Pistol Shrimp and Goby pair.

[Cousin Vinny]

So I talked to the manager of one of my lfs's the other day about a goby and pistol shrimp pair. His words were "In a 90 gallon tank, you'll never see them." Is this true? I think it would be a neat pair to have and watch but I don't want to get them if I won't see them. Any opinions on this?

 

[JennyH]

I have a pair in my 90 and I see them all the time. Its probably more dependant on the other fish you have then the size of the tank, imho. I have a pretty chill tank, so my goby feels safe enough to take his shrimp out all the time.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

You should see them plenty - what species of goby were you looking at?

 

[Cousin Vinny]

Was looking at a yellow watchman goby. Is there a species of goby that pairs more readily with a pistol shrimp? Is there anything I can do to get them to pair easier? Any ideas on how to get them to build their little area towards the front of the tank as opposed to an area where they won't be seen?

 

[muleycrazy]

i have a yellow watchman goby & pistol shrimp, been in the tank for 2 weeks never see the shrimp, see the goby swimming around but no shrimp.

 

[J2T]

I have two pairs in my 75g, the gobies (YWG and Randalls) I see all the time but I definitely see my tiger pistol more than the candy cane but that could also be a size thing. Granted I still see the candy cane just about every day but my tiger pistol is almost always visible. Also keep in mind it will be dependent on where they decide to setup shop at as well.

 

[rathos]

I have a high fin red red banded goby and candy cane shrimp pair in my 125. I didn't see them for about the first 4 days, and then I looked on the bottom of my tank and saw the shrimp digging around. I looked directly above where I saw him digging and figured out what rock he was under. After that I seem them both at least 2 times a day and once during feeding time. I think they would be out more, but the goby gets freaked out when anything else swims by. I imagine it is because he is so small.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

A yellow watchman should be out plenty.

 

[G4546]

Like some of the other members said it depends on your other tank mates and more or less the aquascape of your aquarium comes into play a bit You should see a YWG though They sure are cool lil guys!

 

[Baldguy]

I see my YWG and tiger pistol all the time. Both of them. Love the behavior. The pistol is a great engineer building his various entrances.

 

[aandfsoccr04]

I have a 120 gallon and see my YWG and pistol shrimp all the time.

 

[snookman88]

Like everyone said you should see them plenty. When I set up my 120 I made a network of pvc tunnels with three entrances, all at optimal viewing points. I then placed my pistol in one of the entrances, an hour later the goby found him and one year later they still live in the tunnels. I have done this in my last two tanks and it works very very well. First off the shrimp only digs at the tunnel entrances and never risks toppling over rocks plus the pair is always where you can see them, front and center! Dont worry about an eye sore either because after awhile the shrimp piles said over the entrance so no one can even tell there is a pvc pipe right there.

 

[Cousin Vinny]

Wow! Thanks all! You've re-persuaded me to get the YWG and pistol shrimp pair when I get my tank up and going!

 

[tygger]

Do you think they'll still pair up if you add the shrimp later on?

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Yes they will still pair up fine.

 

[J2T]

Yes they will still pair up fine.

They most likely will but it all depends on them finding each other. My experience was that when I added the goby first and the pistol second (my Randall and tiger pair) they found each other pretty quickly, within an hour. I added the candy cane first and the YWG second and it took them a good 2 weeks before they finally found each other.