Mantis Substrate

[One_Divided]

Ok.. I got a mantis today.. He's about 4-5 inches and is bright green with a bit of red.. I have an established 10gallon set up for him that I used to use for curing rock..

Big mistake: sugar sand! As soon as he hit the water.. dig dig dig.. cloudy as can be..I realised I need a thicker substrate for him or else this will happen to the tank every time he rearranges.. What would you guys say is a good heavier grain substrate that won't cloud too much?

[ 04 January 2002: Message edited by: One_Divided ]

[StirCrazy]

what color do you want it to be Adam? if you don't mind the brown / tan you could go with pool filter sand (large grain sand) I hapen to have 50lbs of it in a bag outside [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] and will have another 100 lbs when I take down my two fresh water tanks.

Steve

[One_Divided]

well I need to make sure it does the proper buffering and such.. I just mean what grade of aragamax etc..

man is the tank ever foggy!

[StirCrazy]

ahh you want buffering [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] ok pool filter sand wont do that.. I would gie them a small crushed coral. hang on I just happen to have a caribsea catalog here [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] ok CaribSea makes a sizee bigger than sugar called "seaflor special grade reef sand it is 1.25 to 1.95mm diameter

Steve

[Aquattro]

Adam. you can get some sand out of my trigger tank. It'll be fine for the mantis. He's pretty cool, eh? Told ya you'd like him.
Also put some live rock rubble on the bottom. And when the shrimp settles in, he won't dig around too much.

[One_Divided]

Alright thanks brad. He's still kickin up sand after 2 days so it looks like this will be a never ending battle..

looks pretty damn nice though! (when I see him that is)

[DJ88]

Troy did you buy that 40 from the Buy and Sell???????

[Troy F]

Nope, friend of mine just tore down his freshwater tank. Since I already have a sump (no one seems to interested), I may just set another tank up. I bought the tank and a $9 Big Al's credit for $20. I'll drill the tank and build an overflow box.

[DJ88]

Ahh ok.. there was a 45 breeder for sale in there.. was gonna get it and use it as a sump instead of making one..

[ 06 January 2002: Message edited by: DJ88 ]

[Troy F]

Cool, I just bought a forty gallon tank that I'd like to do something with. A mantis might be cool. Post some pics when you get a chance.