Really wanting to try a mantis

That is why I am saying to try the Wennerae. You can pick one up for less than $10. I think Jwin paid $.50 for his. I paid $9 for mine, and drove 2 hours(each way) to get him.

 

and that might be a good one to try especially if my puffer does end up eating i wont be out in loosing money, although im hoping my puffer wont try to eat it, where would one find a mantis, my main lfs is setting up its new store and wont be getting new livestock for like a month or so, and ive never seen any at my other lfs

 

here is the short end of it IMO....
Puffers like to pick at various things...rocks,clams, snails, SHRIMP, crabs, etc. Natural instinct for them.
Mantis like to smash, stab and spear things depending on the type.

Can it be done...maybe. I had a peacock that wouldnt eat my crabs and snails unless I put them in right in front of him. I kept a damsel in there with him and he never, ever bothered it. In fact the damsel would go into Bobs den when I would scare him cleaning the tank

Would I put a fish in with a mantis that I would not want to see be killed...HECK NO! I would not put any sand dwelling fish, any fish that are not active swimmer, any blennies, gobies, and definately not a puffer!

Puffers by nature pick and eat rocks. Plus, what happens when they get frightened or stressed...they PUFF! When they puff not only is it not good for them healthwise, they cant swim away at that point, they just kind of roll around on the sand. Would be an easy picken for a mantis.

You CAN train a mantis to learn you as the food source, but I still never completely trusted Bob to not go back to his natural instincts. And I would never, ever trust a new mantis that doesnt know me to enter into a situation like that.

So before you decide to get a mantis, you must make a decision....is it worth the chance of one or both of them dying?

 

I have never tried to house a stomatopod with a puffer before, but I hope it works out for you They are incredibly intelligent animals.

 

thats a very good point, i wonder if i should just not do the mantis idea and stick my single bully chromis in with him to see how he gets along, as he has been nipping at my wrasse which is not cool, and he's cheap and if my puffer does eat him, its not a big loss as this chromis has killed 4 other fish, so he has to be tough

still have alot of thinking to do

yea its a tough decision one what im going to do

 

this could be a reason to set up another tank. lol youre never getting to colorado if you listen to us.

 

hahaha i know right i wish i had room for another, and my parents would kill me

 

Now, everyone's telling you that Smithii are happy happy joy joy lazy bums that don't go after fish. I need to toss in my own experience

Bo, our smithii, has killed 2 chromis, and eaten 3. He's consumed a freshwater fish that died (why flush a fish, when it's free food?) And a damsel that died. Plus there's no telling what else he ate before me, because he didn't get just over 3 inches long overnight. He will also pop tongs, hands, or anything else that annoys him For example, his goal in life is to get into the back chamber of the biocube. He is currently hitting the black plastic vents trying to see if he can get in. I think he can squeeze an eyeball into them...that's it. But you gotta give him credit for trying

 

True but how big were the chromis he killed? Her puffer is around 3" which would be too big to be considered a meal. Plus puffers are natural predators of mantis shrimp so hopefully the mantis would be smart enough to avoid most confrontations. I think a full grown Smithii is going to defend its den, but I doubt it is going to attack an equally-sized puffer for food if its fed well.

 

wow deffiently a fish killer although my puffer has killed about that many fish himself, although those were just little freshwater community fish, nothing like a mants. thats sooo cute that yours is trying to squeeze into the vents

i think ill just put the chromis in with Puff and see how it goes, i mean he's killed 4 fish and nipping at my wrasse i think he might be able to hold his own against the puffer

thanks all for the info on the mantis, im sure plenty of people can use this info