I think I might know the culprit, or not?

[Civicman86]

Ok last two night I keep hearing this clicking sound. I just got a pistol 2 nights ago. I have not heard this clicking before him, so is it the pistol making the noise, or do I have a mantis?

If it is a mantis, it might be the reason why I cant seem to keep a goby in the tank for the life of me.

BTW my pistol shrimp has a very large "pistol".

Also why would a pistol "click"? He is not hunting my beautiful purple firefish is he? We WILL go to battle if he kills her, and he will NOT win.

 

[pkremer]

Well, it would stand to reason that if you got the Pistol shrimp 2 days ago, and for the last 2 days you've been hearing this click, it would be him, right?

As for why would he click? That's why he is named a "pistol" shrimp. They make a "shot" sound when they move their pinchers. I was at a LFS store once when we heard a loud CRACK, and the LFS guy laughed and said he just got a new pistol shrimp, and it had been doing that all day.

Here's what LiveAquaria has to say about it:
"The sound it makes comes from an appendage on the pincher which moves when the pincher is opened or closed and water is ejected. The Pistol Shrimp can be easily confused with Mantis Shrimp if judged by sound only. Unlike the Mantis Shrimp, it is not harmful and will not pose any threat in the tank, with the possible exception of smaller shrimp."

Hope that helps!
Paul

 

[ColdFish]

Pistol shrimp are actually the type of shrimp that are hosted by watchman gobies (also called shrimp gobies) so really too bad that you can't keep a goby for whatever the strange reason is. My watchman is one of my favorite fish, but I don't want a pistol because of the clicking. Hope you find your culprit though

 

[Civicman86]

OK cool, as I went to bed last night I found out it was the pistol (I could hear where it was coming from and spotted him with the falshlight).

I think the PH was swinging when lights went off. I put a light on my sump when the main lights go off. Im hoping this will stabalize the PH. Im going to try one more goby in a week or so and see what happens.

Thanks for the info pkremer, really helped alot!