yellow watchman goby/pistol shrimp

[vsnsofadrgn]

i purchased a yellow watchman goby/pistol shrimp pair on sunday. acclimated 3 hours (added about a 1/3 cup water every 10 min until bag had tripled in size) and added to the tank. well they went their seperate ways, which is fine, im just glad to have them.... my question is that i havent seen them since they hid, is this normal? how long should i wait until i plan the search party?

 

[Fluff]

Actually, that's pretty normal for the first couple days. You should eventually see sand mounds and dug out areas due to the pistol shrimp's renovations. Check those areas as well as behind the live rock. My experience is that they are pretty shy at first but in time will be more visible.

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

thank you, i figured the few days, but cant help but worry .... i got all this new base rock, and now i cant find anything , hehe...... i have seen one mound right around where the pistol went so hopefully hes in there, but thanks again for the tip...

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

i saw the pistol shrimp this morning, hes has made himself a home under a rock. cute lil fella. still havent seen the goby tho.

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

found the goby, and i think he even ate, i put some food near him and walked away, came back and it was gone, so i m assuming it was him. one of the shrimps already had a peice and the other shrimp didnt have anything after i noticed it was gone, so im very happy

 

[Fluff]

Very cool.

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

well i took some pics... i just did a water change so hopefully they are ok... the pistol shrimp is very quick as you can tell, lol.....

 

[FishFrik]

Wouldn't pistol shrimp beat up anything that walk to sandbed? Sry im just curious

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

not that i have read.. mine hasnt had any aggresition, but ive only had him (or her) since sunday. all the hermits crawl past hime tho. ive researched them and hadnt read about any issues...

 

[xkenneth]

With the pistol I think you only need to worry about very tiny sized fish, such as fry. He does have the ability to stun fish with his snapping claw (hence pistol.) Have you noticed them working together? If you're lucky they'll form the symbios where the pistol will dig holes for the goby and the goby will warn the pistol of predators (pistols can't see anything), but i'm sure you already know that much. Does anyone else have this pair? I would really like to get one eventually but i'm worried about getting a pistol shrimp seperate from the goby, which i've heard may or may not lead to a symbiosis, which would be quite disappointing as that's what really draws me to the two. Who else has experience with this pair?

Regards,
Ken

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

well mine were paired at the store, however after adding them to the tank, they have seperated, im not sure if they will ever be a pair again, but both are cool and i like them. i knew that was a possiblity when i got them. maybe someday they will find each other, the goby still hasnt left the corner he went to when added, so im just hoping he warms up and starts moving around....

 

[austinsdad]

I had a pair for about 3 years. AFter 3 weeks when they found each other, they were always together. Hang in there.

I just got a new pair. Goby in the corner alone after being in the store together.

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

 

[aamick1971]

now this might sound weird,but my yellow watchman goby has taken up with my firefish they watch out for each other. cant explain why this happen? i thought they were from the same family.i didn't realize this until after i had the watchman.when one is feeding the other watches out for his other and they share the same cave.
allen

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

i saw the goby eat with my own eyes. YAY!! i figured he was eating but i saw him gobble it up, hehe. hes getting more and more bold, too. keep venturing out farther and farther, maybe hell find his friend soon!