's supposed to say I don't PLAN on doing one as of now.
:doh:

 

[Krish]

Sounds interesting! I've caught quite a few mantis shrimp here in the wild just to snap their photos and then released them. Be careful with them as they pack a serious punch. Curt (curtswearing) had a thread/workshop here dedicated to mantis shrimp. Pretty good read although as far as I can remember, he never completed it.


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[N1Husker]

That's what is so great about this hobby, so many different ways to go. Different types of fish, corals, set ups, sizes and interests. Good luck with your Mantis Shrimp.

 

[Jozee]

I remember seeing that peacock mantis there a couple of months ago - incredibly cool and prehistoric looking. Good luck!

 

[SnoQ]

So I'm still waiting on a Mantis shrimp. Doris from Blue Sierra has been looking but no luck on a good one yet. The last one they had was absolutely beautiful so I'm good with waiting.

For now the tank looks pretty boring. I've put some start macroalgae and rubble rock in the tank to get it going.

 

[chickenofthesea]

got a pic of the set-up?

 

[SnoQ]

I've been a total slacker when it comes to updating this thread, but there hasn't really been much to show. I heard from multiple people that the pipe idea would probably just take up space in the tank because they like to burrow, so I pulled it out. Right now the tank is just sitting there running with sand, live rock and some Caulerpa. A couple of times my LFS (Blue Sierra) tried to get a Mantis and someone else got them first, so I was really excited when they got not one, but two in on Friday. One has pretty muted colors but the other has very vibrant coloring. The really colorful one is all mine! My nitrates were up a little bit, but I was throwing water from my other tanks that came out during water changes into that tank. I did a water change this weekend and will do one more on Friday and the tank should be good to go. With any luck "Bruce Lee" should be in his new home by Saturday. I'll be sure to take some photos and video.

 

[Jozee]

Way to go!! Congrats! Looking forward to the pics ~

 

[DTECH07]

What type of tank glass or acrylic? True the Mantis is outstanding. I just watched a show on channel 159 (comcast) wild called "Killer Shrimp" and in a Awake Magazine 2years ago on the Peacok Mantis on how their arms work and why. +1 on taking this direction in the Saltwater hobbie.

 

[SnoQ]

I went with an acrylic tank. I know Mantis are capable of breaking glass tanks and while it's rare, I decided not to take a chance.

 

[DTECH07]

Very nice. Post pictures when you can, would love to see a different side to the hobby.

 

[Skimmy]

Mantis Shrimp Tank Music Video - YouTube

 

[SnoQ]

Bruce Lee has arrived and is settling into his new home. Right now I have some extra rubble rock stored in his tank that will be going into a refugium. Once it's out I'm going to add some PVC joints and a pipe since they apparently do like to cruise through them.

Bruce Lee the Peacock Mantis Shrimp - YouTube</SPAN></SPAN>

 

[Krish]

Pretty cool!!

 

[Jozee]

He is a sweet-looking mantis for sure ~ glad that you finally got him!