Newbie-built 30ga peacock mantis shrimp tank

[spit.fire]

looks good, just be warned, those damsels, snails and hermits may go missing over time

[rishu_pepper]

Haha yeah I'm prepared for that if that day shall come. I'll try to keep it well-fed so it doesn't have to go for them as a meal.

More pics to come, just need time to edit my DSLR stuff. Finally my pro gear comes into use (other than weddings) !

[rishu_pepper]

Update:

Added two powerheads
Added an Aquatic Life 115 skimmer
(both from the forum's members)

Last night around 3am, my wife woke me from my slumber and asked me to head to the tank. Unfortunately, one of the snails was ruthlessly destroyed/eaten by Matsuri last night (the punching noise was quite loud even though she was watching some late night TV she heard the entire thing). It might have been because we didn't feed it last night (we were feeding it every day and wanted to see if he can go a day without food, guess not...).

RIP White Shadow, the Turbo snail. Circle of life.

[RDNanoGuy]

I can hear my peacock mantis Dr. Zoidberg punching through the rocks all the way upstairs in my living room (he lives in my 55 gal refugium). Also be prepared to have him use anything in his tank as lining/decoration for his home. Frags tend not to stay where you put them ! Lol.

[rishu_pepper]

Dr. Zoidberg is a hilarious name! Today at work we were coming up for names for it, and my co-workers suggested "Sir Clobberston McSmashy" lol

He hasn't smashed up my LR but he uses everything available to build his little cave, it's quite interesting.

How often do you feed him? Any special thing I should know about with a peacock?

[RDNanoGuy]

Originally Posted by rishu_pepper

Dr. Zoidberg is a hilarious name! Today at work we were coming up for names for it, and my co-workers suggested "Sir Clobberston McSmashy" lol

He hasn't smashed up my LR but he uses everything available to build his little cave, it's quite interesting.

How often do you feed him? Any special thing I should know about with a peacock?

I feed him 3-4 times per week. Food is mostly silversides and freshwater mussels. He also really likes fiddler crabs from the pet store, they are expensive just for food but they are a little more challenging.

Peacocks are prone to shell rot if your lighting is too bright so be careful and keep your light to a minimum. Also be very careful with household cleaners around the tank all mantises are super sensitive to voc's. I killed a little green smasher I had in a tank outside my master bathroom after cleaning the floor with a commercial bathroom cleaner. Ideally you should only use vinegar and water as cleaner around the tank.

[rishu_pepper]

Originally Posted by RDNanoGuy

I feed him 3-4 times per week. Food is mostly silversides and freshwater mussels. He also really likes fiddler crabs from the pet store, they are expensive just for food but they are a little more challenging.

Peacocks are prone to shell rot if your lighting is too bright so be careful and keep your light to a minimum. Also be very careful with household cleaners around the tank all mantises are super sensitive to voc's. I killed a little green smasher I had in a tank outside my master bathroom after cleaning the floor with a commercial bathroom cleaner. Ideally you should only use vinegar and water as cleaner around the tank.

I fed him frozen shrimp and fresh clams from the supermarket, will that suffice or should I change it up?

Yeah I read about the shell rot, so I almost always leave the light off, other than maybe 3-4 hours a day. My light is just the cheap LEDs from Marineland so it's probably not strong enough to be a problem.

Sorry about your green smasher. Good advice about the cleaners, I'll keep that in mind!