Hi all, I'm new to this forum and to fishkeeping. I've had a fascination with mantis shrimps since reading The Oatmeal's comic Why the Mantis Shrimp is my new favourite animal. I've wanted one for ages, and today I found one in stock in the UK and ordered it straight away. I've asked them to hold it for me long enough that I can buy and set up everything I need to house it and learn everything I need to learn to properly care for it. Perhaps I should have worked my way up from a freshwater tank first, but I've only ever really ben interested in the mantis shrimp specifically. Anyway, I've done it now and I'm ready to put in the time, money and effort required to look after it responsibly, so to that end I've been doing a lot of reading and YouTube watching over the past few hours but I'm definitely a long way short of fully prepared yet, I'd be very grateful for any specific advice on how to get up and running and what I need to buy in the following specific areas:
Tank
For the tank I'm looking for a cabinet-style unit in black finish that will fit in a footprint of roughly 80cm wide by 50cm deep, such as this one or this one. I'm inclined to line the bottom of the tank with acrylic just in case, but all indications seem to be the risk of them breaking the glass is minimal. I've seen conflicting suggestions of minimum tank size but the consensus 120 litres (26 gallons) seems sufficient, though I've heard as little as 10 gallons may be adequate. Bigger is presumably always better for the shrimp, but are there any other tank considerations I should be aware of? Is wider better than taller for example? And does higher capacity have any bearing on the frequency or effort required for cleaning / water changes etc?
Equipment
Lots of tanks come with lighting, a heater, pump and filtration system. Should I consider upgrading any of those to better models? I know the lighting should be quite low for mantis shrimps. What other equipment should I consider buying from the outset? I've read up a little on protein skimmers to help remove uneaten food particles etc. am I right in thinking that a skimmer would generally improve water quality and reduce the need for frequent of water changes? Any specific recommendations would be appreciated. Also any small things that I might have forgotten about? On my list is a bucket, a net, a manual gravel vacuum, forceps (I don't want to put my hands in the tank unnecessarily to move things), salt water (or salt and deionized water), food for the mantis shrimp. Anything else I should be thinking of buying immediately?
Substrate: What kind of substrate and rock should I put in my tank? I've come to understand that mantis shrimps prefer a gravelly substrate to fine sands - any recommendations on specific types or the amount of it would be appreciated. I plan on building a lair using black plumbing fixtures and covering it with substrate and/or rock.
Rock
I think I'll be going for ceramic rather than live rock - is that sensible? there seem to be lots of different types of artificial rock out there. Any specific recommendations would be appreciated. I understand I should be aiming for at least 1kg per 10 litres of tank capacity. I'd like colourful rock, especially if it's going to be the only colour in the tank apart from the shrimp.
Decoration
Most mantis tanks I've seem seem to be pretty sparse. I'd like my tank to be somewhat colourful and visually appealing. I've read that mantis shrimps will rearrange anything you put in the tank, rendering efforts at aquascaping futile. Aside from coloured rock (and avoiding corals for now - I've got enough else to learn already), are there any (real, not artificial) plants I could put in that would make the tank less sparse without much of a downside?
Noise
At least a couple of the videos I've watched have had a noticeable "hum" on the soundtrack which seemed to emanate from the tank. Others have been silent. I'm planning to put this tank right next to my desk where I work all day and need to concentrate. Is that going to turn out to be a mistake?
Tank Mates
Recognising the risk of murder-by-mantis shrimp, it does seem like at least some tank mates may be beneficial. Specifically some cleanup crew snails and hermit crabs / urchins etc. and possibly a couple of small fish to make the tank more interesting. Would it be wise to put a couple of cheap fish in there that I don't mind losing before the mantis shrimp arrives to make sure the water has been cycled correctly? I'm thinking I can easily replace a fish, whereas mantis shrimps are hard to come by in the UK. Conversely, would it be better not to distract myself for now and focus on the mantis shrimp alone given my inexperience?
Reading Up
I've been reading up on the procedures for tank cycling, acclimation, water changes, mixing salt water and testing water quality. I've seen various tank setups and got a sense of how to go about it. Is there anything else I should look into specifically?
Apologies for the very long first post and thanks in advance to anyone with the patience to read it and offer any advice.
Tank
For the tank I'm looking for a cabinet-style unit in black finish that will fit in a footprint of roughly 80cm wide by 50cm deep, such as this one or this one. I'm inclined to line the bottom of the tank with acrylic just in case, but all indications seem to be the risk of them breaking the glass is minimal. I've seen conflicting suggestions of minimum tank size but the consensus 120 litres (26 gallons) seems sufficient, though I've heard as little as 10 gallons may be adequate. Bigger is presumably always better for the shrimp, but are there any other tank considerations I should be aware of? Is wider better than taller for example? And does higher capacity have any bearing on the frequency or effort required for cleaning / water changes etc?
Equipment
Lots of tanks come with lighting, a heater, pump and filtration system. Should I consider upgrading any of those to better models? I know the lighting should be quite low for mantis shrimps. What other equipment should I consider buying from the outset? I've read up a little on protein skimmers to help remove uneaten food particles etc. am I right in thinking that a skimmer would generally improve water quality and reduce the need for frequent of water changes? Any specific recommendations would be appreciated. Also any small things that I might have forgotten about? On my list is a bucket, a net, a manual gravel vacuum, forceps (I don't want to put my hands in the tank unnecessarily to move things), salt water (or salt and deionized water), food for the mantis shrimp. Anything else I should be thinking of buying immediately?
Substrate: What kind of substrate and rock should I put in my tank? I've come to understand that mantis shrimps prefer a gravelly substrate to fine sands - any recommendations on specific types or the amount of it would be appreciated. I plan on building a lair using black plumbing fixtures and covering it with substrate and/or rock.
Rock
I think I'll be going for ceramic rather than live rock - is that sensible? there seem to be lots of different types of artificial rock out there. Any specific recommendations would be appreciated. I understand I should be aiming for at least 1kg per 10 litres of tank capacity. I'd like colourful rock, especially if it's going to be the only colour in the tank apart from the shrimp.
Decoration
Most mantis tanks I've seem seem to be pretty sparse. I'd like my tank to be somewhat colourful and visually appealing. I've read that mantis shrimps will rearrange anything you put in the tank, rendering efforts at aquascaping futile. Aside from coloured rock (and avoiding corals for now - I've got enough else to learn already), are there any (real, not artificial) plants I could put in that would make the tank less sparse without much of a downside?
Noise
At least a couple of the videos I've watched have had a noticeable "hum" on the soundtrack which seemed to emanate from the tank. Others have been silent. I'm planning to put this tank right next to my desk where I work all day and need to concentrate. Is that going to turn out to be a mistake?
Tank Mates
Recognising the risk of murder-by-mantis shrimp, it does seem like at least some tank mates may be beneficial. Specifically some cleanup crew snails and hermit crabs / urchins etc. and possibly a couple of small fish to make the tank more interesting. Would it be wise to put a couple of cheap fish in there that I don't mind losing before the mantis shrimp arrives to make sure the water has been cycled correctly? I'm thinking I can easily replace a fish, whereas mantis shrimps are hard to come by in the UK. Conversely, would it be better not to distract myself for now and focus on the mantis shrimp alone given my inexperience?
Reading Up
I've been reading up on the procedures for tank cycling, acclimation, water changes, mixing salt water and testing water quality. I've seen various tank setups and got a sense of how to go about it. Is there anything else I should look into specifically?
Apologies for the very long first post and thanks in advance to anyone with the patience to read it and offer any advice.
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