Want info about Mantis Shrimps

[Ac2556]

Hello. Ive NEVER had a saltwater aquarium, but i've had a freshwater for about 5 years. Now im looking forward to start a SW tank with ONLY a mantis shrimp. My budget is 480$. Would that be enough? I do rather have a small one than Big. And lastely: What would i need to get my first saltwater tank running, and what do the mantis Shrimps need? (Mostly food because i live in a place where its almost impossible for me to get live crustaceans. Thank you for reeding and sorry for any typos, English is not my native language.

Ps. Any other info and species recommendations is GREATLY appreciated. Have a nice day

[EI Gringo]

Hello there and welcome to reef central! My first question is actually where in the world you are? My reason is that some species come from Indonesia etc and some come from the Pacific so that can make a big difference.
Best smaller beginner species for a 20-40L aquarium include;
Gonodactylus smithii, Neogonodactylus wennerae, Gonodactylus Chiragra (can be boring), other Gonodactylus or gonodactylaceus.
Google "roys list of stomatopods" for further details.
Equipment varies on what you can use...
A protein skimmer is highly recommended but can be difficult to add to smaller systems unless you have a sump and a return which may be a tad unnecessary.
A circulation of 4x an hour would be good as a minimum.
A heater set to 25* Celsius would be ideal, 21-28 would suffice.
Adding cured live rock from the beginning will add bacteria and somewhere for a mantis to live.
Any substrate other than super fine sand, I used crushed coral sand or coral rubble for mine.
Lighting is only there to see the mantis, unless you want corals then low energy LEDS would be perfect.

My recommendation would be a small tank with an inbuilt weir at the back for a "back of the tank sump" and preferably including a protein skimmer, most likely air driven.

Hope this helps!

[EI Gringo]

Also don't allow the mantis to get to the heater, there's more than just a risk that it could be smashed by it, bad news!

[Bugboy2020]

I went through nearly the same experience you are now going through. And currently, I'm 2 months in to my 5 gallon Mantis tank, and I've spent around 200 dollars(Bare basics). Oh, and I must ask, do you have a Local Fish Store that has a Saltwater section?

[Ac2556]

Originally Posted by Bugboy2020

I went through nearly the same experience you are now going through. And currently, I'm 2 months in to my 5 gallon Mantis tank, and I've spent around 200 dollars(Bare basics). Oh, and I must ask, do you have a Local Fish Store that has a Saltwater section?

Thank you. Yes i have a local petstore that could order home a mantis for me. They have a saltwater section

[Ac2556]

Originally Posted by EI Gringo

Hello there and welcome to reef central! My first question is actually where in the world you are? My reason is that some species come from Indonesia etc and some come from the Pacific so that can make a big difference.
Best smaller beginner species for a 20-40L aquarium include;
Gonodactylus smithii, Neogonodactylus wennerae, Gonodactylus Chiragra (can be boring), other Gonodactylus or gonodactylaceus.
Google "roys list of stomatopods" for further details.
Equipment varies on what you can use...
A protein skimmer is highly recommended but can be difficult to add to smaller systems unless you have a sump and a return which may be a tad unnecessary.
A circulation of 4x an hour would be good as a minimum.
A heater set to 25* Celsius would be ideal, 21-28 would suffice.
Adding cured live rock from the beginning will add bacteria and somewhere for a mantis to live.
Any substrate other than super fine sand, I used crushed coral sand or coral rubble for mine.
Lighting is only there to see the mantis, unless you want corals then low energy LEDS would be perfect.

My recommendation would be a small tank with an inbuilt weir at the back for a "back of the tank sump" and preferably including a protein skimmer, most likely air driven.

Hope this helps!

Thank you! I live in Sweden. However i fixed the problem of getting the actual shrimp. I was thinking of getting 2 powerheads, wouldnt that be enough for the water circulation?

And If i got 2x powerheads would i need a extra filter?

[TprMoore]

Welcome to Reef Central!