Where can I find a Mantis Shrimp???

[odoprelude]

Okay, wanting to buy a mantis shrimp, but due to my location, it'll have to be shipped in. My LFS says he gets them in with his rock shipments, but I picked over his last shipment of over 180 lbs. and found not one... I've had my mantis shrimp's tank ready for a week now and am getting impatient... I called tbs and the shipping she quoted me was going to be $60...? Anyhoo.. I figured I'd look elsewhere. Any suggestions???? Thanks!

 

[crgeltn]

You can try saltwaterfish.com sometimes they get them in and they charge about 20.00 each and if you order 75.00 worth of stuff shipping is free. Hope this helps! BTW, TBS quoted me the same shipping price. I can get 15 pounds of uncured liverock from etropicals with overnight shipping and probably get a mantis with it for about 50.00 total!

 

[dc]

Shipping here is outrageous here too. You just have to decide how badly you want one. I got one and never regretted the price. My shrimp was free, but that $60 shipping made up for it. There's always people trying to get rid of them. Just keep an eye out. You could also post down in the classifieds.

 

[northstar]

I was in Port Aransis TX. this past week. You can buy Sea Lice there (aka Mantis Shrimp) for $3 per dozen in the bait shops.

 

[Kara]

sea lice = mantis shrimp??!

 

[jacksonfish]

not the same


http://www.marine.ie/scientific+services/monitoring/sea+lice/

 

[northstar]

I didn't say these fishermen / bait shop purveyors were scientists. Sea Lice is a local term for the mantis I am sure as I saw the creatures and they are Mantis.

 

[crgeltn]

They are the same!

They are the same!

They are the same. It just depends who you are talking to. Bait shops do sell them as sea lice. While they are not really sea lice they are sold that way. Just be aware that they will usually not be healthy and will be fairly small.

 

[crgeltn]

They are used for drum fishing!

They are used for drum fishing!

They are used for drum fishing. You can check this out at:
www.sfcci.org/drum.htm


:rollface:

 

[Kara]

lol.. if you went into a bait store here and asked for sea lice, they would look at you like you were NUTZ! Sea lice are a nuisance here and cause rashes, kinda like a chigger. Lots of people run into swarms of sea lice while swimming at the beach. It's a very itchy and painful sea bug.

That's why I was like; WHAT?? SEA LICE?!

 

[northstar]

Exactly - we were there at the end of the drum run (mid April). We fished for saltwater sheepshead and caught many in the 8 to 10lb range. Also seen on the fishing party boat (about 25 persons fishing) were sand trout, grunts, saltwater catfish and even a 2ft hammerhead shark. I would guess that in the 5 hours fishing we collectively brought in 600 lbs of fish.