pistols?

[bronson]

hi just registered!had tropical tanks in the past but gave that up for a reef tank.its only a 10 gallon but has been running for 2 years with no problems.got bangaii cardinal and yellow watchman goby and usual clean up crew.soft corals.wondering if getting a pistol shrimp is worth it.can it be a nuisance?any views on this anybody?cheers

 

[monique]

i have pistol shrimp-watchman goby combo. never bother anything. you need a couple rocks sitting right on the bottom though and some sand. shrimp digs and tunnels constantly so he will bury stuff right on the bottom, or tip over your rocks. shrimp doesn't seem to do that well in a tank that doesn't fulfill those needs. goby will love a shrimp if its the proper kind and they are fun to watch. either buy a shrimp from a pair already made or get one the same as the bonded watchman goby is using. make sure the goby is the same kind you have. don't buy another watchman though, yours will kill it.

 

[bronson]

thanks monique.after reading that might still get one.already have a lot of rockwork and a cave for yellow watchman.have just heard about them killing cleaner shrimp and other inverts with that claw thats all

 

[bronson]

i have pistol shrimp-watchman goby combo. never bother anything. you need a couple rocks sitting right on the bottom though and some sand. shrimp digs and tunnels constantly so he will bury stuff right on the bottom, or tip over your rocks. shrimp doesn't seem to do that well in a tank that doesn't fulfill those needs. goby will love a shrimp if its the proper kind and they are fun to watch. either buy a shrimp from a pair already made or get one the same as the bonded watchman goby is using. make sure the goby is the same kind you have. don't buy another watchman though, yours will kill it.

cheers monique talk another time off to my pit need some sleep its early morning here now bye for now

 

[monique]

mine started in a 75, is now in a 265. never heard anything about the shrimps going after other clawed things. i have always had cleaner shrimps and hermit crabs. right now i have 2 halloween hermit crabs, 6 or 8 reg hermit crabs, 3 cleaner shrimp, 2 fire shrimp. emerald crab and unnown amount of snails. couple of sea cucumbers that go right in the tunnels. so do my zebra dart fish. they den up in the tunnels at night. as far as i can tell he has never bothered anything but my tank is a hell of a lot bigger then yours. my fish guy as a response when i asked him about the dangers of pistol shrimp told my he has a customer with a 125 that has 6 nice flat rocks spaced out on the bottom and 6 pistolshrimp-goby combo under them and no-one bothers anybody. she made collars of thin plexiglass cut into one and a half inch wide strips and place each rock inside then added sand to cover the whole bottom right to the top of the collars though. thatway the shrimps don't tunnel into each others territory. mine doesn't come out of his den very often that i see and i feed him regularly with new spectrum pellets. i squirt them right in his den with turkey baster. being hungry will have a lot to do with how nasty he is. i actually have 2 shrimp- goby combos. one at each end of my tank but my tank is 7 ft by 2 ft by 30 inches deep. in a tank as small as yours you might possably have problems. all you can do is try. get a small shrimp and make sure you feed it regularly. if it doen't work out take it back. i think that if you start with a smaller shrimp ans feed it reg you will be ok though. every time you put something new in your tank you are taking a chance. may be a good excuse to move up to a 15 or 20 gal tank.

 

[reefnoob]

Pistol shouldn't really bother anything unless it's hungry. However I hardly ever see mine since it's always hiding in it's burrow.

 

[bronson]

mine started in a 75, is now in a 265. never heard anything about the shrimps going after other clawed things. i have always had cleaner shrimps and hermit crabs. right now i have 2 halloween hermit crabs, 6 or 8 reg hermit crabs, 3 cleaner shrimp, 2 fire shrimp. emerald crab and unnown amount of snails. couple of sea cucumbers that go right in the tunnels. so do my zebra dart fish. they den up in the tunnels at night. as far as i can tell he has never bothered anything but my tank is a hell of a lot bigger then yours. my fish guy as a response when i asked him about the dangers of pistol shrimp told my he has a customer with a 125 that has 6 nice flat rocks spaced out on the bottom and 6 pistolshrimp-goby combo under them and no-one bothers anybody. she made collars of thin plexiglass cut into one and a half inch wide strips and place each rock inside then added sand to cover the whole bottom right to the top of the collars though. thatway the shrimps don't tunnel into each others territory. mine doesn't come out of his den very often that i see and i feed him regularly with new spectrum pellets. i squirt them right in his den with turkey baster. being hungry will have a lot to do with how nasty he is. i actually have 2 shrimp- goby combos. one at each end of my tank but my tank is 7 ft by 2 ft by 30 inches deep. in a tank as small as yours you might possably have problems. all you can do is try. get a small shrimp and make sure you feed it regularly. if it doen't work out take it back. i think that if you start with a smaller shrimp ans feed it reg you will be ok though. every time you put something new in your tank you are taking a chance. may be a good excuse to move up to a 15 or 20 gal tank.

thanks for that info and your right your tank is alot bigger than mine.always more of a risk with territory in a smaller tank.will get bigger tank in time .usually i wouldnt be that concerned bout trying a new species in my tank but have had aggresion problems before and for last 8months had really peaceful tank and want to keep it that way.got bangaii cardinal,yellow watchman goby,cleaner shrimp,sexy shrimps,zebra hermit,scarlet hermit dwarf blue legged hermit,porcelain crab,pom pom crab,trochus snail,narcissus snail,cerith snail,stomatella,bivalve clams,usual spaghetti worms,bristleworms some kind of limpets and some cool yellowy green sponges that have survived and growing well on my liverock and soft corals.will let you know if i get a pistol

 

[bronson]

Pistol shouldn't really bother anything unless it's hungry. However I hardly ever see mine since it's always hiding in it's burrow.

reefnoob have you got a goby with your pistol?

 

[monique]

thanks for that info and your right your tank is alot bigger than mine.always more of a risk with territory in a smaller tank.will get bigger tank in time .usually i wouldnt be that concerned bout trying a new species in my tank but have had aggresion problems before and for last 8months had really peaceful tank and want to keep it that way.got bangaii cardinal,yellow watchman goby,cleaner shrimp,sexy shrimps,zebra hermit,scarlet hermit dwarf blue legged hermit,porcelain crab,pom pom crab,trochus snail,narcissus snail,cerith snail,stomatella,bivalve clams,usual spaghetti worms,bristleworms some kind of limpets and some cool yellowy green sponges that have survived and growing well on my liverock and soft corals.will let you know if i get a pistol

you got a lot in there for a small tank. putting a pistol shrimp in there might be pushing your luck. but you never know, it might work out. if you lose anything, i would say it would be your hermit crabs and possibly your snails

 

[bronson]

you got a lot in there for a small tank. putting a pistol shrimp in there might be pushing your luck. but you never know, it might work out. if you lose anything, i would say it would be your hermit crabs and possibly your snails

is quite alot but its working and has done for around 2 years.i rely on strict weekly waterchanges aint got skimmer do a few tests once in a while.ps envious of the size of your tank!

 

[Becky]

Welcome to the forum! :thumbsup:

 

[reefnoob]

reefnoob have you got a goby with your pistol?

yep

 

[lilmatty5dimes]

i just had to sale my pair. it was in a lil 7.5g cube and the pistol couldn't find his home and dug every other day making the tank a snow globe.