Pistol stealing all my empty shells

[canadian_eh]

I just got a pistol shrimp a couple of weeks ago...very cool animal to watch. Its quite the little sand moving machine.

The one "problem" I'm having is that it steals every single empty shell I dump in and uses them to build its Fortress of Solitude. Its using them all the way down inside its entrances and I have to assume in the tunnels as well to stabilize the sand.

So far in my 25G tank I've added 120 empty shells and there is not a single one available to my hermits!

I don't really think there is anything that can be done...just thought it was cool. Hopefully the hermits will steal them back if they really want them.

-Ron.

 

[quarryshark]

Wow, must have a castle in there!!

 

[RocketSeason]

MAN! what kinda shells!!!

thats awsome though.

tell me, are there large piles of sand building up in a mound outside of holes in your LR?

cause I have that happening in my tank and I have no idea whats doing it.

 

[Mr Crabs]

Sounds like a pistol shrimp. THere is a steep slope going into my pistols back door. I threw a couple krill in last night and watched the emerald crabs go crazy. One came running across the back of the tank fell down the slope into the hole. I heard a loud pop and he came running out with my pistol right behind him chased him about half way around the tank. It was pretty funny to watch since my pistol only make rare appearances but when he does he is entertaining

 

[RocketSeason]

how do the pistols get along with coral banded shrimp? I have a few (2 or 3) small hithicker pistols in my tank and I put the coral banded shrimp in there only a few days ago.

 

[canadian_eh]

I bought the shells from ebay like these ones
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=66788&item=4331401035&rd=1

At first I was just adding a few at a time every couple of days....then 2 days ago I just said forget it and dumped in probably 50-60...two days later they're all gone!!

I'll try to take a picture tonight of one of the entrances and you can see how they are used. It was so interresting to watch. First it would put a few shells together and then start piling sand on top. Then come back with more shells to plug up the holes where any sand fell through. Doing this over and over he kept extending the entrance. Its even taken to using all the pieces of LR rubble around too.

Rocket not really. The sand piles from this guy are just around the holes in the sand not in the LR. The only piles I've seen around holes in my LR turned out to be poop from a huge crab

Do you ever mess around with their holes/tunnels to force them to keep digging around or is that too mean?

 

[Mr Crabs]

Jeez just noticed I need to update my tank info

 

[Mr Crabs]

"Rocket not really. The sand piles from this guy are just around the holes in the sand not in the LR. "

Guess I misread that.

Sometimes he will pile sand up in a cave and I will blow it back out with a PH but he is just gonna go where he wants to go now. I tried to make him take up residence in another rock but he just kept coming back to the same rock. Its harder to see him where he is living now because his "doors" are towards the backside of the tank.

 

[Mr Crabs]

My pistol does not mess with anything unless something goes into or falls into his hole. I have even seen snails crawl in and come back out later injury free.

 

[austinsdad]

My pistol too will only use shells near his doors to help secure them. I have however, seen his watchman goby grab small snails - still in the shell - and take them (presumably) to his shrimp buddy.

It was fun to see one snail re-appear 3 days later. Thought he was doomed to be a piece of the architecture.

 

[canadian_eh]

Do any of you target feed your pistols or just let them fend for themselves? Right now when I feed mysis I try to stick some in the sand next to an entrance.

 

[RocketSeason]

I have no Idea where my pistols houses are, So I let them take care of themselves.

 

[xxmoorishmanxx]

would it be safe to put a pistol in with 2 mated watchmens? (sorry for hijack) cool story

 

[lando]

I do not target feed my pistol, he gets plenty of food at feeding time. Rocket...you should be fine with a pistol and a CBS. Mine have no problems. I think mine has dug a vast network of trails under all of my LR. I see him and my yellow matchman goby at one spot, then a few minutes later they are under a totally different rock. They go everywhere. Very cool.

 

[austinsdad]

I added a couple of high fin shrimp gobies once. The one with stripes. Often I would see the watchman and the high finned sitting there together, peacefully co-existing watching the hole. Had to take the high finned back. They kept going into the overflow eing so small.

If mated watchman, I'm thinking no problem. I don't target feed my shrimp either. But pellets work well for him. He never comes out of the hole in time to get the floating food. Been doing fine and growing in the 10 months I've had him.

 

[canadian_eh]

As promised here is a picture. Sorry it took so long but with a 2 year old and a 4 month old I don't get a lot of free time

This is one of his entrances. Not the grandest of them but the only one I can get a good shot at.

The little bugger stole a Zoo colony (about the size of a quarter) today when I fed him. He came out to grab a pellet and then thought "hey these flowers sure would look nice in my living room" and away he went with them. Luckily they got stuck part way down the tunnel but I had to tear it apart to get them back! He certainly is entertaining.

Note to self: by that crazy glue so the hermits can't keep knocking the Zoos over.

 

[RocketSeason]

he he thats crazy. I never thought that a pistol would steal zoo's!