Best Mantis Shrimp Tank Mates (and Why There Usually Aren't Any)

Q: How did a mantis shrimp get into my reef tank?

Almost certainly as a hitchhiker on live rock or sand, not as something anyone intentionally added. Mantis shrimp are often small and well-hidden as juveniles, burrowing into rock and remaining undetected for weeks or months — keepers frequently first notice one after finding missing cleanup crew (snails, hermit crabs, or amphipods disappearing faster than expected), hearing an audible 'click' or 'pop' sound (especially from smasher-type species), or eventually spotting the animal itself, often at night. By the time a mantis shrimp is noticed, it's typically been present and growing for a while.

Q: Can a mantis shrimp live with fish or other invertebrates?

Generally, no — not safely, for the fish or invertebrates. Mantis shrimp are effective, opportunistic predators, and most things commonly kept in a reef tank — snails, hermit crabs, shrimp, smaller fish — fall within the size range of what a mantis shrimp can and will eat. This includes the cleaner shrimp, peppermint shrimp, and other reef shrimp species covered in our guide to shrimp in reef tanks, which are popular cleanup crew additions but offer no real defense against a mantis shrimp. This is the core reason 'best tank mates for a mantis shrimp' is something of a trick question: the realistic answer for most home aquarium setups is 'none,' and mantis shrimp that are kept intentionally (rather than removed as an unwanted hitchhiker) are almost always housed in a dedicated species-only or solo tank, sometimes specifically set up and marketed as a 'mantis shrimp tank' the way some keepers run dedicated puffer or other predator-only setups.

Q: How do I remove a mantis shrimp from my reef tank?

The standard non-destructive approach is a baited trap — commonly a length of PVC pipe with one-way openings (sometimes a soda bottle with the top cut and inverted works similarly), baited with a piece of meaty food (shrimp, fish) and placed near where the mantis shrimp has been active, often left overnight. The mantis shrimp enters to take the bait and typically can't easily find its way back out. This may take multiple attempts over several nights, since mantis shrimp can be cautious. Manually trying to grab a mantis shrimp by hand isn't recommended, particularly for smasher-type species, given the speed and force of their strikes. If trapping isn't successful, some keepers resort to partially disassembling rockwork to physically locate and remove the animal, though this is more disruptive to the tank.

By Hektor Jorgo Published September 19, 2023 Updated June 14, 2026 4 min read

A mantis shrimp with large folded raptorial claws peeking out from a crevice in live rock

Quick Facts

How They Arrive: Most often as hitchhikers on live rock, not as intentional purchases
Two Main Types: 'Smashers' (crushing club-like claws) and 'spearers' (sharp, spear-like claws for soft-bodied prey)
Diet: Predatory — snails, crabs, shrimp, amphipods, and small fish
Realistic Tank Mates: Very few — most invertebrates and small-to-medium fish are potential prey
Typical Housing: Species-only or solo tank, if kept intentionally
Removal Method: A baited trap (commonly a modified PVC pipe trap) is the standard non-destructive approach
Tank Safety Note: Smasher-type mantis shrimp have, in rare cases, been reported to crack aquarium glass or acrylic
Identification: A shrimp-like animal with large folded raptorial claws, often seen at night or after lights-out

A mantis shrimp is one of the more dramatic "surprise" hitchhikers a reef tank can produce — and one of the few where the question isn't really "is this reef-safe?" so much as "what, if anything, is safe from this?"

Short Answer

Mantis shrimp are effective predators, and in most home reef tanks, the realistic list of safe tank mates is very short to nonexistent. They typically arrive unintentionally as hitchhikers on live rock, often going unnoticed for weeks or months while quietly working through a tank's cleanup crew — snails, hermit crabs, amphipods, and small shrimp are all within their prey range, and smaller fish can be too. If you've discovered a mantis shrimp in your tank, the two realistic paths are removing it (typically via a baited trap) or setting up a dedicated species-only tank if you'd like to keep it intentionally — "finding the right tank mates" for an existing community tank generally isn't a workable middle ground.

How Mantis Shrimp Usually Arrive: The Hitchhiker Problem

Few reef keepers set out to buy a mantis shrimp — they show up as stowaways on live rock, often as small juveniles that burrow into rock crevices and go undetected for a long time. Common signs that a mantis shrimp has been present for a while include:

Cleanup crew disappearing faster than expected — snails, hermit crabs, or a previously healthy amphipod population thinning out
An audible clicking or popping sound, particularly associated with smasher-type species striking prey or defending territory
Eventually spotting the animal itself — often at night, with its large folded raptorial claws visible from a rock crevice

By the time any of these signs is noticed, the mantis shrimp has typically had time to grow and become well-established in the rockwork, which is part of why removal can take some persistence.

Smashers vs. Spearers: Why "Tank Mates" Is the Wrong Question for Most

Mantis shrimp are broadly divided by the type of raptorial claw they use:

Smashers — deliver extremely fast, powerful strikes capable of cracking open hard-shelled prey (snails, crabs, hermit crabs); in rare cases, strong enough to crack aquarium glass or acrylic
Spearers — use sharp, barbed appendages to impale soft-bodied prey like small fish and worms

Both types are effective predators of the animals that make up a typical reef tank's population, which is why "best tank mates" doesn't really have a satisfying answer for most setups — almost anything small enough to share a tank with a mantis shrimp is also within its prey range. This is a different situation from genuinely reef-safe invertebrates like porcelain crabs, where the question of compatibility has a real, positive answer.

If You Want to Keep a Mantis Shrimp Intentionally

Some keepers do choose to keep a mantis shrimp as a display animal in its own right — they're active, visually striking, and have genuinely interesting behavior. If that's the goal:

A dedicated species-only or solo tank is the standard setup — no cleanup crew, no other fish or invertebrates expected to coexist
Tank security matters more than usual — particularly for smasher-type species, given the (rare but documented) potential to damage glass or acrylic with a direct strike
Feeding is typically via target-feeding meaty foods (shrimp, fish pieces) rather than relying on the mantis shrimp to find food incidentally, since there's no cleanup crew or fish population for it to hunt

Removing an Unwanted Mantis Shrimp

For keepers who'd rather not run a dedicated mantis shrimp tank, removal is the more common path:

Baited traps — a PVC pipe trap (or a similar one-way-entry design, sometimes improvised from a cut soda bottle) baited with meaty food and left overnight near where the mantis shrimp has been active is the standard approach
Multiple attempts may be needed — mantis shrimp can be cautious, and trapping success often takes several nights
Avoid handling by hand, especially for suspected smasher-type species, given the speed and force of their strikes
Rockwork disassembly is a more disruptive last resort if trapping repeatedly fails and the mantis shrimp's continued presence is causing ongoing cleanup crew losses

Quick Reference

Mantis shrimp almost always arrive as unintentional hitchhikers on live rock, not as planned purchases
Disappearing cleanup crew, clicking sounds, or spotting large folded claws at night are common discovery signs
"Smashers" have crushing claws (rare glass-cracking risk); "spearers" target soft-bodied prey — both are effective predators
Realistic tank mates for most home setups: very few to none
Keeping one intentionally means a dedicated species-only/solo tank with target feeding
Removal is typically via a baited PVC pipe trap, possibly over multiple nights
Avoid handling a suspected mantis shrimp by hand, particularly smasher types

Frequently Asked Questions

How did a mantis shrimp get into my reef tank?

Almost certainly as a hitchhiker on live rock or sand, not as something anyone intentionally added. Mantis shrimp are often small and well-hidden as juveniles, burrowing into rock and remaining undetected for weeks or months — keepers frequently first notice one after finding missing cleanup crew (snails, hermit crabs, or amphipods disappearing faster than expected), hearing an audible 'click' or 'pop' sound (especially from smasher-type species), or eventually spotting the animal itself, often at night. By the time a mantis shrimp is noticed, it's typically been present and growing for a while.

What are 'smasher' and 'spearer' mantis shrimp, and does it matter which type I have?

These refer to the two broad categories of raptorial claw mantis shrimp use to catch prey. 'Smashers' have club-like appendages capable of delivering extremely fast, powerful strikes — used to crack open hard-shelled prey like snails and crabs, and in rare cases, strong enough to crack aquarium glass or acrylic if the animal strikes the tank wall. 'Spearers' have sharp, barbed appendages better suited to impaling soft-bodied prey like fish and worms. For a home aquarium, the practical difference mainly affects how much of a concern tank integrity is (smashers carry a small but real risk to glass/acrylic) — both types are effective predators of typical reef tank inhabitants regardless of which category they fall into.

Can a mantis shrimp live with fish or other invertebrates?

Generally, no — not safely, for the fish or invertebrates. Mantis shrimp are effective, opportunistic predators, and most things commonly kept in a reef tank — snails, hermit crabs, shrimp, smaller fish — fall within the size range of what a mantis shrimp can and will eat. This includes the cleaner shrimp, peppermint shrimp, and other reef shrimp species covered in our guide to shrimp in reef tanks, which are popular cleanup crew additions but offer no real defense against a mantis shrimp. This is the core reason 'best tank mates for a mantis shrimp' is something of a trick question: the realistic answer for most home aquarium setups is 'none,' and mantis shrimp that are kept intentionally (rather than removed as an unwanted hitchhiker) are almost always housed in a dedicated species-only or solo tank, sometimes specifically set up and marketed as a 'mantis shrimp tank' the way some keepers run dedicated puffer or other predator-only setups.

How do I remove a mantis shrimp from my reef tank?

The standard non-destructive approach is a baited trap — commonly a length of PVC pipe with one-way openings (sometimes a soda bottle with the top cut and inverted works similarly), baited with a piece of meaty food (shrimp, fish) and placed near where the mantis shrimp has been active, often left overnight. The mantis shrimp enters to take the bait and typically can't easily find its way back out. This may take multiple attempts over several nights, since mantis shrimp can be cautious. Manually trying to grab a mantis shrimp by hand isn't recommended, particularly for smasher-type species, given the speed and force of their strikes. If trapping isn't successful, some keepers resort to partially disassembling rockwork to physically locate and remove the animal, though this is more disruptive to the tank.

Sources & Further Reading

About the Author: Hektor Jorgo

Co-Founder & Marine Biologist

Hektor is a co-founder of Sea Life Planet and has kept reef and freshwater aquariums for over 15 years. He holds a background in marine biology and focuses on species care accuracy, water chemistry, and tank husbandry.