Goby and Pistol Shrimp Requirements?
- Thread starter reefngeek
- Start date
LobsterOfJustice
Recovering Detritophobe
You don't necessarily want coarse sand (some people consider crushed coral coarse sand...), but you want smooth-particle aragonite (not silica based, not oyster shell) in a variety of grain sizes including some snail shells and small rubble mixed in. And non-aggressive tankmates to ensure they get their fair share of food.
Fish Biscuit
Active member
Forget keeping any corals on the sand bed, they'll get buried & I've seen mushrooms used for front doors to the burrow. Make sure any corals are secure & can't be moved.
Add lots of empty snail shells & pieces of rubble for building materials. When I had the 12g I added empty shells for the hermits & the pistol stole all of them. I'd keep throwing them in & they kept disappearing, must've had about 60 empty shells in there.
Add lots of empty snail shells & pieces of rubble for building materials. When I had the 12g I added empty shells for the hermits & the pistol stole all of them. I'd keep throwing them in & they kept disappearing, must've had about 60 empty shells in there.
Fish Biscuit
Active member
Have you tried putting your corals on top of a pvc fitting? I did that to keep some of mine from being buried. Not visually appealing but eventually the sand piles up around hiding most of the pvc.
@Aaaron, please don't kill the poor things... They aren't being mean on purpose, that's just what they do to survive. Plus, a LFS might give you some store credit for a matched pair. Or, if you gotta kill them, at least make it quick...
Here's what they need to be happy:
Couple inches of reasonably small sand
Plenty of rock, as they burrow mostly under rock
Handful of rubble bits/shells for material. Largeish flat shells are great because they make arches around the entrances out of them and you get to watch.
Nothing that's going to constantly attack them
Meaty foods
And that's about it. Also, don't put corals on the sandbed, they'll bury them with the sand they haul out, as mentioned above.
They do tend to grab anything small that's close to them so they can use it as material. I suggest either putting your corals several inches above the sand, using big corals, or just making sure they're attached well. IMO, provided you don't have really expensive sand-sitting corals, the occasional "gotta rescue the coral from being a door" moment is well worth the entertainment value they provide.
Here's what they need to be happy:
Couple inches of reasonably small sand
Plenty of rock, as they burrow mostly under rock
Handful of rubble bits/shells for material. Largeish flat shells are great because they make arches around the entrances out of them and you get to watch.
Nothing that's going to constantly attack them
Meaty foods
And that's about it. Also, don't put corals on the sandbed, they'll bury them with the sand they haul out, as mentioned above.
They do tend to grab anything small that's close to them so they can use it as material. I suggest either putting your corals several inches above the sand, using big corals, or just making sure they're attached well. IMO, provided you don't have really expensive sand-sitting corals, the occasional "gotta rescue the coral from being a door" moment is well worth the entertainment value they provide.
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