Peacock tank size Q

[Alexraptor]

So Roy's List recommends a tank size of 100 liters for an adult O. Scyllarus.
Is this based on the actual living space the animal needs to move around and feel comfortable? Or is it more about the volume of water needed to manage water quality?

My own experiences with stomatopods only covers a G. Smithii and he rarely ever left his "home rock", so I'm not quite sure as to how "active" O. Scyllarus is by comparison.

[Jlentz]

Mine is in a 90 gal. From what I understand the bigger the footprint the happier the peacock.

I've had two now and they both get all over the tank. Adding some fish made the last one more reclusive. Not sure how the new one is going to handle that.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hadla]

Yeah my smithii is a recluse, too... it's such a let down after being so excited about finally getting one

[Mr. Manty]

How often do you feed, hadla?

[Hadla]

Every other day for all my tanks

[Mr. Manty]

Alex,

The answer is both!

The more space you have, the more active he will be. If you put an O.S. in a 20 gal like i did, you will rarely ever see him leave his cavity. It was also very difficult to maintain low nitrates considering the kind of foods they eat and I am sure he would have gotten shell rot had i not moved him. Shell rot has got to be the single most important thing you have to watch out for in this species and bad water quality will cause it in a heartbeat.

Once I moved him to a 40b he was much more active, but the real encouragement for activity was when i made a couple caves out of liverock throughout the tank! He seemed to feel much safer knowing he was never too far away from cover and came out more often.

Do not make the same mistake I made by putting an O.S. in a 20 gal!!! A 40b really is the way to go, lots of bottom surface area to roam, he willl roam more often, and more manageable nitrates.

Hope I helped!

[Mr. Manty]

Originally Posted by Hadla

Every other day for all my tanks

I would encourage going 2 days to see if he begins to forage. Try to also put 10 hermit crabs in there so he is forced to hunt.

[Jlentz]

Originally Posted by Mr. Manty

Try to also put 10 hermit crabs in there so he is forced to hunt.

I stock my 90 with snails and hermits every couple months or so so he's always got plenty of food,In addition to frozen clams every other night.

I try to buy hermits 50 at a time. The blue legs (tiny ones) seem to stick around the longest. I get a bunch of nassarious snails and margarita snails whenever I'm running low and see them on sale.

I also try to keep some huge turbos in the tank. They hang in there pretty well.

I've also got an awesome LFS a mile away from my house and he usually hooks me up if he knows they are going in the mantis tank.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Alexraptor]

Well then, I guess a 61 liter tank with a 40 liter fuge is out of the question then. lol

[Jlentz]

Yeah. That's a bad idea. It'd probably be perfect for a g smithii though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hadla]

Yeah it's usually every two days, he's not like my chiragra reclusive, I rarely see her. She's always in her cave. He just stays in the rocks but I can see him.