What are the parameters around having a Pistol Shrimp and a Watchman Goby

[ReefRealEstate]

I would like to have a pistol shrimp and a watchman goby in my 300 gallon tank but I want to make sure on how the pistol shrimp gets along in the tank with everything - corals, anemones, other shrimp (cleaners,blood), fish, other inverts etc.

Would love some info, thanks!

 

[stef83]

Hey,,

I got a randalli pistol shrimp for 3/4 years in a 60 gal => 90 gal with no problems with others invert or something. It survive to a tank crash (non electricity during 2 days...) all the fish, cleaner shrimp die but randalli pistol shrimp survive!!!

The most difficult is the watchman fish. I try so many times... with so many loose :/
1/ Be careful of your population. In my first try, my coral beauty and gramma loreto stress more and more the watchman goby (who don't find easely the shrimp if it stress) and kill several off them directly or by go out of the aquarium (no net at this day...)

2/ Be careful to take a watchman goby who eat well , have a little behavior and good health. Several try with amblygobius not doing very well in my house with bad shape/no eating at all.

Actually i have a little stonogobiops nematodes who live for 3 month witouh problem with my randalli shrimp, have a good behavior (nobody take care of him) and eat very well.

PS: sorry for my bad english... frenchmen are always the worth in english!!!

Stef

 

[ReefRealEstate]

Did you Quarantine him before putting him in the DT? Might have been sick before he left the strore

 

[DLreef]

My 3 inch tiger pistol shrimp is great, he is paired with a 3 inch Orange Spotted Goby. The shrimp is great always active and digging. For the most part he is peaceful, accept for the cerith he will drag in every once in awhile to feast.

 

[ThRoewer]

I have Alpheus randalli shrimp and a pair of S. nematodes gobies in an 18" cube. The gobies live with a pair of the shrimp, while there is at least a single male shrimp on the other side of the tank. There may be also a second single male shrimp, but I haven't seen him in a while.

A. randalli is usually preferable to A. belulus (tiger) who gets much bigger and is known to build big burrows (and moves lots of gravel for that purpose).

 

[ReefRealEstate]

so no issues to have them in a reef with other inverts and corals etc?

 

[ThRoewer]

No issues with the little randallis. Just due to their size they can't do too much harm.

Tigers are more busy builders and may use whatever they can drag or carry to build their home. Fully grown adults can carry or drag quite big rocks - small frags shouldn't be an issue for them. They may also burry some corals that are on the sand.

 

[DLreef]

No issues with the little randallis. Just due to their size they can't do too much harm.

Tigers are more busy builders and may use whatever they can drag or carry to build their home. Fully grown adults can carry or drag quite big rocks - small frags shouldn't be an issue for them. They may also burry some corals that are on the sand.

+1 my large tiger will drag empty golf ball sized turbo and large nerite snail shells to use as walls or doors for his burrows. As far as I know he has a burrow that covers the entire rock work. for the most part though he lives within 3/4 part of my 3 foot 38gallon tank. Keeps my sand turned over at an amazing rate :spin1: Currently he is the neatest thing in the tank to watch.

He actually saved one of my coral frags. I dropped it behind some rock and couldn't find it and I sure wasn't tearing down my rock for a 6 dollar frag. A few weeks later the shrimp carried it our of his burrow

 

[bat21]

I'm currently considering this also. I have a watchman who kinda seems like he needs a friend. I want to get a randalli but I worry about my massive cleaner and blood red shrimp harassing a much smaller shrimp.

 

[ThRoewer]

My cleaners don't interfere with my pistol shrimp. Not only can they hold their own, but they also have some friends to watch over them.

 

[dreaddinit]

Would those types of shrimp get along with a fire shrimp?

 

[bat21]

Ok, so if I were to add a little randalli to a tank already housing a watchman, is there anything I can do to promote the pairing? Or do I just toss him in and hope for the best?

 

[ThRoewer]

If you have a clear tube I would let the shrimp slide that down right into the gobies burrow. It's what I did and it worked perfectly.

 

[bat21]

If you have a clear tube I would let the shrimp slide that down right into the gobies burrow. It's what I did and it worked perfectly.

That's actually exactly what I was thinking of doing. Did you quarantine your shrimp?

 

[ThRoewer]

I didn't quarantine it back then. Now I would probably at least keep it in quarantine until it molded once. After that no cysts can be on it anymore.