Mantis shrimp in 33g sump?
 

ive got a 40g cube reef tank with a 33g sump/refugium and im wondering if it would be safe to put a mantis shrimp in the refugium or should i set up a species tank?


in the refugium it will have approx 25 gallons to play in

as long as you can prevent it trying to get into the return pump.

the return pump is in a separate compartment and it would have to get through a 3" sponge to get to it

then you do have much to worry about. as long as it won't be able to getting to DT then go ahead and put one in.

What kind of substrate do you have in your fuge? Keep in mind to keep the Mantis happy you'll need lots of rocks (rubble that it can move around) so it can build caves and it will stir up the substrate. The whole idea behind a refugium is to have an undisturbed area where macro algae, pods, and beneficial bacteria can flourish. This will not be the case when the Mantis is in there. The short answer is yes it can be done, but all you will end up with is an area that is less than ideal for a mantis and a refugium that is not fully serving its purpose.

makes sense, im not to sure what the stuff in my refugium is but i plan on changing it, ive got a 29g thats sitting doing nothing so maybe ill stick a mantis in there

The Biocube should work fine. I had one in a RSM 130. A word of advice, get a sheet of acrylic to cover the bottom. When the Mantis tunnels to the bottom of the tank, it will smash away at the glass like crazy!

so for awhile i had him in my sump but i got tired of him eating all the hermit crabs that would work there way in there so i moved him to a fluval edge for now, i put down a sheet of 1/4" plexi on the bottom because he was making to much noise, theres black gravel in there with him and lots of liverock rubble that he keeps rearranging. every now and then i throw a hermit in there for him but generally i feed him mysis. Im hoping i can find myself a peacock which will be going in its own 33 gallon tank that will be attached to the sump on my 360 gallon

you can always ask your LFS to order one in for you.

ive been trying but the lfs's around here are somewhat unreliable when it comes to ordering in livestock