Mantis Shrimp Concerns

[Pea-brain]

Hmmm...this seems like a good thread to bring up some concerns I've had, and with orders I've heard about. Your company is amazing at bringing us healthy livestock, and I've only had a few DOA's and mostly on sensitive FW shrimp. But, I ordered a mantis shrimp from Diver's Den that was missing both raptorial appendages, and I've heard of another that recieved the same problem from a larger spearer you sold, S. Rugosa, and that was also missing an eye. These are pretty sad states, and I hate to complain, but what are your policies on quarenting invertebrates. It would have taken a while, but the mantis shrimp could have regenerated their limbs (sadly, not the eyes) in a few months, or you could have informed the buyer. I don't want a refund because mine is currently healthy and has gone through 2 successfull moults, but It is apalling that a company that puts as much care into their livestock as you could just "miss" that, and it was in your Divers Den! That is the only complaint I can think of about your company so far, So other than that you guys are great.....

 

[DFS]

Pea-brain,

Thank you for bringing your concerns to my attention. All of the aquatic life we maintain in our Rhinelander Wisconsin facility are looked after and cared for in the same manner, weather it be fish, corals, or invertebrates. We quarantine invertebrates for a minimum of two weeks, and make sure the animals are feeding properly, exhibiting normal behavior, and are disease free.

It is very common for many crustaceans to have missing appendages, and it is really not a problem unless it impedes their ability to feed or move properly. As you know, crustaceans will regenerate limbs through the molting process. All of the Divers Den items are photographed and posted daily so that customers like you can see exactly what they are going to receive.

I have reviewed the image of the S. rugosa mantis that was sold and shipped on April 16, 2007 and it did have both of its eyes as you can see in the photograph. I have posted the picture of this animal that was sold here:

From reading your posts you seem to be very knowledgeable in regards to Stomatopods. When transferring these animals from holding tanks to shipping bags they do not react well and try and do whatever they can to free themselves. On rare occasions this will cause bruising or damage to the animals themselves. We do our best to gently handle and transfer these Stomatopods but it is apparent that the S. rugosa had severely damaged one of its eyes to the point where it unfortunately lost the eye. This was not intentional on our part, and we did fully reimburse this customer for both the animal and the shipping cost on April 18th 2007.

Unfortunately we are unable to credit you for the Stomatopod that you received from us as we had sent this animal to you for free and covered the cost of the shipping as well.

In summary, the care and dedication that we put into every animal we offer on the Divers Den section of the LiveAquaria.com site is the same. We pride ourselves in offering the healthiest aquatic life available anywhere. Customers can rest assured that if there are problems with the any of the animals that they receive, that we stand behind everything we sell with the best guarantee in the business.

Sincerely,
Kevin Kohen
Director of LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith

 

[Pea-brain]

Like I said, I expect no refund, But, a mantises livelyhood depends on its raptorial appendages. It can take as much as a year to regenerate a striking appendage on a large stomatopod, and 2/3 of a year to regenerate both (they increase molt frequency) it would take 2-3 molts to regenerate to the point where they work again. The loss of a rapt isn't particulary damaging in the wild. Neither is the loss of one eye because they have hexnocular vision, essentially three eyes in one. But loss of both of either is near certain death to a wild mantis shrimp. especially S. rugosa, because of its hunting habits remain in their cavity waiting for food. A smasher may be able to forage for small worms and other soft prey but it is much less likely, in my understanding, for a spearer to survive. So loss of both limbs impedes their ability to feed naturally. How did the mantises lose their rapts, may I ask? tangled in a net or bag it pierced? you may want to consider rigid plastic for shipping/catching them.

Dan

 

[Pea-brain]

I'm sorry, but the machine I use for th 'net only allows me to type lines so many characters long. I would just like to say that you guys try your best, and Always make things right, but having a mantis shrimp that cannot defend itself or catch live prey is quite disheartening. Especially if you bought live prey for it, and said prey now needs to be fed and pollutes the water. I'm not saying you shouldn't sell slightly injured mantises either, as a mantis that is just missing one of its walking legs won't impede it much, if at all. Or a mantis that is missing both rapts would be okay, as long as you notify the customer. And if it gets injured while trying to prepare for shipping, maybe emailing the customer and telling them the problem and asking if they still want it. Because even if you get your money back, you don't get the space the mantis shrimp takes up back. nursing it back to health isn't fun..

P.S I noticed the bluestripe pipe you added. Aren't male bluestripes highly aggressive towards other males?

 

[DFS]

Pea-brain,

To answer your specific question I do not know how the mantis lost its dactyl initially, as it did not happen while in our care. It is however very common for this to happen during collection or while sitting in export stations waiting for shipment to the US.

The loss of a dactyl will not inhibit a mantis shrimp from eating in a captive environment, but will often times impede their ability to hunt as they do in the wild.

We do not use nets to capture or transfer fish or crustaceans in our facility as it may cause undue stress or damage to the animal.

Sincerely,
Kevin Kohen

 

[DFS]

Pea-brain,

We finally do have Doryrhamphus excisus back in stock and they reside in the Collectors Corner section of the LiveAquaria site. These pipefish are shipped from the California facility and yes two males can be very aggressive towards one another.

Kevin

 

[Pea-brain]

In that case shouldn't you offer sexed animals? (maybe at a higher price) Because ordering four for a small harem (1 male-3 females) could be risky without knowing the sex. And I believe they are quite easy to sex. If I remember right (I could very well be wrong) there are spines on the snout if its a male. Sorry for going off topic but I am quite interested. I have a 30 gallon acrylic just sitting around and looking at possibiliteis. This just caught my eye.

 

[dfs/la2]

Pea-brain,

Thank you for your suggestions regarding the Doryrhamphus excisus. At this time we are not able to sell these are sexed individuals, as many of these are in their juvenile stage. If we were to offer true mated pairs they would be offered in our Divers Den section.


Jessica H.
LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster & Smith

 

[BlueCorn]

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