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View Full Version : Ideal aquarium for P. Ciliata


re_sjo
01/25/2010, 05:24 AM
Hi all :cool:

I'm moving house soon and upgrading my main reef tank. I thought I may also use the opportunity to give my P. Ciliata a new tank.

He's currently housed in a 14" cube but as he's approx 4" long i'm thinking that's a little on the small side for him now.

I was considering letting him have my Juwel Lido once I migrate to the new reef, thinking I could rig up multiple levels with acrylic and giving him some bendy tubes to use and stuff, but i'm not sure if this particular species would really benefit from this.

If surface area is important more than height, perhaps a flat tank, maybe 2x2 and 8" tall or so would be better?


Thanks :bigeyes:

Thurge
01/25/2010, 10:53 AM
I generally keep a mantis that size in a 15 gal tank (24x12x12h). I'm sure it would enjoy having all the extra space you described with multiple levels of acrylic and tubes to travel through.

barnabus's gimp
01/25/2010, 12:13 PM
they love to dig and build stuff. mine has a bunch of little hiding areas and stuff. I was thinking about moving it to a little bigger tank as well... she is molting right now though. I hope it comes out orange or yellow.

nikesb4l
01/25/2010, 05:12 PM
I recently just moved mine to a 24 aquapod with a HIQ and its more active then ever. I swear it just sits in the corner and does back flips. Maybe its prefecting it's swim spearing technique lol. On occasion it hosts in the leather coral with my clownfish. I think that having sand over gravel is a must with p.ciliata they love to make burrows and tunnels everywhere. I'm hoping my hiq lights will make it molt to that yellow/orange color too.

re_sjo
01/26/2010, 02:18 AM
I have a piece of bright yellow card stuck to the side of the tank. Apparently this helps with the colour change during a moult. Not sure if this is a myth or not.

Thurge
01/26/2010, 09:15 AM
I could swear I remember Dr. Roy saying that a yellow P.ciliata is a yellow ciliata; that its not too common for a mantis to change to a yellow P.ciliata.
I could also swear I am destin to win the lotto but that hasn't happened. So take that for what its worth.

barnabus's gimp
01/26/2010, 03:18 PM
Haha I got a big piece of dark electric orange in the hopes it turns that color. also Dr. Roy said if the mantis was a certain color at one time then it shows color polymorphic traits and one might be able to influence its colors with diet and environment. I guess we will see.

re_sjo
06/15/2010, 06:25 AM
So i'm back revisiting this again. My P. Ciliata is currently in a 14" cube which it has been in for some time (it's approximately 80mm long now). I got rid of my main reef tank during a house move and haven't had the heart to build up a new one since but I did purchase a Juwel Rio 180 tank (http://www.juwel-aquarium.de/en/rio.htm) with the intention of having a simple freshwater tropical tank at the new place.

Right now, and for the past few months, it's been sitting there as a saltwater mixing tank for the mantis cube above! A bit of a waste!

So i'm having thoughts about not going freshwater, but instead building my Ciliata a new palace with (relatively) plenty of space and an interesting layout.. This is what i've come up with so far as an idea:

http://i45.*******.com/16ieww.jpg


The base of the tank will be lined with some acrylic (probably 5mm), to future-proof it if I ever put a smasher in there (Juwel tanks don't have the strongest bases).. The two structures left and right will be made from a mixture of acrylic and pvc with a network of inter-joining tunnels and filled with substrate (around the tunnels, not in them - i'll leave that to the stomatopod!)..

I'm wondering what the best substrate to use is? Right now i'm using some coral gravel/rubble type substrate here:

http://di.cx/gallery/d/21398-2/DSC_6935.jpg

Which he seems to like, but i'm wondering if I should go for something larger? I know sand isn't ideal, but out in the wild what substrate are they best with? I've seem photos of them in what looks like silty substrate but I can't imagine this ideal for building tunnels with.. I could be wrong!

Also for my network of piping - any thoughts on pipe size? A P. Ciliata is fairly small, but if tank stocking changes in the future for whatever reason it'd be a good idea to future-proof it somewhat - however I don't want to discourage the current stock from using the pipes if being too big is an issue? I'm thinking perhaps 40-50mm (pipes will be interconnected inside with some larger 'communal' areas).. Are there any stomatopods that you'd keep in a tank this size requiring burrows larger than 2" in diameter?

Any advice/suggestions welcome :)

re_sjo
07/06/2010, 07:51 AM
Any thoughts folks? :)

xboxdisc
07/08/2010, 12:58 PM
Nice setup. I'd say go for it and give us pics!

What are you using to keep the substrate so rigid like that? Glass panels?

teddyzaper
07/08/2010, 03:52 PM
he wants to use acrylic. i say you build it so the acrylic is only onthe face of it and the tops are open, just leave it like that and just drop some pieces of tubing at a 45 degree angle in it and it will make its own tunnels. they like to dig, so let them do it themselfs. i think it should be a combo of 1-3 inch diameter tubing.

re_sjo
07/09/2010, 01:19 AM
Yes the plan was only to use acrylic on the vertical pieces, not box it in completely.

re_sjo
07/29/2010, 09:08 AM
So i've got a custom shallow tank being made right now.. it's 101x41cm and 25cm tall..

Here's an idea on layout:

http://i25.*******.com/290wnef.jpg


There'll be pipes and stuff in the acrylic sections but not really sure what else to do :)

teddyzaper
07/29/2010, 11:06 PM
please dont use the remora. i got one and it just pulls water that is tinted brown..... not any thicker than normal water. IMO i wouldnt have the acrylic go all the way from front to back, i would keep it on the back and sides because it will look cleaner. also, you will be able to see the fronts better.

re_sjo
07/30/2010, 01:35 AM
I assume you're talking about the skimmer? It was just an example one for the image above, I had no idea which it was :) I don't know what i'm going to do about skimming yet.

I'm not sure what you mean about the acrylic though.