Pistol shrimp questions?

N

Nerun

New member
About 3 months or so ago i purchased a tiger pistol shrimp to pair up with my yellow watchman goby. The watchman seemed to want to pair up with the shrimp but the shrimp didnt seem interested in the goby so i went out and bought another tiger pistol. The goby and the pistol hit it off immediately and have been a happy couple ever since! For a long time I didnt see the first shrimp so i assumed him deceased, but the other day I saw him checking out a coral frag that i placed near the bottom of the rock he was hanging out at. So, basically i would like to get another goby to pair up with the guy.

But i have a few concerns....

1. Might this particular tiger pistol not like to be paired up with a goby? He didnt seem to like the yellow watchman. Is there a possibility he's a loner?

2. I would like to get another species of goby besides a yellow watchman but im worried that another species wont want to pair up with the shrimp. Which ones are most likely to pair up with pistols besides the yellow watchman?

3. If left without a partner, what is the longterm survivability of a lone tiger pistol shrimp?

Anyhoo, any insight would be great!
 
I had a yellow watchman goby for a couple months when I found my randalls pistols shrimp. When I first put the shrimp in he moved right in with my goby, but a few weeks later I had to move rocks around, and the shrimp was lost. The goby made a new home on the other side of the tank, and a few weeks later I noticed holes forming at the base of my rock wall, so I started watching them at night with my red flashlight.
Sure enough after about the third night of checking I spotted my shrimp, he is living on his own, has been for about 6 months with no problems, he sure is still tiny though.
 
Do firefish have a tendency to Jump?

i have an open top tank and have had problems with jumpers. :(
 
Firefish will jump, yes. They frighten easy.

As for another goby being added. You need to watch for aggression from the ywmg. My male ywmg was aggressive to females gobies I added. Another species may fair better, I don't know. My ywmg are in a 15gal though. Not much room to get away. A 75gal and you will probably be okay. No promises though, and goodluck.
 
yellow head?

yellow head?

what sort of goby might u recommend?

i really like those yellow-headed threadfin gobies but ive read they are pretty picky when it comes to their shrimp and seem to prefer the randalls shrimp.

the Randall's Shrimp Goby looks pretty nice but i dont know much about it.

The goby that has paired with the second shrimp has settled together on the far right of the tank. Whereas, the lone shrimp is in the middle under a big rock so im thinking that i might be okay.

any experience with the the yellow head anyone
 
Hi Fin Red Banded Goby
Stonogobiops nematodes

or

Yellowheaded Sleeper Goby
Valenciennea strigata

Im assuming the first since its a shrimp goby and the second is a sand sifter.

If I could do it all over again I'd get a randall's goby. I enjoy watching them flare the dorsal fin.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9652313#post9652313 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by homestar
my firefish has never jumped from my open top tank, when he gets spooked he darts into his burrow.
Click to expand...

just give him time. mine always darted down into its hole, till one day i found him on the floor.
 
I can't base this on fact, but I think that in a safe, controlled tank environment, a lone pistol shrimp will do just fine on his own. I think that the combination of shrimp and goby is awesome (I have a YWMG/Tiger pistol combo), but for the most part probably only serves a functional purpose in the wild when they are both subject to being eaten by predators. I have a 2nd tank with a Randal's Goby and Candy Cane Pistol shrimp - it's a 12 gallon AP and they have NEVER paired up. The pistol doesn't even go down to the substrate, he simply lives in a chunk of live rock that had holes in it already. I got weeks without seeing him, but he manages to survive. If anything, I've seen him cozy up to my tailspot goby who sometimes backs himself into the pistol's 'holes'... so go figure.
 
We have a Yashia White Ray Fin goby that paired up with a Tiger pistol in a 5.5 nano...they paired up as soon as we put them together. We also have a Black Ray Fin goby paired with a Caribbean pistol in a 92. The Black Ray was a replacement for a Pink Spotted goby death, but they paired up right away. We tried the Yellow Watchman before the Black Ray, but the Yellow Watchman was determined to ride the overflow to the sump one too many times...and he didn't make the last trip. We were warned when we bought the Yashia that they have been known to jump, for what it's worth.
 
I have a Randalls goby and a tiger pistol shrimp that have paired (although it took a couple weeks for this to happen after I added the goby). The goby is a little territorial and will chase away my two Bangaii cardinalfish if they get too close, but not to the point of causing stress for the cardinalfish. Mine are in an 11 gallon nano tank.
 
I have a BC 29 nano and I'm trying to decide on a goby/shrimp pair. I'm a little reluctant to put a pistol shrimp in there because of the popping. Anyone have any other suggestions for an interesting pair? Thanks, STEVE
 
get an engineer goby, i used to have shrimp gobies and pistols. i got one of these, it kicks @%%! your tank must be setup the same (rocks all the way down. they look like eels but have the goby face)nice frown. and as long as you donnt have a lot of frags over your sand they"re great
 
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