shrimp question

[jduny]

i have a 10 gal with a domino damsel a clow and a hermit crab.i was thimking of getting pistol shrimp but am unsure about the iodine dosing live aquaria mentions.whats the deal with that?do i have to add iodine every so often or do my weekly pwc's take care of it.thanks for your help

 

[melosu58]

do i have to add iodine every so often or do my weekly pwc's take care of it.thanks for your help

Frequent PWC`s (weekly or bi weekly) will add all the iodine you need for your set up.

 

[HN1]

What Mike said.

I've had a healthy Pistol for almost a year (also have sexies and a peppermint) and have never dosed iodine or anything else.

 

[jduny]

ok thanks i think i'll get one this week

 

[mtlion]

Yes with PWC's you will get the trace elements from the salt mix. I have 2 cleaner shrimp and they have molted several times since purchase just with PWC.

 

[roka64]

Keep in mind you will rarely see the pistol. I would go for a few sexy shrimp maybe a cleaner or fire shrimp....

 

[HN1]

True enough. They do look spectacular when they do though and our's seems emboldened with it's goby and comes out quite often. Sexies are WAY cool though. I just wish they weren't so expensive or we'd have a gang of 15!

 

[jduny]

Keep in mind you will rarely see the pistol. I would go for a few sexy shrimp maybe a cleaner or fire shrimp....

do they hide alot?cause that changes the plan.i want something i can see often.i'll have to see what they have at th lfs.

 

[roka64]

Mine burrowed under every piece of LR and pretty much stayed there unless I fed the tank. He would come out quickly and then go back into hiding. This brings up another point, if you get one, make sure your rock is firmly resting on the glass of the bottom of the tank.

 

[HN1]

Very good point roka.

jduny- If you want a highly visible shrimp, look at Cleaners, Peppermints, Fire, or sexies.

 

[thincat]

I went over a year before I even saw my pistol shrimp. I would just see sand flying out from under my rockwork and hear a popping sound when the room as quite. Some food landed near one of his holes and I saw him dash out and pull it into his home. That's the last I saw of him. I still see the sand being dug out from under the rocks so I know he still is there.

 

[roka64]

Me too, he would get "upset" when I cleaned and semi-buried on of his holes!

 

[jduny]

ok definiely no pistol shrimp.i'm thinking a scarlet skunk or a sexy if they have one at my lfs.thanks everyone

 

[roka64]

I loved my pistol, but if you want a critter that you can see, I wouldn't suggest one. If you get a pistol/goby combo, you may see him a little more. They are pretty much blind and use the goby for moving around and he protects the goby....

 

[thincat]

I was going to suggest that combo too.

 

[mtlion]

I have 2 cleaners and they are always out and about the tank!