Which Mantis Shrimp?

[TheFishDodo]

I'm going to be setting up a mantis shrimp tank with some low light macro algae and maybe some very easy corals soon and I have a few questions about what shrimp I should get for it. I'm looking at smashers especially O. japonicus because they seem more personable and I may want to put some small fish in with the shrimp. The tank is slightly smaller than a 40 breeder with like 2 inches taken off of the height and width. Now to the questions.



1# With the peacock mantis shrimp how common is shell rot in adults?

2# Are there any other large outgoing mantis shrimp which are not impossible to find

3# Is there any place which sells O. japonicus?

4# What shrimp have you had the best experience with?



I already know about Roy's website for all of the mantis shrimp.



Thanks.

[nmotz]

O. japonicus are very rare in this hobby otherwise we'd all have one! They're pretty special. If you find one, buy it and let the rest of us know where you got it so we can get one too.

1. Just based on my interactions with people on this forum I'd say shell rot is really common with Peacocks. They're going to get it at some point. But all is not lost if you follow the treatment protocol. Very large males are the most suspect. For the exact rate of occurrence of shell rot you'll have to ask Dr. Roy Caldwell.

2. None that I know of, but Peacocks are pretty awesome, don't let the shell rot scare you.

3. See above. We've all been told that it's hard to source/ship this species but I can't remember why exactly. Seems like they come from many of the same places as you might expect to find Peacocks. Most of it may be because they are such a deep water species. At a depth of up to 100m it's just not common for them to get picked up unless a collector specifically goes after one and the market for mantis shrimp just isn't big enough. Many Peacocks are inadvertently caught from what I understand. Run into trawlers nets but it's possible that O. japonicus is just too deep.

4. Odontodactylids. Big or small, they are where it's at in terms of personality and the interactive experience. However, they are more sensitive than Gonodactylids, especially the smaller species like O. havanensis. If you've never kept mantis shrimp it's probably best to start with something like Neogonodactylus wennerae/oerstedii. G. smithii is also highly rated. Read up on how best to keep them and you'll do fine.

[TheFishDodo]

Ive decided to go for a peacock mantis. I have a few more questions about them though.

1# Could i go with atinic lighting or would that be to much

2# What diameter pvc should i go with

3# What is the best substrate for them and how deep should I make it?

[Gonodactylus]

O. japonicus prey on fish and is one of a few species capable of running them down. I would not attempt to keep fish with this species. The only regular supplier of this species that I have seen was working out of Sri Lanka. Unfortunately most stomatopods from the Indian Ocean are shipped to Europe. I haven't seen an O. japonicus available in the U.S. for three years.

As for pvc pipe for O. scyllarus, I like to use pipe that is about 2 to 3 times the length of the animal and with an internal diameter of 1.5 times the diameter of the O. scyllarus.

Roy