Mantis Shrimp tank

[nateyofo]

I am wanting to get a peacock mantis... I am kind of low on money and am wondering how inportant it is to have an acryllic tank

Also how beneficial is it to have LR

[n2aviation]

I have mine right now in a 6 gal. acryllic tank but plans are in the works for a 20ish gal. DIY acryllic tank. He is new, got him 3 days ago and he has banged several times on the tank walls. He's medium sized and I know he needs a larger tank. I have 2 pieces of LR in there, one about 1 lb and the other "curved" piece is 6 lbs. over a PVC tube and 2-3 inch live sand bed. My tank is a converted freshwater that was dorminent since Thanksgiving. I added a Power-Glo 18,000K bulb to add some "blueish" light to the tank until the upgrade. I had the tank cycle for about 3 weeks until I added him and watch the parameters every couple of days. Since my filtration isn't up to where I want it, I'll be doing water changes after each major feeding.

I would recommend LR b/c we also have a 90 gal. reef tank and think it's extremely beneficial.

[gozermantis]

i have a 5" peacock in a 20l tank glass and he has never once hit the glass even feeding even digging. But they all act diff mine as you heard never has struck but you never know. i wont say that im never worried about it cause i do sometimes.

[lionbacker54]

LR is essential, not only as a biologic filter but also as a place where he can find shelter and feel secure.

acrylic is not necessary. if your tank is big enough (30g) and you lay some acrylic sheet ($2 at lowes) along the bottom before you put in rock and sand (in that order) then you will be ok.

[livingcorals]

I'm always told that a mantis shrimp can break the glass in small tanks..So Acrylic is the way to go....?

Any1 else hear of this?
Is that the reason for the acrylic sheets for the bottom than?
I have a small 12 gal nano and was thinking of getting a Mantis

[Koshmar]

Only large or hard hitting smashers can break glass (peacocks and G. chiragra). It also depends on how thick/well made the glass is. acrylic is placed on the bottom of the tank because that is where most glass strikes occur due to the mantis trying to burrow down further. Your nano should be find as long as the glass is not abnormally thin and you get a small smasher (N. wennerae). Make no mistake though, even wennerae's can cause damage to people and equipment. I've even seen my N. wennerae strike the glass before and it sounded like a hard hit. It's always nice to be safe and get an acrylic but it is not always necessary. I would double check with someone who has kept a mantis in a nano first though because I'm not sure how thick nano glass is made.

[Thurge]

I keep my G.chiragra in a glass 15. I don't taunt him though, so he almost never smacks the glass. Usually when a tank is broken its in the corners where the glass is weakest. It's also pretty rare for a tank to be broken.

[n2aviation]

Mine didn't like that one end of the PVC was too close to the back corner so he kept banging on that area to "get it to move" or something. I finally had to get in there and move the PVC so he can come out both ends. Other than that, I think it's been his reflection but since he's still new to his enviroment, it could just be that but I wouldn't trust glass in such a small tank, maybe bigger but all I have is a 30 gal. glass and don't want to sit that back up, hence why we are doing a DIY acrylic.