Pistol shrimp dissapeared

[jiffyjhn]

I bought a pistol shrimp/goby pair and put them into my 32 gallon tank yesterday. They took a while to find each other but when they did they were together and digging a burrow. This morning I checked and the pistol shrimp is gone. The goby is still sitting in the burrow. Could the shrimp be dead? I saw my six line wrasse eyeing the shrimp, and my purple dottyback actually attacked it when I put it in the tank. Today my six line is acting weird and sitting on the sand. Anyone have ideas what might have happened?

 

[Fiver]

Chances are it's simply underground. You won't see it often. I don't see mine much, and I've had it for almost two months. Look for signs that sand is being moved around. Do you hear it clicking at night?

It's early; don't lose hope yet.

 

[jiffyjhn]

update: saw him with the lights off. he's in a new spot digging a new burrow, and the goby is still waiting for him in the old burrow. I thought the shrimp and goby would always stay together.

 

[mjc0760]

I'm going through that same "OMG where did my (fill in the blank) go?!" - - the only thing that's worse is finding something dead.

I added a Randalls Pistol Shrimp on Saturday. He was very small but looked healthy otherwise. I wanted to "steer" him into an area where my YWG lives so I used my feeding long feeding syringe to try to do that. He got ****ed off and made a loud click to scare me off. He then bolted into my rocks and there has been no sign of him since. So, I've spent the last days wondering whether I literally scared him to death of if he's just hiding.

 

[ThRoewer]

Sixlines eye everything, especially new things you add.
As for dottybacks, there are some that are notorious shrimp killer, I just don't know if the purple is one of those.
I had a pair of orchids with 4 Alpheus randalli and they never even looked at them.

Generally I would not worry right now as these shrimp can take a while to settle in. And if they stick with the goby depends a lot on the goby species you have. A. randalli prefer the smaller gobies of the genus Stonogobiops. For larger gobies you may need a tiger pistol shrimp (A. bellulus).

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[mjc0760]

I do have a six line who is a voracious consumer of any copepod that dares wander out into the open. No other predatory types that I need to worry about. My YWG is only about 2 inches and my research suggests he will pair with A. randalli. Fingers crossed!

 

[mjc0760]

I do have a six line who is a voracious consumer of any copepod that dares wander out into the open. No other predatory types that I need to worry about. My YWG is only about 2 inches and my research suggests he will pair with A. randalli. Fingers crossed!

Update: I haven't seen the Randall's pistol shrimp in months. Assuming he's still in there, is there any risk to him if I add another one? I hate the idea of creating conflict in the tank.

 

[ThRoewer]

Update: I haven't seen the Randall's pistol shrimp in months. Assuming he's still in there, is there any risk to him if I add another one? I hate the idea of creating conflict in the tank.

How big is the tank, especially the ground surface? How many rock islands are there?

I kept a pair and 2 single males in an 18" cube for about a year. Currently I have at least 2 pairs in my 100 gallon tank and at least one in my 40B. (Both tanks could have a couple more from the numbers of shrimp I added.)
Another pair lives with my yasha pair in the 20 Nuvo Abyss.

As long as they have enough room they will get along. If the new addition is of the opposite sex of the current occupant they will usually just pair up and occupy the same burrow.

Sexing them is possible, but due to their small size quite difficult.

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[mjc0760]

It's a 90 gallon tank with two distinct rock structures. Total rock weight is probably 90 lbs. Sounds like I could add another without creating a war zone. Thanks ThRoewer!

 

[ThRoewer]

I don't think they kill each other if there is enough space for them to set up multiple burrows.

IME they may be picked off by certain fish or other crabs.
Another danger to them are sand dwelling anemones, especially carpets like haddoni or gigantea. I think I lost quite a few that way.