40 replies to this topic

[alec]

I never knew how hard it was to make such a small reef tank look good

i spent about a hour this after noon rearanging the tank so that there would be more flow through the tank.



no new things yet but i will be getting a clean up crew in two weeks and i have decided i will get a percula clownfish . i wont be getting it for atleast 3-4 weeks. i still need to get a better light before i get corals and i need to get a background for the tank, i don't think you'd find a brick wall in a real reef

please leave any comments or suggestions

ps. the photos arn't that great the aquarium looks so much better in real life. you can't tell when each peice of rock ends and another on starts :?

[alec]

I think the little rock balancing in the top left corner looks a bit weird though (IMO)

LOL thats what i mean when i say you cannot tell where one rock ends and another one starts that rock is not balancing on another it is actuly on the sand . it is just coming up from behind it.

the flow rate on the power head is 1500L/h when i first got it i thought it would be too much water flow but is only just enough i also added a small 200L/h power filter to get more aeration.

[alec]

this morning after addding my fist live stock to the tank three hemit crabs and a ocelleris clownfishi noticed that one of my hermit crab's shells where empty i found the body a bit ripped up close by.

i thought nothing of it at first, i rember when i added the live rock i noticed clicking, clacking and popping noises, i thought i might have a mantis shrimp but think any more about it. today after the death of the hermit crab i think i do have a mantis in my tank does any one know how to catch them :?:

[NicholasC]

Look at my marine journal i think Steve posted some good info there. If not i did read to put it a separate bucket of water and just go through all the nooks and cranny's.

Also if you see little holes in the sand just turn off the light if a mantis comes out of it scoop the little buggar up

[saari]

I just discovered about 30 baby mantis shrimp swimming around my marine tank this morning which isnt good since the big mantis shrimp is already trying to break through my glass i hear loud clicks all the time. your tanks coming along nicely thats how mine started except a bit bigger.
im in the process of setting up a 6x2x2 marine tank at the moment.

[alec]

I think mine must be a baby
there have been no more hermit crab deaths but the clicking drives me crazy i can hear it from the next room :x
it might also be a pistol shrimp because i have also heard that pistol shrimps make that cliking sound

[NicholasC]

got a pic of it?

[alec]

got a pic of it?

of what :?:

[NicholasC]

Of the mantis or pistol shrimp? or is the little bugger just hiding and pissing you off with noise lol. :roll:

[saari]

i can get a pic of the head area of mine maybe next time he hides in 1 of the 2 spots i can see, if i see him ill get a pic cause i would also like to know exactly what it is, and can they reproduce on there own? or would i have a female in there to? sorry to post this in ur thread alec lol but its probably help to you to. the clicking of mine is really loud to, and the shrimp is about 5-6cm i hope he doesnt blow out the bottom of my tank

[alec]

last night another hermit crab got eaten, ther is only one left now
i don't know how i can remove because i havn't even seen it
if it is a mantis i hope it does not eat my clownfish :cry:
i thinking of bocotting the aquarium

[hlokk]

Try setting up a mantis trap. Get a coke bottle (600ml should be fine) cut it just above the label and turn the top around and put it inside the main piece. Then put a bit of food (maybe a thawed whitebait piece perhaps, i'm not too sure). If the mantis goes it in wont be able to come back out. It works for different creatures, so try to find something that the mantis only likes to eat. If you get other things in it then just empty them out until you get the mantis.

[Neakit]

any luck catching the mantis shrimp??

[alec]

8O now i know the true power of the mantis shrip my last hermit crab was masacered last night.

i found is shell smashed into two peices

i don't realy want to deal with the mantis so i think this is the end
:cry:

R.I.P nano reef :cry:

[hlokk]

Have you tried setting up a mantis trap? Or even removing all the live rock, one at a time to catch it (e.g. pump water into a plastic container higher and let it drain?

You shouldnt give up just because you encounter problems. You need to figure out how to solve the problems, then persevere.

P.s. if you are packing it up, can I have your stuff

[alec]

i saw the mantis for the first time
it was hiding in one of the hemit shells its only samll about two centimeters, but from the broken shell it must be able to pack a punch 8O
i took a photo of it i and i will try to post it up
i'll try to set up a trap and set up its own little set up
they are quie a nice looking animal

[alec]

sorry about the picture atleast you get the idea
could it be a peacock mantis?