Pistol shrimp and digging

[rherron]

I just got a pistol shrimp and a watcherman goby yesterday.

I'm very excited about them. The shrimp went right to digging a hole for himself. The goby went to the very back of the tank and disappeared. This morning the goby was sitting at the entrance to the new hole :)

The shrimp has been constantly digging his new home and I was wondering if this is something he'll always do or will he eventually finish and just enjoy it.....

[SaltH20]

Hi, I've had a watchman/pistol pair for about seven months now. The pistol has dug his main hole, and a tunnel across the bottom of the tank. They mainly just hang out in the main hole, but the shrimp always seems to be 'cleaning' it. He's doesn't make a mess, I think he just likes his space to be kept a certain way. They're fun to watch :)

[lburns]

I enjoy the fact that my pistol has to constantly keep repairing his den due to the commotion that 2 tenants causes. If he ever did finish I am sure I would see a lot less of him.

[Tadashi]

I had a yellow watchman and pistol for about 1 year. All the shrimp did was dig. If he was not digging he was toss hermits away from his lair.

[Icarus]

Just got a pistol shrimp/watchman goby pair about 2 months ago. The shrimp and fish moved every few days for the first month because the rocks kept slipping down (my sandbed is 95% southdown). Sandbed went from a nice even 4-5" to looking more like small mountains. Watching the shrimp work is kind of entertaining in itself. Everyday the bed would be different when I got home from work. They finally found a home they've been at for 3-4 weeks now.

One thing to be careful of - if all your rockwork in on the sand, it should probably be structurally sound. Mine is on platforms except for few pieces. Every rock the shrimp excavated, started getting lower and lower in my setup and I'd think if it was all on the sand bed, things would start collapsing (rock meeting glass- not a fun prospect! :eek1: ). IME.

[Quiet1]

What kind of Goby did you have with your pistals again? Can you just get any old pistol and any goby to make a combo?

Queit1

[rherron]

I happen to have a wheeler's watchman goby. I think there are several different types that will share his lair.


So I think I've figured out a way to keep them in 1 place.
The first rock the shrimp burrowed under was great because it was fairly good size and right up front next to the glass. I did start noticing that the rock was probably going to colapse on them and send them out for a new home. I started adding small pebbles, which I took from another tank(since this tank only has aragonite sand). He immediately started taking them into his hole. He's actually bracing the rock with them. I've added the small rocks several times since and he seems to appreciate it ;)

[Anemone]

I've had my pair (yellow watchman goby and tiger pistol) for about 5 years now. The shrimp is never finished digging. Every night it seals up the burrows, and every morning opens things back up again. I'm never quite sure which tunnel they'll be in (they have several openings all across the 4 foot tank). Occasionally, I'll look at my tank and it will be very hazy, and I'll know the shrimp has been doing "house cleaning" in some area they haven't been in for a while (or digging a new tunnel) - the stirred sediment is usually gone within a day.

One thing I have noticed - I put new southdown sand in my tank on the left side of the tank. The shrimp prefers it on the right. (FWIW, this tank started out with a 2" bed of crushed coral. Over the years I've added finer sand) You can kind of see in the below picture that the substrate depth on the left is about an inch, while it's about 5 inches on the right (thanks to the pistol shrimp).

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/1/1075AnemoneTankSigBanner.jpg

Kevin

[COWabonga]

any body have any pictures of the couples??

[Anemone]

Not a very good one - I was concentrating on the shrimp, so the watchman is out of focus.
http://www.reefaquariumguide.com/photos/data/509/4625pistolshrimp1-med.jpg

Kevin

[COWabonga]

cool pix thanks for sharing....how big does the shrimp and goby get by the way?

[Cakepro]

I have a 42 gallon hex tank in which four threadfin gobies, two pearly jawfish, one Sri Lankan tiger pistol shrimp and one orange Atlantic pistol shrimp reside, and there is some MAJOR digging that goes on every night. They swap holes every night it seems. Today there are two jawfish and two threadfins occupying one burrow with the tiger pistol shrimp and two threadfins ignoring the other pistol shrimp. LOL I wish now I had secured the rockwork to PVC pipe placed in the sandbed as I did my main reef tank.

Great pic!

~ Sherri