5 Gallon Mantis Tank

[craigybaby37]

well i gave the frozen krill a try tonight with great success. As soon as it saw them it was jumpin around all over the show getting the krill as they were floating by. And then after it gave me a great chance to get some new shots with the new camera hope u enjoy.

lots of them were the same so i picked the 1 best shot of them all

http/img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/cra...era13308052.jpg

 

[rictheredneck]

first time ive read this thread, awesome!

 

[littleme1969]

Hes just gorgeous
I have to say I just love these. They get so much bad press but truly are one spectacular creature. I found 2 in my rock and after having them identified as a small variety I thought I would take a risk and add them to the tank
about 5 months later all is well. The brown one is now bright green and the cheekiest thing in the tank..lol I often see his head poking out of a rock hole checking me out. He seems to live off leftovers and the odd small clams he finds around the tank.
I'm so impressed by these guys I may just use the 2.5ft tank in the dinning room as a mantis tank and seeing this guy has just made up my mind Anyone know how long they live?

 

[craigybaby37]

would be interesting to find out how long they live. I cant stress enough how fun it is to have a mantis tank its just so different and like u say they do have a cheeky personality. Mine is now getting used to me a bit more now as before when ever i used to look into the tank it would dart back to its cave which is understandable.

Pretty simple to set up a tank as there needs are pretty basic just make sure u put a false bottom in the tank incase it tries digging through it as ya dont want any floods.

 

[SkiFletch]

Life span depends on the species. In captivity, most of the smaller ones can live 5-10 years I've read. Larger mantids like O. scyllarus can live for 10+ if well cared for.

And littleme, if you want, you might consider a larger mantis like O. Scyllarus for that 25g tank. They're by far the largest and most active mantis common to the aquarium trade

 

[littleme1969]

I'm emptying the contents of my 25g 3ft in about 3 weeks into the 100g which is now doing its cycle and has come to gether great So I think I'll get a peacock mantis from Here as they have just got some in stock and I can get him with my next batch of fish. I know they can get quite large and am amybe pushing it a bit with a 3ft 25g. I'll organise some acrylic for the tank bottom and do a quick strip down and put back together just before he arrives. But as the tank is already set up and running it wont need to be cycled or anything which is great news. I was going to shut down the 3ft but the thought of not having anything to look at while I'm working at my desk kind of makes me sad, as Ive had so much pleasure from having the marine there. So this will be something different Though I must admit I dont like the idea of feeding him anything live. Would he be OK with live muscels etc as a live supplement to his frozen diet as I dont want to be throwing in crabs and fish to their death. I know some people think its cool but it would really freak me out We have a local fish monger who makes regular trips to Hull so I'm sure he could get me some fresh caught stuff from there.

 

[kj23502]

Any more updates? Looks really cool!!