Aquarium Setup Advice

[ausar318]

I was wondering if someone could give me some honest feedback on my setup. I recently inherited a huge aquarium from some dude on the side of the street, so I decided to turn it into a mantis ecosystem (after thoroughly cleaning it, of course). I have it divided down the middle, so there are two sections of about 12x20x24. There are no gaps on the sides, so nothing should be able to pass through the barrier (I sealed with glue, just in case)

There is about 3 inches of peat moss on the bottom, so it should be enough. All the plants are live, minus the big flower on each side. I’m using two 5000K LEDs, which provide just enough heat to keep it at a steady ~74-76 degrees (Its by a window, so there is also some natural light for a few hours a day)

The only things I am missing (according to most setup guides) are springtails- 1: Are they necessary. 2: Can I find them outside (I live in rural Indiana), and 3: If I cant find them outside, where can I get some for dirt (lol) cheap? (Poor college laddie that I am). I have had a couple sprigs of mold appear on a few fallen petals, but nothing serious. 

I am planning on getting some Spiny flower Mantids from DeShawn over at MantidKingdom in a few weeks. Is this a good choice for my first exotic breed? (I’ve raised Chinese Mantids for 2 years now)

Thanks in advance!

Ausar

 

[River Dane]

That’s quite a nice habitat, I like it!

As for springtails, they’re not absolutely necessary if you provide adequate ventilation and clean up your mantids leftovers, but they obviously help.

they should be found anywhere, but I’ve never been to Indiana, so I can’t say how easily they would be found. If you can’t find anyone, you can order some from BugsInCyberspace, along with other types of cleanup critters.

As for Spiny flowers, I enjoyed my first one, they’re really adorable. I only had him for eight days before his mysterious death, though.

Good luck with whatever you choose! Your first and first exotic mantis is always the one you’ll remember.

 

[Predatorhousepet]

Cleaner insects are not needed per se  but you have to clean up after your mantis frequently. Some sort of cleaner insect will be needed if you are not wanting to change out the moss every few days or it'll get moldy. Springtails are great for mold but hard to find & identify correctly in the wild if you are not experienced with them, they are TINY.  Springtails are excellent at cleaning up mold, I'd suggest adding some when you can afford to, you can find a culture online for around $15-$20 including shipping. If you want something free & easily found outside I'd suggest isopods (aka pill bugs, rollie pollies, wood lice). These are easily found all over the US by turning over rocks in your backyard. I have both isopods and springtails in my terrariums, together they do an excellent job at cleaning up but you can probably get away with just the isopods for quite a while, especially since you will be raising a smaller mantis species and it won't be quite as messy an eater as some of the larger species. 

Isopods

Springtails

 

[MantisGirl13]

That looks like a pretty great setup! DeShawn is a great guy, and I got my first exotic mantids from him: Indian Flowers and Thistles. 

@Predatorhousepet I never realized what isopods were! That is a great idea! I will put some in a vivarium that I have my Brunner's mantis in right now. 

- MantisGirl13

 

[ausar318]

@River Dane Thanks for the info. Sorry to hear about the mantis, I hope mine will live quite a lot longer than that ?

@Predatorhousepet Thanks for the tip. I’ve never thought of using pill bugs, and there are literally millions at my parents house. I’ll have to catch some next time I’m there. 

@MantisGirl13 I was all ready to buy three Indian Flowers, but just yesterday he announced that he has some Spinies on the way, and they’re probably my favorite. I wanted some thistles, but I read that they need to be kept at 95-100 degrees, so I’m waiting a few years to get some of those.

 

[Mantis Lady]

i like your set up. your future mantis too?

 

[MantisGirl13]

@ausar318 I kept thistles at about 80* or a little less, and they both thrived. Thistles are great mantids, and BIG eaters! I would definitely recommend them!                                                             - MantisGirl13

 

[mantidmomma]

That is a really nice set up!!!

 

[PaxALotl]

Cleaner insects are not needed per se  but you have to clean up after your mantis frequently. Some sort of cleaner insect will be needed if you are not wanting to change out the moss every few days or it'll get moldy. Springtails are great for mold but hard to find & identify correctly in the wild if you are not experienced with them, they are TINY.  Springtails are excellent at cleaning up mold, I'd suggest adding some when you can afford to, you can find a culture online for around $15-$20 including shipping. If you want something free & easily found outside I'd suggest isopods (aka pill bugs, rollie pollies, wood lice). These are easily found all over the US by turning over rocks in your backyard. I have both isopods and springtails in my terrariums, together they do an excellent job at cleaning up but you can probably get away with just the isopods for quite a while, especially since you will be raising a smaller mantis species and it won't be quite as messy an eater as some of the larger species. 

Isopods



Springtails

Wouldn't the mantis eat those rollies?

 

[River Dane]

No, they generally stay underground. When they do surface, a mantis might try to attack it, but most species won’t be able to eat through their exoskeleton. And if there are any species large and strong enough to bite these guys, they probably wouldn’t waste their energy on eating a relatively small bug. Right now I have a large one with my European mantis, and they’ve lived together in peace for quite a while now.

 

[Predatorhousepet]

Wouldn't the mantis eat those rollies?

No, not really. Most of the time the isopods hide in the substrate and their hard shell and ability to roll into a ball makes them difficult to eat. Most of my mantises don't even notice they are in there...with the exception of my female shield mantis. She is an extremely aggressive hunter and will strike at anything that moves. She ate all the isopods in her cage and now she spends a lot of time watching the ones in her neighbor's cage crawl around in the moss.

This is not the norm though, for the most part isopods can live happily in a mantis cage as long as they have a moist substrate they can hide in. Isopods are crustaceans that use gills to breathe. Their gills work similarly to a crab or a lobster's, they must stay moist or they will suffocate to death if you let them get too dry.

 

[Prayingmantisqueen]

Great! Learned something new today! I didnt known isopods were rollie pollies! I am going to put some in mine now too.