Help me pick a mantis!

This morning I tore down my 10 gal FW planted tank. Went and got some LR, sand, and a lonely little damsel. Now all I need to do is wait for it to cycle and pick out a mantis. I know there are hundreds of different kinds of them. My favorite that I have seen so far is the Peacock (Odontodactylus scyllarus). Liveaquaria has them in stock, but are they too big for a 10 gal? I have also looked on stomatopod.com, but they are out of stock on everything.

Any suggestions or recommendations on where to purchase one will be appreciated!

Thanks,
Ivan

 

So after setting up I realized that the rock isn't really ideal for a mantis. I will change it up, build a cave, and get a lot more rubble later. This is what the tank looks like for now though.

 

i feel bad for the damsel. i wish you would have used raw shrimp.

 

Peacock is way too big for that size tank. You may want to get a Korilia nano to help with water flow.

 

I have a powerhead in the top right corner. There is enough flow.

 

ten gallon is big enough for any mantis EXCEPT a peacok and some spearers that arent common in the trade. purple spot, orange spot and most hitchhiking mantises are good.

 

I talked to the guy at stomatopod.com this afternoon. He said they just got an order in. I think I want either a G. smithii or a Gonodactylaceus ternatensis. I like the colors more on the second one but the smithii stays a little smaller.
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Ternatensis look beastly awesome, but I've heard they can be a tad shy. We have a G. Smithii and he's not shy at all. He's pretty awesome, and really pretty, too. He's deep green on the top, but he's like a rainbow on the bottom, except mostly blue. So he's basically green on top, blue on the bottom.

N. Wennerae are good ones, too. And are very very common hitchhikers. I'd check around your LFS's and see if one can catch one for you. If the stomatopod.com order isn't what you're looking for, anyways. We got our G. Smithii from stomatopod.com, but I got my N. Wennerae as a rescue from an LFS.

 

thanks Jwin..i was hoping you'd see this thread. I agree on the Ternatensis. I may trade up them being shy for looking amazing. I read an article about them that said they need a round piece of liverock to chisel a den out of..thought that was pretty cool..I wonder if they would still use a U-shaped pvc pipe?

Oh yeah..and all of the LFS's around me don't get rock shipments in..they're pretty small establishments..so it is extremely rare they come across a mantis.

 

Ternatensis also requires more stable water conditions than G. Smithii or the bullet proof N. Wennerae.

In my experience the mantis species you end up with is usually what is available rather than what you actual plan for. Unless you are patient or have the capability to assemble an aquarium for it when it becomes available.

My suggestion really depends on how much you are willing to spend as well. If you don't mind spending good money I would wait until stomatopod.com gets their shipment in and see what they have. They will be more expensive there, I think Jwin and Triplemom paid $59.99 for their Smithii. At the same time I think they had ternatensis for around $30 if memory serves me right.

I paid $9 for my N. Wennerae, I think Justin paid less than a dollar for his and lots of people have gotten them for free locally.