Mantis Shrimp

MSD60178 · 05/17/2009, 08:33 PM

I pick up a 29 tall tank at a garage sale this weekend for next to nothing and was wanting to put a mantis in it, any thoughts for any of you who have had them (as pets not pest) where would be a good place to pick one up and what a fair price for one.

jettster · 05/17/2009, 08:39 PM

stomatopod.com put plexiglass on the bottom if its a large mantis and you should check out the mantis forum on here Dr. Roy is very knowledgeable on the subject

knoxtnreef · 05/17/2009, 08:50 PM

it can break glass bro

shroutk3 · 05/17/2009, 10:48 PM

I may be wrong, but I don't think they an actually break glass, and even if it could I doubt that it would just go around punching the glass. I may be wrong, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who actually had a mantis shrimp break a tank.

IMO- go for it. A lot of companies that sell cultured live rock, and inverts carry mantis'

jenglish · 05/18/2009, 01:19 AM

There are mantis capable of breaking glass but most cannot. Get a spearing species and not a hammering species to be sure.

romsoccer12 · 05/18/2009, 04:40 AM

there has never actually been a recorded event of a mantis shrimp breaking somones glass. Its so unlikely. I would go to the mantis shrimp forum for more opinions. Some general stuff i know is dont keep it under intense lights. 20 gal+ for peacock and 10+ for any other type. Give it a good chunk of LR and some rubble. When it molts it will be gone for about 5 days. If your afraid of it breaking the glass, teach it to eat frozen food.

Guygettnby · 05/18/2009, 07:57 AM

the larger mantis shrimp can break glass for sure. but that is very unlikely to happen. i have kept mantis shrimp for along time and the only problem i ever had was a 5" peacock cracking the bottom pane of a 29g tank. now it did not do this on purpose, but when they dig there burrow they will try and bash things in there way when they are digging. to fix this problem line the bottom with a piece of acryilic with a layer of silicone between the acrylic and the bottom glass. or another way to stop that is to make the burrow out of PVC pipe with 2 90 degree ends. also a peacock really shouldnt be in a tank any smaller then a 29g. but remember footprint is the biggest thing here. not the height of the tank. there are also alot of different types of mantis out there that you can keep and each has there own specific needs when it comes to the way the tank is setup. best thing for you to do is take a look around and see exactly what type of mantis you would look to keep and start doing some research. the best place for you to start would be the mantis section right here on reef central.

05/17/2009, 08:33 PM	#1
MSD60178 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Sycamore, IL Posts: 102	Mantis Shrimp I pick up a 29 tall tank at a garage sale this weekend for next to nothing and was wanting to put a mantis in it, any thoughts for any of you who have had them (as pets not pest) where would be a good place to pick one up and what a fair price for one. __________________ Being a Father is not as special as being a Daddy! http://s681.photobucket.com/albums/vv172/MSD60178/ Current Tank Info: 30gal fresh, 65gal reef

05/18/2009, 01:19 AM	#5
jenglish Marquis de Carabas Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 2,523	There are mantis capable of breaking glass but most cannot. Get a spearing species and not a hammering species to be sure. __________________ Jeremy Brown liquor never hurt anybody “Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse" Pierre-Simon Laplace I should want to cook him a simple meal, but I shouldn't want to cut into him, to tear the flesh, to wear the flesh, to be born unto new worlds where his flesh becomes my key. Current Tank Info: broken and dry

05/18/2009, 04:40 AM	#6
romsoccer12 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: ohio Posts: 2,625	there has never actually been a recorded event of a mantis shrimp breaking somones glass. Its so unlikely. I would go to the mantis shrimp forum for more opinions. Some general stuff i know is dont keep it under intense lights. 20 gal+ for peacock and 10+ for any other type. Give it a good chunk of LR and some rubble. When it molts it will be gone for about 5 days. If your afraid of it breaking the glass, teach it to eat frozen food. __________________ Colin R Current Tank Info: 3rd tank working fine!(29gal oceanic biocube) 5-6months old

05/17/2009, 08:39 PM	#2
jettster Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Jefferson City tn. Posts: 337	stomatopod.com put plexiglass on the bottom if its a large mantis and you should check out the mantis forum on here Dr. Roy is very knowledgeable on the subject

05/17/2009, 08:50 PM	#3
knoxtnreef Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Savannah, GA Posts: 524	it can break glass bro

05/17/2009, 10:48 PM	#4
shroutk3 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ripley, Ny Posts: 315	I may be wrong, but I don't think they an actually break glass, and even if it could I doubt that it would just go around punching the glass. I may be wrong, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who actually had a mantis shrimp break a tank. IMO- go for it. A lot of companies that sell cultured live rock, and inverts carry mantis'

05/18/2009, 07:57 AM	#7
Guygettnby Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: FL Posts: 3,050	the larger mantis shrimp can break glass for sure. but that is very unlikely to happen. i have kept mantis shrimp for along time and the only problem i ever had was a 5" peacock cracking the bottom pane of a 29g tank. now it did not do this on purpose, but when they dig there burrow they will try and bash things in there way when they are digging. to fix this problem line the bottom with a piece of acryilic with a layer of silicone between the acrylic and the bottom glass. or another way to stop that is to make the burrow out of PVC pipe with 2 90 degree ends. also a peacock really shouldnt be in a tank any smaller then a 29g. but remember footprint is the biggest thing here. not the height of the tank. there are also alot of different types of mantis out there that you can keep and each has there own specific needs when it comes to the way the tank is setup. best thing for you to do is take a look around and see exactly what type of mantis you would look to keep and start doing some research. the best place for you to start would be the mantis section right here on reef central.