pistol shrimp + blenny

[infalible-one]

I was wondering if I could keep a pistol shrimp with a 2.25" blenny. this situation worries me because pistol shrimp have there little clicking thing they do to stun other fish (besides gobys) that swim near the bottom. I have a 10g with 12lb of live and base rock, and 25lb of crushed coral.

 

[yardboy]

Is that really what they do it for? I've got a pistol and randall goby in a 10 and the shrimp clicks quite frequently but there are no other fish in the tank. I have wondered what its function was though. I just thought it was the sound of him busting up rocks or firing up his diesel to haul more sand. I would have never thought a little shrimp could work that hard. You'd think it would be an inspiration to me, but it isn't.

 

[infalible-one]

the clicking is just him being bored so he clicks. gobys get along with them because they form a symbiotic relashionship where ,in the wild, the goby looks out for predators with it's better eyesight and the pistol shrimp fends off certain predators. but I need to know if they'll get along with blennys!!

 

[LeslieH]

It depends on the species of pistol shrimp. Only a minority of the species will pair up with gobies; the rest are free-living or commensals with other organisms like sponges. The goby commensals are less aggressive than other pistols and after it becomes accustomed to the blenny may accept it its presence.

 

[infalible-one]

I'm getting a carribean, 2.5" pistol shrimp, and thank you for reasuring and reeducating me on pistol behavior

 

[LeslieH]

What's interesting about pistols is that they can't hear but still use the clicking as part of their communication. There's several papers on how they interact using self-generated water currents & sensory chemicals for competition and recognizition.