question about rock and hitchhikers

[danskim]

Who here has ordered TBS live rock and has NOT gotten a mantis shrimp as a hitchiker?

 

[H2OLUVSME]

i got a 25 gallon package. i got no mantis shrimp. also, i hear people complain about gorilla crabs, i got a few small crabs (unidentifiable) but no gorillas either.

 

[danskim]

haha it's funny, but i am asking because i WANT a mantis

 

[H2OLUVSME]

look at my sig. i was hoping for one too

 

[danskim]

should i just order one to make sure for $9.95?

 

[H2OLUVSME]

if you are getting rock from them anyways you should order one. i had a free one lined up which is why i didnt order. i wish i would have though. shipping cost me more than $9.95. make sure that is the mantis you want though. they usually get Neogondactylus Wennerae which is a very small mantid. do a little research in the mantis forum and make sure you dont want a G. Smithii or an O. Skyylarus (sp?) otherwise known as the Peacock or clown mantis. you may be more interested in a larger or more colorful mantis. personally i like my wenny, but he is very shy.

 

[danskim]

yeah i was originally planning for an o. scyllarus

 

[patsan]

but he is very shy.

He is? The 2nd one I got was a character! Not as nice looking as the red one though.

 

[H2OLUVSME]

he's got his moments. some times hes no where to be found. for a while i actually thought he was dead. i removed some of the LR and put it in my main tank sump, and put some dead rock in their to seed. he came out to excavate around the new rocks and has been active ever since.

 

[dennisd78418]

I don't know if I got a mantis or not. At night I hear popping sounds occassionally. It's either a mantis or pistol shrimp, but I have never gotten a visual on the thing, so I can't say. I've looked but I haven't found a hole with lots of broken shells around either. So if it's a mantis, its not doing much damage.