Mantis shrimp owner stigma?

[nmotz]

Does anybody else ever think its funny how people react to you when you tell them you have a mantis shrimp? I get all kinds of different reactions, but the most common one is a kind of "wow, you're weird and I have to know more so I'll ask you a bunch of strange questions." Does anybody else get that?

What I mean is that most people outside of the hobby don't know what a mantis shrimp is so they do think it's kinda cool in one sense but when they find out more about it they often start asking all kinds of really random (and sometimes stupid) questions. I was asked if I've ever "fist-bumped" my mantis shrimp and have also been teased about owning a "lobster."

I guess I am weird because I don't get any of it. Who doesn't want something unique and special in their lives? I think mantis shrimp are amazing pets and just cannot understand why that makes me some kind of pariah.

Anyways, I just think it's kinda funny that people find anything and everything that's different from them to be weird. But I guess I'm no different in some ways. I think dog owners are weird because they put up with a smelly, shedding, loud, dirty animal that craps and pees all over everything. There's no winning for anyone I guess

 

[Calappidae]

I certainly do love seeing people's reactions whenever I show them my livestock, vocally though the majority of people I tell about my favorite animal often go "sounds cool, never heard of it" or "sounds expensive, not for me."

Sometimes I'll talk about the animal itself a bit more and then reveal I own it, this way I can identify the interest in education about them, and then see a full reaction of being able to see one in my home in person to wow them more. Usually I have people when I say that their eyes are being studied by several companies and once even NASA. I often leave the dactyl part for show; "Oh btw, watch what happens to this clam, I forgot to mention they can chip glass."

I have one guy who never heard of them, and instantly after learning a bit more about mine's personality, began planning a setup for one. I ended up giving him a shopping list, and he cancelled out for now seeing that I nearly costed him close to a thousand dollars.(tbh I went a bit overkill for some of the equiptment.. for an N. wennerae....). He said some day but not today.

 

[Fraggedmind]

oh yeah....I got such a wide array of responses it's awesome. Even better when I mention I am moving him into my reef tank when it's done....then I get the real confusion. As for cost....my entire setup for the matis was just over $300.

 

[nmotz]

oh yeah....I got such a wide array of responses it's awesome. Even better when I mention I am moving him into my reef tank when it's done....then I get the real confusion. As for cost....my entire setup for the matis was just over $300.

My 40B set-up was somewhere between $1,500-$2K total and I saved up for all of that over the course of about 12 months, which was good because it allowed me to plan. I just wanted to make sure I had a well thought out and functioning system for an Odontodactylid.

But my nano tank was a really cheap endeavor. Maybe $70? I really like that it's possible to keep some mantis shrimp species on the cheap.

I have one guy who never heard of them, and instantly after learning a bit more about mine's personality, began planning a setup for one. I ended up giving him a shopping list, and he cancelled out for now seeing that I nearly costed him close to a thousand dollars.(tbh I went a bit overkill for some of the equiptment.. for an N. wennerae....). He said some day but not today.

I have also had people say this to me. They either balk at the price or at the complexity of maintaining a saltwater environment/equipment needed (RO/DI, filter/skimmer, LR, powerheads, refugium/sump, etc).

 

[EI Gringo]

A grand??? Bro there's currently a ternatensis set up complete on eBay for 20 pounds :L UK money. One thing I get is just "wow that's awesome". I have a g smithii which has potentially the most advanced eyes in the world and by extension the known universe, I also have a g chiragra which is the most powerful organism for its size known to have ever existed in the world and by extension the known universe, sounds cool when I put it like that huh? Funny still when you consider they aren't even my proudest specimens

 

[Calappidae]

I'm also factoring in the starter supplies. (refractormeter, food, the specimen ($20 N. wennerae), test kits, etc.. and then the tank equiptment itself, the rock, sand, salt, RO/DI, etc.)

Saltwater setups are always more expensive looking when you first start out.