Purple spot mantis in a glass tank?

Can I put one in a glass tank? Don't want to take any risks. Looking at 10-12 gallon.

 

Also, what is the best thing to feed it? Frozen shrimp?

 

I kept a purple spot in a 14 Biocube for several years with no problems. I always kept snails in there for him to whack on after they did a little tank cleaning. ;D He also ate whole pieces of krill.

 

I was thinking the 10 g would connect to the dt with some pipes, do you think the mantis would mind if i had a divider on 1/8 of the tank just filled with chaeto? I would also have a ton of lr and a 5-6" sand bed to burrow. ALso, I think my lfs can special order purple spots, but where did you get yours from? Basically I'm going to make a 1/8 sump, 7/8 mantis tank.

 

5-6 inches is a lot of sand. You won't need that much imo. 3-4 is more than enough for the mantis without the risk of nitrogen buildup.

Also no danger to the tank from g. Smithii.

posted with tapatalk please ignore bad spelling and grammar

 

I agree on the sand. I only use 2 inches of sand. Fish cant make burrows that well in sand since its oolic unless they stay right below a rock. if you have crushed coral as substrate then you can use a deep bed which makes it easier for a shrimp to dig a tunnel. Plus a shallow sand bed is easier on my sand sifting starfish which only burrows maybe half an inch under the sand.

 

Ok I'm doing crushed coral how deep should I be?

 

I would think it should be no more than 3 inches. I had a yellow pheudochromis make a home under a rock and he was able to pack rocks to where it made a perfect hole. He would go all the way to the bottom of the tank but for the shrimp i would think he will only make a borrow about the same length as its body so i think 3 inches is good.

Plus crushed coral wouldn't get blown around with a powerhead so its den wont be messed with by the current.
Other people used sand and it worked for them but I had better luck with a bigger sized substrate.
And it might pair up with a goby in your tank if you have a goby. the goby makes the shelter and in return the shrimp offers security.

 

No, dont use crushed coral. CC is a very poor choice for a mantis. It can agitate & scrape the underside of the mantis causing irritation and infection. Use regular SW sand. I used a mix of marco sand & some coare caribsea in my mantis tank. You only need around 4 inches. Given that purple spots are mroe reclusive and active than say a peacock you might also want to consider PVC premade burrows. A 10g is fine. I would be concerned unless it was a larger breed of mantis. A wise choice however would be to put a piece of plexi in the bottom of the tank so in the event it does take to digging you dont want it to dig near an edge and hit a seal which is alot more common where a mantis will do its tank damage.

As far as feeding youll want to offer a variety. I offer mine live fiddler crabs (when season permits), frozen clams, & frozen shrimp. Ghost shrimp can also be an option, as well as keeping plenty of a CuC so it can pick and eat at tis leasure. I go with the mixed snail/hermit CuC's from reefcleaners.

um, bro were talking about a mantis, not a pistol shrimp. I can assure you a purple spot doesnt pair with a mantis.

 

+1 to Khowst! keeping a mantis isnt basic 101! I'd do alot more researching before deciding to do this! iMO, the questions you asked suggests that! they require a certain amount of care! as with everything in this hobby, read before ya buy! look up some threads on this!