Pistol Shrimp ID and commensal host 8/4/03
Good morning,
<cheers>
Just a quick id question.  I have a small tank that as made up of "dead" rock, it is stocked with a few hermits, and a couple of sergeant majors I netted in Florida.  
<hardy but ferocious fishes>
I also collected some various Caulerpa in Florida (palm beach area).  Here is the kicker now I have a new little friend who just sort of appeared (my guess hitch hiked in with the Caulerpa).  It is definitely a pistol shrimp, but I can't find any info that has helped to identify the species.
<do seek "Reef Creatures: by Humann and DeLoach>
It has a bright blue head, and bright orange "arms" and claws.
Just to satisfy my curiosity do you have an idea on the species?  
<hard to say without a pic>
Also I was thinking of sticking one of the shrimp gobies in with him, which would be the best species?
<you may very well have trouble finding a Pacific shrimp goby to accept this Atlantic pistol. The pistol you have may not even be commensal with gobies/fishes. They are often commensal with echinoderms or other organisms altogether. Lets get a positive ID first and then seek a buddy>
Thanks for your help!
<best regards, Anthony>

Synalpheus stimpsonii
Hi Bob
I am interested in pictures of the crinoid-associated Synalpheus stimpsonii posted on your website.
I work on taxonomy of the family Alpheidae and believe that S. stimpsonii is a species complex (5 species have been described and later put in synonymy of S. stimpsonii but I doubt that they are all the same).  By the way, Alpheus bellulus is a species complex, too, with at least 2 new cryptic species to be described.  I would greatly appreciate if you could send me slide duplicates or high resolution jpgs of these 3 pictures and other Alpheid shrimps; of course, all photos will be used exclusively for scientific purposes and all photographers will be acknowledged.
All the best
Arthur
--
Dr. Arthur Anker
Department of Biological Sciences - Zoology
University of Alberta
Edmonton Canada T6G 2E9
<You are welcome to the use of any/all of my slide work on this group. Am about to scoot out of town, so am asking Jason Chodakowski here to follow-up with you re re-scans, searching the files here for what we have. Cheers. Bob Fenner>

Bob, Take Some Pictures For Me, Please? - Synalpheus stimpsonii
Bob, I hope you'll have a chance to take some pics of shrimps and other crusties in the Marquesas, for instance, I have nothing from this region my friend Joseph Poupin did some work on decapod crustaceans of the French Polynesia (he has a website, too), but as usual shrimps (especially Alpheids) are really poorly represented and illustrated today I also saw your wonderful pontoniine shots. 
cheers, A
--
Dr. Arthur Anker
Department of Biological Sciences - Zoology
University of Alberta
Edmonton Canada T6G 2E9
<Will do my best. Am taking 35mm rigs with macro diopters, mainly Velvia (ISO 50) film... and some tried/true Nikonos and 28mm. framer sets... so we'll see. Would you like me to cc you on the above groups image work vis a vis scans of what is deemed worth scanning? Bob F>

Pistol Shrimp
Hello all,
In my 3 month old 12g tank with 20lbs of Marshall live rock, I've had clicking or popping noises coming from one area of my tank from the beginning. Early on after first hearing the noises I pulled my rock and dipped it in carbonated water in the hopes of shaking loose a mantis or pistol shrimp but no luck.
I've been reading all sorts of posts on noises like this and the consensus seems to be that its either a mantis, pistol or my hermits might be slugging it out. I'm leaning toward ruling out the hermits as the cause as my two Scarlets are the most lazy creatures in my tank and I don't see them putting forth the effort to sling their shell at anyone and my dwarf blue hermits are so small that I can't imagine they can generate enough oompf to make such a loud clicking.
So I figure it has to be one of the two shrimp. What confuses me is that its been almost three months of this and my head count for all my critters appears ok so if its a mantis what's he beating on? Also, I've been peeking at my tank after lights out almost every night (about 2 hours after lights off) and usually in the morning too (about 5am) - wouldn't I get a peek at who ever this is or would they lay that low? And the stupid things have to grow so won't it eventually have to out grow whatever space he's in thus possibly revealing himself?
And I guess the last thought was could it be something else? I hear everything from 1 to 4 clicks in some sort of succession almost every day and usually more than once. I've read that Pistols usually click in twos and Mantis will beat on something until they get dinner.
I have not tried to trap yet as I'm not sure its really a Mantis I'm dealing with. And having past my cycle I'm not excited about the idea of pulling my rock again but I will if I find evidence that something has been killed.
Currently the tank has 2 very small false Percs, a dozen snails, 7 hermits and a Skunk cleaner shrimp - all happily going about their business as best as I can tell. Thoughts?
<Matt I am almost sure it is a pistol shrimp, I have one and know what you're talking about. If it were a mantis, your cleaner shrimp would be history along with some hermits and possible the clowns. Pistol shrimp aren't bad to have in the tank. You will very seldom see them during the day. If mine smells food I can see his antennae waving out his hole. They do occasionally move from time to time setting up new quarters. This will be evident by gravel looking like it was bulldozed around his hole. James (Salty Dog)>
Much thanks, Matt Selchow
<You're welcome> 

Raising a Pistol Shrimp (3/23/05)
I have a few questions regarding a pistol shrimp. 
<Shoot. BTW, please capitalize the proper noun "I" and the first letter of sentences. Also, please use punctuation like periods and question marks. We post all queries and replies on our site permanently and want them as readable as possible. Our volunteer crew will have a lot more time to answer queries if they don't have to proofread them. Not only that, some of us older presbyopics have a hard time reading unpunctuated text. Thanks, Steve Allen.> 
I just got him from my LFS and he is a baby I want to raise him and then pair him with a watchman goby...
<I have a pair in my tank. They're very attractive and interesting to watch.> 
... but I am not sure how long it will take to raise him large enough. What he should be eating as a baby and if the species I have is compatible with a watchman? 
<What species do you have? Many genus Alpheus burrowing shrimps will for this symbiotic relationship. As for foods, if the shrimp is very small, then you will need something very fine such as Cyclop-Eeze. If big enough, it will take just about any frozen food such as Mysis. Many will take ground flake foods or tiny pellets. The shrimp should be big enough to be with the goby when it's too big to be eaten and is burrowing.> 
He is opaque with black stripes and he looks like he's wearing a prison jumpsuit. 
<I'd suggest you compare with pictures in a book that has a lot of shrimp pictures. If you can send me a clear picture, I may be able to help, but I cannot make an identification based on this description. I hope this info is helpful.>