pairing up yellow watchman and pistol shrimp.

mindytoy

mindytoy

New member
LFS has them already paired. BOTH are tiny though. watchman like an inch or so, and shrimp like 1/3 of an inch...yellow goby looks out and the shrimp brings out rubble from under rocks...

anyways i can get a good deal...$35 for both of them. i wanted bigger ones but im thinking of getting them. i might pay for them and pick them up in a week or so...just added my first fish, 2 clowns ORA ocellaris 3 days ago..

my questions are will they pair up again?

the pistol shrimp is so small im scared of him being eaten by a clown or sucked into a powerhead...he has a big claw white and red spotted...

is there a way i can pair them up to be in the front of the tank? so that i can see their behavior? i wouldnt want them to setup camp behind a rock where ill never see them...


anyone please help thanx :)
 
i try to figure it out too, just got my pistol and it went straight to the back. im just guessing its still new thatswhy it try to hide. give it couple more month and tr y to move it.
 
My understanding is in nature they pair up if the other is around. Its not like a Best friend type of thing. They should pair up if they see each other in the tank. As for it being to small for your set up only you can make that decision.
 
I don't think you can force them to move where you want them. Maybe if you blocked them off so they couldn't leave an area until they dug a hole and moved in.

Or you could just knock over their homes until they build it where you want.
 
i was thinking of getting a container, maybe a cut open 3 lieter bottle and cutting one of the edges to fit one of the rocks so that theres half a rock inside the bottle, then having them both there so that they pair up and start digging under that rock...id hate to have them pair off somewhere were ill never see them...

does the goby bring the shrimp food?
 
No, the shrimp just follows the goby when it goes to feed. You'd need to drop some food nearby for both of them.
 
hmm...anyone else have any suggestions, i could try to see and hope that they do pair up somewhere i could see, but id hate to rearange rock work with them under one...
 
They're not hard to pair. Took about 2 seconds. I had a ywg. I added a tiger pistol (probably what they're selling.) I dropped him in. He clicked once, twice, on his way to the sand. By the time he landed the ywg had found him. They are rarely separate, and are always digging new burrows, facing every which way, usually forward: the fish is the brains of the outfit, and since the ywg likes to watch things, he'll usually face the action---unless you have something in the tank he's afraid of. You will NOT govern where that burrow goes, I fear: it changes daily. Sometimes hourly. My ywg is now about 5" long, and the shrimp is about 2 1/2".
 
my ywg seems to be very shy. it took him a week in the DT stay out from under the rock work as i walked by. after moving stuff around i haven't even seen him.

does that subside? are they a naturally shy fish?
 
our shrimp is constantly digging. he must redecorate at least 4 times a day.
sometimes his entrance is in a really good spot to see him and sometimes it faces the back of the tank. i dont think you can get it to build in a certain spot...so no point in rearranging anything

our pistol and watchman paired up after few seconds.
 
the ywg is a shy fish and will not come out if he doesn't like one of the fish in your tank. if the ywg is quite dominant in the tank and one he doesn't like moves in, he may come out after a couple of weeks, disappear for another week or so, then start coming out more. he does not forgive easily. ;) And they are braver if they have shrimp.
 
In the past few years that I have had my goby/shrimp pair, they've moved their entrance/home a few times all on the same side of my tank. Even if you intially get them where you want, there's no guarantee they'll stay there.
 
A few weeks ago I added a Watchman goby to my 29g BC. Within the first few days, he paired up with the smaller of my peppermint shrimp. I wasn't expecting it but it's fun to watch. They are always together now. Since they have paired up, my goby has gotten more social...he's even started coming out during the evenings and swimming around the tank.

Deanna
 
Yes the ywg is much more confident after pairing with shrimp as Sk8r mentioned. I have a ywg & a tiger pistol and they basically hang out under one of my large LR pieces. They have 4 exit points from this LR, mixing up exit point during the day. They seal up one exit before going to the others, pretty cool. Facinating relationship they share. I introduced mine at different times. I had ywg in tank for about 5 months before getting a pistol. When putting pistol in it took about 4 days for them to match up. When I switched to a bigger tank and put them in my new tank, it took them about 15 minutes to find eachother. They are great to view!
 
My ywg also shares a home with my peppermint shrimp. Although I can't say that they've actually paired up. They aren't inseperable or anything, they just share the same hole.
 
I have no idea why my watchman paired up with my peppermint shrimp. They are cute though. They will take turns being at the front but are usually together!! I think my watchman is kinda wierd though...he's even started coming out and swimming with my 2 clowns at night sometimes!!
 
wow paired with a peppermint? i hardly see mine! so should i buy them at the same time or seperate..they are paired at the lfs
 
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