pistol shrimp

[idonteatfish]

i was wondering if pistol shrimp was reef safe? i was planning on putting one in a little 15 gal with my yellow watchman goby. is it a scavenger?

 

[wade1]

I have seen them in reef tanks, the only real cautions are about other small inverts. They will attach shrimp or others if not fed well. If you keep up with feeding, having the pair in a small tank is not at all an issue. I will suggest putting the live rock on the bottom and pouring the sand around it however, as they will dig alot and might cause the rock to fall. Also, make sure you have ~3" of sand for them to make tunnels in...

They are a cool species set.

Wade

 

[_range_]

When you introduce them into the tank, start by digging a little hole for them and put them there. My first set never burrowed together because I didn't put them in the same spot. This might not be why they didn't burrow together - but thats my 2cents. Read my disclaimer.

 

[dizzy]

idonteatfish,

Sometimes the the digging of the pistol shrimp unearths terebellid worms and other desirable creatures of the sandbed which are promptly eaten by the goby. Disturbing the sandbed probably limits denitrification as well. Other than that, they are very enjoyable to watch. The shrimp does all the work and the Goby is a good lookout.

Mitch

 

[idonteatfish]

what does it eat? detrius?? thanks

 

[dizzy]

what does it eat? detrius?? thanks

Actually both the Gobies and the shrimp are not picky eaters. They will eat most of the frozen fish foods (shrimp, clam, krill, etc.) that are commonly offered to marine fish. The gobies are opportunistic feeders. I have observed my Amblyeleotris randalli sucking a small blue leg hermit out of it's shell. I believe it would probably eat a cleaner shrimp too if it caught it molting. All and all the shrimp/goby relationship is fascinating to watch.

Mitch

 

[Anonymous]

Just FYI, I have tried to get a yellow watchman goby to pair up with various pistol shrimp the LFS gave me. No luck and from my reading unless you get a wild caught pair collected together or got lucky and bought a pair that teamed up in captivity *very very rare* it's a tough proposition. I currently have 4 tiny pistol shrimp and 2 kinds of watchman gobies in a nano, none of which have paired up. I have lots of rock in there and occasionally see the shrimp and definitely hear them when it gets dark but they gobies are usually out and about or near their lairs and are definitely not cohabitating with the shrimp. Larger pistols have been known to kill gobies and vice versa too, those goofy looking claws they have pack a serious wallop.

 

[dizzy]

technosaman,

Your information is incorrect. It is very easy to get the pistol and gobies to pair. You are probably getting the wrong type of pistol. Get the common one that goes buy the name of tiger pistol, as it will pair with many of the patner goby species. The picture is not great, but if you look closely you can see the shrimp you desire.

Mitch

 

[wade1]

I recall reading someplacd that its not so easy as you make it sound. I have no practical experience, but I do recall that most bonds are formed when the fry settle out onto the reef... and stay until a partner dies. So maybe its not so easy dependant on the type of pair.

Wade

 

[Anonymous]

Whatever, it's mostly anecdotal if you want me to I'll pull up all the 'misinformation' I found on the net (not that the net is even close to being reliable a lot of what I read about not pairing was from the wwm site which is usually spot on). Tell me how to get mine to pair up then. I have 2 pistols somewhere in my nano live rock and 2 gobies with territory staked out at opposite ends. I do know the 2 pistols came in on Indo pacific live rock. I have another 2 which are currently separate which may have come in on carribean live rock. I am aware of the difficulties getting the right species for the right goby but no one classifies pistols very well with a few exception of some of the larger specimens.

I have not been able to find a definite classification for them on line and since they are loose in the tank all I can say is they are 3/4" - 1" , translucent beige with some brownish shading near where legs connect to carapace. If you have more information then please share for my sake and the original poster.

 

[dizzy]

I recall reading someplacd that its not so easy as you make it sound. I have no practical experience, but I do recall that most bonds are formed when the fry settle out onto the reef... and stay until a partner dies. So maybe its not so easy dependant on the type of pair.

Wade

Wade,

With all due respect I don't believe you should challenge my post unless you do have personal experience or can provide a link to someone credible that offers contrary information. I currently have three pair of gobies and shrimp. None of which were purchased as a pair. I have been able to make similar pairing dozens of times. I will try and get you a better picture of the tiger pistol shrimp. I am not sure of its latin name.

The secret is getting the right species of pistol shrimp. Many of the pistols do not have a symbiotic relationship with gobies and buying these is useless. Another shrimp that pairs readily is Alpheus randalli (attached picture) , although these are not offered for sale nearly as much as the tiger pistol and are a smaller shrimp. IMO tiger pistol shrimp pair so easily with gobies that it is worthless to spend extra money for a proven pair.

Mitch Gibbs

 

[Chucker]

:idea: FWIW, it seems more than one poster here is correct, and neither to the exclusion of the other.

My personal experience is with an olive brown pistol that has never paired with my yellow watchman, and they have been in the same 11g tank for over a year.

 

[Anonymous]

Mitch, don't get me wrong I really appreciate the feedback it's just is nearly a 180 from most of what I ahve read on the net. I think the limited availablilty of various goby/shrimp combos is part of the issue. Having only experience with the yellow watchman and none of the other shrimp gobies I am interested in your experiences in getting pairs to establish that were not collected at the same time. For my lareger nano I am planning on possibly getting a larger variety of shrimp goby and will look for a pistol species to match it, maybe try a tiger goby, rainford's or wheeler's. In any event it's a very interesting subject and full of popular misconceptions and a dearth of hard data.

 

[wryberg1]

I had a watchman all alone in the tank for a year, bought a tiger pistol 3 mts ago....I placed him in the tank close to the goby and they have been paired up ever since.... Very cool to watch them together.

 

[dizzy]

technoshaman, Chucker, Wade,

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Sounds to me like Chucker and others have been working with the wrong species of pistol. The problem with the internet and trying to write rules in stone is that not all the information is correct. I think even Fenner has it wrong on this one. I believe the tiger pistol is Alpheus bellulus. I have never had the tiger pistol fail to pair with yellow watchman, randalli, or orange spotted goby. It is either very easy to get this pairing or I have a magic touch. :wink:

Mitch

 

[SPC]

I think even Fenner has it wrong on this one.

8O

I was just wondering if they would be more inclined to pair up in a larger tank with animals they might perceive as predators? :?:
Steve

 

[Chucker]

technoshaman, Chucker, Wade,

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Sounds to me like Chucker and others have been working with the wrong species of pistol.
Mitch

Not saying that it is. I'm trying to make the important distinction that there are numerous pistol species out there, and our experience with them as aquarists is limited in making the countless possible pairs of pistol and goby species. Each experience with a different pairing provides another data point for the hobbist to use as a reference in their own attempts to make a pair.

 

[toddius]

Mitch,

What about "bullseye" pistol shrimp? I've got an orange spotted goby and I'm interested in this combo. The goby is well established in the tank. If you were me, would you try to get a "tiger" pistol shrimp or one of the other species?

Thanks,
-Todd

 

[dizzy]

I found a picture of Alpheus bellulus in two books. It is defintely the tiger pistol. These shrimp are usually fairly easy to obtain under the name tiger pistol. There are plenty of other Alpheus sp. of shrimps that are know to pair with gobies. It is quite possible that some of the other species do not pair up as easily.

toddius,

I have a book that says the bullseye pistol is not know to live with gobies.

SPC,

I have had tiger pistols pair with gobies in tanks as small as 3.5 gallon and as large as 160 gallon.

I would be real interested to hear from someone who tried to pair A. bellulus with one of the watchman type gobies and failed. IME it is a nearly automatic pairing.

MG