so, i have a wennerae

[bobt2]

at least 1 . pretty red. about 1 1/2 long now. it's in a 55 . came in on my florida rock. tank will have a few florida fish, and some softeys. i really would like to keep him where he is. i also have peppermint shrimp, turbos and hermits. so far all are accounted for. some day i would like to add a bcs as well. what are my chances of harmony?

[Islandoftiki]

Chances of harmony? Zero.

[Fartin'Gary]

I have had a peppermint shrimp living with my peacock for about a month now. The only reason its alive is because it's quick, it hides in the live rock, and only comes out at night. I like to turn just the red lights on at night to watch the nocturnal critters come out.

[bobt2]

maybe harmony was the wrong word, still, i would like as close to natural as possible...

[Islandoftiki]

So, the natural inclination of a mantis shrimp is to kill and eat most shellfish. Clams, shrimp, crabs, snails, etc.

That said, my G. Ternatensis won't touch hermits. He occasionally will take a snail, but not very often. Big snails like turbos are safe... not worth the effort to kill. I can't imagine a shrimp surviving more than a couple minutes though... unless it was good at hiding in the upper part of the rockscape. Fish are safe, too... so far.

I can't imagine a banded coral shrimp surviving long.

Example:

JG2tvepHN2A

[ValleyDude]

My emerald crab(croaked), pep shrimp, anemone crabs, and fish haven't had a problem with the boogie man(G. platysoma), yet..... Hermits seem safe, as long as I keep the snails stocked.

[bobt2]

i have a pair of peppermints together on 1 rock, for 3 weeks now. they don't seam stressed at all[yet?]

[Islandoftiki]

You never know. Every mantis is different. If they're kept well fed, they just might be too lazy to hunt for food.

Fish are usually fine with most smashers, until they aren't. Then you need a new fish. I would say the same with your inverts. They may be just fine, until they aren't.

[bobt2]

set a trap, all i got so far is a bunch of hermits.

[bobt2]

last night it was a serpent star. i can't picture getting him in a trap in this tank.

[bobt2]

saw him in a rock today. as i picked it up ,he came flying out into another rock. this will be impossible i think!

[Ruu]

I had fluffy (an N. Wen who came in from some TBS rock) for about a year. He occasionally took down a snail (who probably had it coming), and more than one pest crab (who definitely had it coming) over that time, but other than that he was zero trouble. I trained him to eat silversides from a stick, and he would watch for me to come home from work to be fed.

Would rank him alongside my Gobi/pistol combo and my mated clowns as the most interesting thing I have ever put in a tank. Definitely the most interesting thing that has ever come into a tank accidentally.

Dave

[Ruu]

Also, if you catch him and want to be rid of him, I would probably drive to New York to collect. I miss fluffy.

Dave

[bobt2]

so 6 weeks later. both my peppermints are still well and the mantis will eat off a feeding stick. guess he is now part of the reef, and as such i no longer am trying to catch him.