Peacock Mantis at Live Aquaria

[jcerdena]

Hey Everyone,

I got an In-Stock notification from Live Aquaria saying that they just got a Peacock Mantis in. I still don't have a setup that is big enough for a Peacock, so I thought I'd pass this on, seeing as how almost everyone on here is looking for one. Good luck to whoever picks him up!

-Joe

 

[Gonodactylus]

They are not Peacocks!

They are not Peacocks!

Desperate for small male Odontodactylus scyllarus, I bit on the Live Aquaria notification that they had "Peacock Mantis Shrimp" in stock. Figuring that I could not ask them to sex these animals and provide just the small male I needed, I ordered three. They arrived this morning, two Gonodactylus chiragra and a G. smithii. You would think that a major retailer who shows a picture of Odontodactylus scyllarus and calls it a peacock could get such an identification right - particularly since in the past I offered to id stomatopods for them and sent them the url of my identification page.

If you read the fine print, they do say that they may make substitutions when the animal requested is not available. I do not consider G. chiragra and G. smithii simple substitutions. While the $45 each charged for O. scyllarus is a bit high, it is not unreasonable. Charging that much for common reef flat gonodactylids is outrageous given what exporters charge.

When Doctors Foster and Smith moved into the livestock trade, they bought out at least one reliable supplier whom I relied on for stomatopods. Their invertebrate stock people knew stomatopods and had provided me with properly identified animals for several years. After the take over , they were told that they could no longer special order stomatopod for me. When more of a market developed, they started listing them with the Peacock photo. I guess I should have trusted my instincts.

Sorry for the rant. I usually try to stay calm and detached on these pages, but I really do feel ripped off when the information needed for them to make an accurate ID (if they wanted to),is readily available - whether they want to use my web site or someone else's.

Roy

 

[justinl]

wow that sucks Roy. i definitely do not trust any online vendors when it comes to correctly IDing any mantis. well except for TBS, but they only ever get in one species.

hope your search for a young male peacock ends with success.

 

[Pea-brain]

Oh....that sucks...Did you contact them? They have their bumps, and problems, but if there is anything good about them, they give refunds like candy......

BTW if you need a place for that smithii I'd be willin to pay shipping in a few weeks after I can cycle the tank......Kidding, Kidding.......or am I?

 

[408mike]

Whoa whoa how do i get in contact with them? I want the mantis asap.

 

[Opcn]

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1702

1-800-334-3699

 

[jcerdena]

Wow, that is lame! When I bought my Chiragra from Foster & Smith it only cost $19, and the mantis they sent me was huge (over 3"). I've heard that most online vendors don't ID mantids very well...but Foster and Smiths?? I figured they would be my only hope to get an actual O.S., so much for that idea. I guess I'll only be buying from their Divers Den, atleast then there would be a picture of the mantis for sale. You definitely deserve a refund Dr. Roy.

 

[Gonodactylus]

Just an update on my dealings with LiveAquaria. After I emailed them last Friday to complain about being shipped the wrong stomatopods, the manager of Live Aquaria called my home. I was out and my wife took the call and they said that there was nothing they could do until Monday. Monday I called and reached a Drs. Foster and Smith representative who was handling "overflow" phone traffic. She was pleasant enough and said that they could credit me for the three peacocks and ship them when available. That seemed more than fair and I agreed.

This morning I received an email from the LiveAquarium Manager wondering if he had missed my call to discuss the misidentification and apologizing for the error. He contacted the Aquatics Director who was in contact with the Manager of the shipping facility. I was assured that the identifications were corrected and the I would be satisfied with the clown mantis being shipped today.

A couple of hours later I received a second email from the LiveAquaria Manager informing me that the vendor had just checked his inventory and had found that they were in deed the wrong species. They have ordered more and will ship them to me when they arrive.

One thing that I had not realized was that LiveAquaria uses multiple facilities and do not ship from one central location. This obviously creates control problems for them. The identifications will only be as good as the stock manager and/or packer at the shipping location.

I still don't have my Odontodactylus scyllarus, but I do feel that the company is trying to correct the error and is being more than fair. I also suspect that the identifications of O. scyllarus will improve - at least at one location.

Drs. Foster and Smith advertise two mantis shrimps, clowns (Odontodactylus scyllarus) and Lime green (Gonodactylaceus sp.). I identified the photo of the Gonodactylaceus for them a few years back and in all fairness, you can't expect them to identify the various species that they sell in this category. You will get an Indo-Pacific 2-3 inch mantis, probably green, but I have seen them supply G. chiragra, G. smithii, G. ternatensis, G. falcatus, G. glabrous, and G. falcatus. These are all common reef flat species that are shipped by the exporters as "Green Mantis Shrimp".

In summary, I should have held off criticizing Live Aquaria until they had a chance to respond.

Roy

 

[luscien]

so uh how about selling that g. smithii!!!!!
luscien.

 

[Gonodactylus]

Just to finish this story. Live Aquaria shipped the three replacement O. scyllarus Monday and they arrived in excellent shape yesterday. (One of the best packing and shipping jobs I've seen!) The company acted responsibly once the mistake was called to their attention and I'm completely satisfied with the outcome.

My only problem is that the three animals that arrived are all females and too large for their planned use, but that certainly is not Live Aquaria's fault. I knew when I ordered them that I couldn't specify size or sex, just species.

Roy

 

[justinl]

glad to hear they made up for the mistake. good luck on your own hunt

 

[408mike]

So do they have any peacocks left?