Best bet in finding large Mantis?
 

Hi all I have a 36g set up with a smaller chiagra in it and I really would love to find a larger species for the space.

Any suggestions on where I can find some decently priced Mantis, ideally large smashers, I've looked around and the cheapest I can find is in the hundreds not including shipping. I'm located in North Florida so if anyone has any store suggestions or online websites (that won't kill me on shipping) that sell these guys let me know. Thanks & happy New Year!

There is only 1 large smasher suitable for an aquarium.

O.scyllarus @ 180mm
next biggest is G.tern @ 125mm (not recommended species)
then G.chiragra @ 105mm

I would recommend buying a smaller O. Scyllarus and raising it (they get to nearly 7"). You can find them on ibluewater or blue zoo aquatics a lot. But they are always going to be pretty expensive (maybe $125-150 w/ shipping) I have seen some Peacocks on LiveAquaria's Diver's Den but they always go really fast and they usually run about $100 with shipping. Just save up, and while you're saving you should prepare your tank because with that kind of investment you'll want your mantis to live a long time. Ask questions/watch videos, etc. Best of luck!

I asked my LFS and he got me one.

The only caveat I'll add here is that many LFS owners are not very knowledgeable about mantis shrimp. You might ask for a Peacock, but get some completely different species. It happens to lots of people. My first mantis was sold to me as a Peacock but was actually a G. Chiragra.

Having said that, if you have a good LFS that you trust, Jlents is right that you might be able to get a Peacock for cheaper than the online prices.

Lol. That's not the half of it. The distributors can't even tell them apart more than "zebra" and "peacock". I was driving my guy nuts.

I was trying to get a smithii and they kept coming labeled as peacocks. They see mostly in bad shape too until my lfs owner went in person. (Vegas is nicely located for that, and frankly when the really good stuff comes in it was hand picked.

When I finally got my peacock I think it was $20.

My lfs owner is great btw.

That is a great deal. Sounds like a good LFS to me!

Yeah seriously. I wish I could find one for $50, let alone 20. That's crazy.