Thinking of setting up a small mantis tank... questions!

[Radioheadx14]

I want to set up a 10g aquarium for one of the smaller mantis. (probably not peacock) I was thinking a Neogonodactylus wennerae or one of the other < 3" shrimp. What would i need in the tank for his survival? I currently have a 75g reef tank w/ a 20g fuge/sump. Should I link my 10g with this or could i get by with a 10g, a small HOB filter, LR/LS and a heater? I read that they are hardy, but how hardy?

I have enough money spent in my DT and wouldn't want to spend an arm and a leg right now setting up another. Could I get buy with what i have listed (and on-hand.)

[MantisBrad]

I have 2-10 gallon mantis tanks set up and each of them ran me ~$100 to set up everything except the shrimp. I am currently running:
10lbs of aragonite ~$17
~5lbs of liverock (you can get free liverock like it's cool if you become friends with the pet stores and ask for rubble
penguin 100GPH bio wheel (If I could do it again, I would rather have the 150) 100 GPH was purchased for $18, the 150 could be had for probably $25
I have a 9" 18W Coralife compact light which ran $24
glass canopy ~$6 @ petsmart
Micro-jet 73GPH powerhead

I don't run any heaters as my room nevegets cold enough to worry about the tanks getting too cold.

Hardy? My friend is a total newbie to fish tanks, set up a 20L and has a non biowheel 150GPH filter on his tank, never tests his waters, and he has had a 6" peacock for like 6 months. It has lived in waters where the nitrates were "fatal"

I think when I get some more money I might look into purchasing a couple nano-skimmers or something to just get even better water quality. Hope this helped

[Radioheadx14]

Where are peacock mantis from? would i be alright with out a heater if the room stays between 65-75F?

I think i want one of the smaller ones, but i dont know what i will be able to find. i dont want to ship one in because i dont know of many places that sell them and its getting quite cold in Ohio this time of year.

I have plenty of HOB filters and small deutte in tank filter that i think out puts 60gph that i could use.

What is the purpose of a glass hood? do they escape easily? would egg crate work or even open top?

I guess all i need to buy is LR and sand.

[justinl]

The list you posted initially would work fine. If you go with a power filter, go with an aquaclear. biowheels are only really useful in freshwater aquariums... not really for marine. you dont really need LS. just go with the dry aragonite in a bag. you'll probably want more water flow than just the filter, so get a powerhead. ive always been a fan of the koralia (1 in your case) and the maxijets (600 in your case).

Online vendors almost never ship the right species. check out tampabaysaltwater.com (they sell only N. wennerae because it's all they ever have) and Stomatopod.com (the only reliable online source of correctly ID'd mantids)

N. wennerae is a good choice. how hardy are they? well mantids are generally really hardy, and the wennies are among the hardiest... practically bulletproof. this is because they are an intertidal animal and are used to less than ideal paramters.

a heater costs 10$. get one.

[Radioheadx14]

i have a heater, i just didn't know if they needed one. I have a simple aquaclear 10g filter that i plan on using for particulate filtration. I will also probably get a powerhead... i just have to find a mantis source first. the only local place that i know that carries them is phishybusiness but they only have the biggest one possible :(. i asked sedar and he said they dont carry the smaller ones.

[MantisBrad]

stomatopod.com has a 1 3/4" peacock in stock right now, that's who I ordered my mantis shrimp from. great service