More questions on a great article

[carolyn]

Hi

Thanks for a very informative article with some great pictures!
I especially like the video would that trio occur in a captive environment with the same fish?

I recently (about 4 months ago) purchased what I identified as S. nematodes after asking my retailer to get them for ages (they are not very common in the LF'S in Scotland) and then a few weeks ago while visiting a guy who had set up his own coral farm he happened to mention he had some pistol shrimps and would be willing to sell me one (these never appear in the trade here, except the free living ones that come with live rock which I assume are not the same as the ones that co-habit with gobies?).

So on getting the pistol shrimp home I identified it from The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium Vol 4 as A. bellulus or tiger pistol? I therefore didn't think it would pair up with this goby but after accliming him put him in next to the goby the shrimp immediately started to touch the goby and to my surprise within about 24 hours they had set up home together, the tank is quite small 24" x 24" x 18" high with a deep sand bed and only 2 small skunk clowns, 1 yellowheaded jawfish so it's a very peaceful tank, I guess my question is are you surprised this species of shrimp is living with this goby or will the shrimps 'shack up' with an available goby in a captive environment even though it isn't the one it would normally share a burrow with in the wild?

They have done quite a lot of excavation between them all over the tank and tend to move around for a while but they always come back to roughly the same area is this normal I was wondering if I need to put a little more rubble in as the sand bed is a mix of Aragamax sugar fine and Grand bahama, the one with the shells. I would love to get a mate for the goby and the pistol as well is it possible to just introduce a smaller goby/pistol shrimp to the existing set up or would that be too risky? is it possible to sex the pistol shrimps?

Hope this isn't too many questions! thanks again for a great article

cheers

Carolyn

[hcs3]

hello carolyn,

Thanks for a very informative article with some great pictures!

your welcome and thank you!

would that trio occur in a captive environment with the same fish?

no guarantees, but there is a good liklihood it would occur if given the chance. it would make for a lovely biotope.

the free living ones that come with live rock which I assume are not the same as the ones that co-habit with gobies?

no, not at all. do not mix these pistols with delicate gobies.

I therefore didn't think it would pair up with this goby but after accliming him put him in next to the goby the shrimp immediately started to touch the goby and to my surprise within about 24 hours they had set up home together

that is great!

I guess my question is are you surprised this species of shrimp is living with this goby or will the shrimps 'shack up' with an available goby in a captive environment even though it isn't the one it would normally share a burrow with in the wild?

no, not at all. A. bellulus is symbiotic with stonogobiops, namely S. xanthorhinica. besides this, s. nematodes and s. xanthorhinica most likely derived from the same lineage, given how nearly identical these fish are.

They have done quite a lot of excavation between them all over the tank and tend to move around for a while but they always come back to roughly the same area is this normal

for the most part, yes. the pistol will never offically be "finished" with the den - it is always an ongoing project.

I was wondering if I need to put a little more rubble in as the sand bed is a mix of Aragamax sugar fine and Grand bahama, the one with the shells.

optimum conditions would provide ample amounts of all sand grain sizes and thus allowing the shrimp to pick and hcoose which ar ebest for building a burrow with. in othe words, do not limit the shrimp with only or two types of sand.

I would love to get a mate for the goby and the pistol as well is it possible to just introduce a smaller goby/pistol shrimp to the existing set up or would that be too risky? is it possible to sex the pistol shrimps?

adding another smaller goby should be ok. there is a good chance they would pair up. however, i cannot speak about adding another pistol. mobile invertebrates are really not my specialty. perhaps posing this question to dr ron would yield the answer you are looking for.

HTH

henry