Pistol Shrimp/Shrimp Goby Compatibility 2/3/09
Dear WWM Crew,
<David>
Thanks for all the help over the years, you have been an endless source of great information and advice.
<You're welcome.>
Recently I acquired a Yellow Watchman Goby and Randall's Pistol shrimp pair from my local LFS. I put them in my 55 gal tank, set up for about a year now, whose other tankmates include a Firefish and a false percula clown. All parameters are as follows: Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Specific Gravity 1.026, PH 8.3, Temp: 80, (both the YWG and Randall's quarantined for two weeks). A few days after they were put in the display tank, I woke up to see the YWG on the complete other side of the tank from their home, and no evidence of the pistol shrimp. After a couple
days of this, with no clicking or other evidence that the pistol shrimp was still around, I got another Randall's from my LFS.
<Based on the behavior my pistol shrimp exhibits, I'm betting he is still in the tank somewhere.>
The two hit it off pretty quickly (I've had luck with non-paired gobies and shrimp in the past), and everything seemed ok. Well, as it turns out, the other pistol shrimp emerged a week after all this occurred,
<Aha!>
and now I have two Randall's. After looking at them closely and looking at some pics/information online I figured I
would try to get these two together and see if I could have a male/female pair of shrimp to live with the goby. Amazingly, this turned out to be the case, and the two lived together for about two days. Now, the larger of the
two shrimp has kicked the other out of the burrow,
<Not unusual.>
and other attempts to get them back together have been unsuccessful. Is there any chance that these
two will ever live together again?
<I'm thinking it is rare for two pistol shrimp to share a burrow. Bob may input here based on his diving observations and invertebrate expertise.><<They may, may not. RMF>>
I can take one of the shrimp back to the LFS if I need to,
<I would return one of the shrimp.>
as the goby seems to be pretty confused as to which shrimp he should be living with, and I wouldn't want the aggression to become more severe resulting in the death of one of the shrimp.
<The Randall's Pistol Shrimp are generally found with the Stonogobiops or Amblyeleotris Gobies, and
may be why the goby and shrimp haven't bonded yet. The Yellow Watchman Goby is a Cryptocentrus cinctus.
Doesn't mean they won't bond as I have a Yellow Watchman Goby that bonded with a Randall's Pistol Shrimp. It took a couple of weeks before the bonding occurred, but now have been sharing the same burrow for two years.>
Thanks for your help.
<You’re welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
Sincerely,
David

Goby Eating Jawfish 1-22-08
Good morning all...
<Hello. Yunachin here.>
I had the strangest thing happen overnight.
I have a 90g reef tank with the following inhabitants:
2 False Perculas
Fairy Wrasse
Kole Tang
4.5" Yellow Watchman Goby (he's huge... was huge)
Yellowheaded Jawfish (one small, one large)
Yellow-tail Blue Damsel
Coral Banded Shrimp
Some soft corals...
<Nice collection you have.>
I was a little tentative about adding the Watchman Goby back into the tank after having spent 5 months in another tank to let my Jawfish settle. Bob gave me 50/50 odds if the Goby would be a problem sharing the bottom with the Jawfish. The first week proved a little tense, a lot of open mouth head shaking by the goby... and the small Jawfish would always move. The larger Jawfish was more or less left alone. I never realized the teeth on the Jawfish before... impressive for a small skittish fish.
<Indeed, I have two myself.>
Anyhow, last night my goby was acting weird... jumping around on the bottom. I couldn't get a good look at him at first, but I kept watching... only to see the small Jawfish had appeared to have been swallowed mostly whole. The tail was still out of the mouth and it looked like the fish was still alive.
<Oh my…>
I used tank tongs to disturb the goby hoping maybe he'd spit up the fish... but the goby just moved into one of the caves in the tank. I figured at that point to let nature take its course hoping at least the large Jawfish could hold his ground. This morning, the little Jawfish is at the front of my tank in his burrow... the large Jawfish is also in his burrow at the opposite end of the tank. I looked around with a flashlight to find the goby... my large Coral Banded Shrimp and a hermit crab is on the carcass of the Yellow Watchman Goby.
<I am sorry to hear that.>
I never in a million years would have thought to have seen that outcome. Is this surprising? I couldn't see the body to well and didn't have time to fish it out before work... but I have this vision of the little Jawfish getting swallowed mostly but fighting/biting like mad within the goby? Is it possible that it did enough internal damage to the goby that it was eventually able to escape? Like eating him from the inside so to speak?
<Two things could have occurred in this situation. One, the Jawfish could have indeed, ripped the goby from the inside. The more likely explanation is the goby choked on the Jawfish trying to swallow him and actually died, then afterward the Jawfish was able to wiggle out and escape.>
All I have to say is... WOW.
<As do I. –Yunachin>
David Brynlund

Yellow Watchman Gobies... repro.    9/12/07
Hello Crew!
I searched the goby FAQ's and didn't find the answer to my question. I purchased two yellow watchman gobies at the same time
<Mmm, of the same sex if the same color...>
and introduced them into my 75G aquarium. The only other inhabitants are two Ocellaris clowns that are 9 months old, 1 peppermint shrimp, one pistol shrimp, two "transparent shrimp", two red sea stars, one serpent star, some button Coral Polyps, mushroom corals, 1 "dung" cucumber,
<Mmm, what species?>
and some snails and hermits. I introduced the gobies at the same time, one is grayer and larger, the other is yellower and smaller.
<Oh! I take it back... separate sexes>
I have had them for months now and the bigger grayer one keeps chasing the smaller one around the tank.
<What they do>
The gray one will open his mouth VERY wide and advance on the smaller one. I have never seen a bite land, the yellow one always runs faster and as long as they are out of sight of one another all is peaceful. There are enough places to hide that the yellow one is not constantly on the run but it has me worried. I wanted to create a breeding pair but do I have two of the same sex?
<Nope>
I read an extensive article on Advanced Aquarist by someone who has raised gobies and they said that the larger gray one is always the female, and the smaller yellow one would be the male.
<This is my understanding, though Fishbase simply states that this species comes in two color variations: http://fishbase.org/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=7208&genusname=Cryptocentrus&speciesname=cinctus>
Should I return one of them for a different one? If so which one? Thanks for your help!
Paul
<Might be better if they were closer in size... but if there has been no actual damage, both are eating, appear not-too thin... I'd wait out the two you have. Bob Fenner>

Re: Pink watchman goby and ich, now Firefish comp.  – 07/26/07
Hi Bob,
Thank you for your kind words. I've had a bit of an emergency and am perplexed as to what to do. I woke up this morning and my firefish has a wound (appears white) at the base of the anal fin and her fins are frayed. At night she goes into a hole in the live rock and I know there are things living in there but is there anything that could have attacked her?.. or could it have been the goby or mithrax crabs?
<Easily>
Actually the real question is should I put her in a quarantine tank until that wound heals?
<Better to move, remove the probable cause/s>
She is swimming, eating and breathing just as normal as she was yesterday. Thanks.. Jennifer
<Do keep a sharp watch... doesn't take much for further damage... BobF>

Re: Pink watchman goby and ich – 07/26/07
Ok, thanks Bob. I have a feeling it was the goby...he has a guilty look. I'll continue keeping a sharp eye on the firefish...I've had her the longest so I'm rather partial to her. Thanks for your help....again! Jennifer
<Real good. BobF>

Pistol Shrimp/Goby Pair?   7/19/07
Hi crew
<Hi Adam! Mich here.>
Question from Australia :),
<Cool... Answer currently coming from the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, USA>
I will definitely be getting a shrimp/goby pair for my 24x18x18.
<An awesome dynamic to observe!>
I was wondering if I could have 2 pairs?
<I would look for a mated pair of gobies and their symbiotic shrimp. This is the best situation>
different sp.?
<You may be OK with different species. I would avoid getting two of the same species unless they are a mated pair.>
have read a lot on these symbiotic relationships and really like them.
<It is quite captivating... Hours of entertainment!>
Also finding a suitable substrate. The opinions differ again. Is it species orientated?
<Each individual fish can be different. Best to provide a variety of options. I would place a couple of small piles of rumble of varying degrees of coarseness about the tank. You will also want to make sure you live rock is placed directly on the glass and not on the sandbed as any borrowing fish could be accidentally crushed. And you will also need a well cover tank as these Gobies can be jumpers.>
This is the whole aim for this tank, to have a shrimp/goby symbiotic relationship.
<Very nice! You will surely enjoy!>
Only keeping soft/LPS corals and fish that will live in harmony with my shrimp/goby pair.
<Very good!>
Thanks
<Welcome... If you write again please don't forget to use proper capitalization. Mich>
Adam

Yellow Watchman Goby 1 - Hermit Crab 0, adding "corals"   6/23/07
Bob,
Thank you for your quick reply. My company is about to make the big switch ourselves and I’m am definitely not looking forward the fallout. Enclosed is the original email.
<Good>
Thanks again for all your help,
Matthew
Hello WWM crew,
Thanks for all your past help!
The weirdest thing just happened. A small hermit crab was walking past my Yellow Watchman Goby’s cave when the Goby came flying out grabbed the crab and carried him back into his hideout. I couldn’t believe what I saw, I did lots of reading about YWG and hadn’t seen anything like this. 30 seconds later crab came out of the cave and was about 3in away when the Goby grabbed him and hauled him back in. I was able to count the crabs later and he was still alive. Did a search of WWM and couldn’t find any accounts of something like this happening. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
<These gobies are carnivorous... will capture, consume crustaceans like Hermits...>
One other question while I’ve got you here. On a completely different topic… coral. Never worked with coral before so I’ve been doing lots of reading. I have a 40T Eclipse system. I’ve seen reports of people having success with smaller Eclipse systems but haven’t seen anything about a 40T type setup. I just have the standard Eclipse equipment with 2 power heads, crushed coral substrate and live rock.
Stock wise I have the Yellow Watchman Goby
1 Clownfish.
1 Cleaner shrimp
And a hermit crab/snail clean up crew
Still in the stocking stage and thought I should look into whether or not coral was an option and begin to tailor my stock list around that. If possible I’d be looking beginner level with bright colours. Would this be possible without the addition of hardware? If not would it be possible with the addition of hardware?
Thanks for all your help,
Matthew
<Well... there are a few groups of what folks call "Corals" (not the true softs (Alcyonaceans) or hard/stonies (Scleractinians)... these would need more light, filtration...) that you can/could consider... Please take a cursory read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/index.htm
By group... re Systems, Compatibility, Feeding... Bob Fenner>

Fish Compatibility Question
Dear Bob:
I have a 75 gallon tank with deep sand bed (3 to 4 inches) and about 75 pounds live rock. The inhabitants are as follows: royal Gramma, flame angel, black sailfin blenny, cardinal, and one tank bred ocellaris clown. I also have one rock with brown button polyps, some green mushrooms, Haitian anemone, green bubble tip anemone, clove polyps, and one small squamosa clam. There are various snails, 2 cleaner shrimp, and a few scarlet hermits. I would love to add a yellow watchman goby and a pistol shrimp. I have had different opinions as to whether the goby and the blenny would be compatible. Also would the cleaner shrimp and the pistol be okay together? Would I be overstocked if I added them? Thanks in advance for you help......
Janey
<Always "calculable gambles" in mixing livestock in different size/shape/type set-ups... but I give you good odds here. I consider that these animals would likely mix, and not be too over-crowded. Bob Fenner>

Killer Randall's Shrimp Goby
I have a Randall's Shrimp goby and his shrimp friend in a relatively new 180 gallon fish and live rock tank. They are a fascinating pair and, until recently, my favorites. But I am experiencing something that I cannot find in any of the books.
Last weekend, a friend was over to give me a few pointers, and we noticed that the Randall's had a yellow neon goby sticking out of its mouth. It spit out the neon, but the neon did not survive the day. I figured that the neon must have decided to check out the Randall's lair and paid the consequences.
<Yes, this happens>
Today, however, I was watching a blue neon goby minding its own business when the Randall's appeared out of nowhere and grabbed it from behind. The Randall's then darted back to its nest with the neon in its mouth. It is now back out again looking very full.
<Hmmm>
I had 9 neons and can now find 3. I suspect the Randall's. This sounds very strange based on what I have read about the shrimp gobies. Any ideas?
<Not strange... they are opportunistic... and will eat small fishes like gobies for sure. Bob Fenner>

Marine questions, Shreemps, brittle stars, goby diffs!
-Can I keep a pistol shrimp which is living in a symbiosis together with a Cryptocentrus cinctus (yellow goby) together with a peppermint shrimp, or will they start fighting?
<My pistol shrimp have killed cleaner shrimp.>
-My brittle star have got a lot of small brittle star babies, will a new brittle star eat them, and what shall i feed them?
<The small brittle starfish are probably a different species. These mini brittle starfish are detritivores and do not need target fed.>
-Do you know how i can see the difference on a yellow goby? -Arne
<I am guessing you mean "difference" in the sexes of the fish. There are some subtle differences in size and girth of the belly when you see an obvious pair together. Baensch "Marine Atlas: Volume 1" was an in depth description. -Steven Pro>

Pistol shrimp/gobies in new tank
hello,
i am in the process in setting up my reef tank (75 gallon) i have 100 pounds of live rock and 25 pounds of lace rock. i am wondering if i can add two pistol shrimp and a wheeler watchman goby and a Randall prawn goby (or should i just stick with one pair pistol/goby combination) with the following list of wants of livestock.
want to add (over a period of time)
2 fire shrimp
2 cleaner shrimp
1 banded coral shrimp
emerald crab (x2)
2 Percula clowns (w/anemone and anemone crab inside)
2 sand sifting stars
Sally lightfoot crab
4 green Chromis's
50 bumble bee snails
various red/blue hermits
blue "hippo" tang (small)
button and star polyps
green stripe mushroom
hairy mushroom
bulls eye mushroom
have a sl-150 miracle wet/dry (Rio 2500 pump 720 gph)
two Fluval 404's
Berlin xl turbo skimmer
4 VHO 110 watt lights
aragonite sand (75 pounds or so) what needs added for the goby/pistol relationship to work thank you for you time and consideration. its hard to find good advice when starting out your new aquariums and ideas for livestock
Jeff Morningstar
<Mmm, the fishes you list and the non-crustaceans should pose no problems... but the other shrimps... might consume the Alpheids if hungry... I would start/do what you propose... go with just the one pair first (either), and see how they fare. If it were me/my system, I would acclimate the new mutuals in an all plastic specimen box (like the ones used for housing small amphibians, lizards, bugs... available at pet shops) on the bottom for a few days ahead of releasing them. Bob Fenner>

Watchman goby and pistol shrimp
Hello,
<Hi, Chad... Anthony Calfo here answering mail while Bob extracts sand from various orifices having returned from a dive trip to Mexico>
I have a Watchman Goby and he has already set up camp under some live rock. Today I bought a pistol shrimp and it went to the opposite side of the tank as soon as I dumped it in. Do you know how long it might take to get the two to sense each other and start their Symbiotic relationship? 
<absolutely,... never. Thanks for asking>
Is there a way to speed up the process?
<nope>
Will they chemically know the other and just start a new home. 
<nope again>
Should I capture both of them and put them in my 10 gal refugium for while until they connect?
<they will either continue to ignore each other or punch the living daylights out of each other>
Also, the shrimp has a few legs missing and it's left front claw. Will these grow back well enough giving time or should I be worried? 
<no worries...they will grow back nicely within a few molts>
My tank is a 46 gal reef tank. I have added some calcium plus three (iodine, strontium?, and magnesium). Should this help my shrimp's legs grow back any better?
<the iodine, yes!>
Thanks a lot for answering my many questions.
<thanks for putting up with my humor, bud. The truth of the matter is that the relationship between shrimp and goby is very specific and at times precarious. For starters... shrimp species known to pair with receptive goby species cannot be interchanged with other tolerant species of either group. They are VERY specific to their dedicated commensal partner species. Furthermore... some will not even reconnect quickly or at all even with the correct species assuming you know it (rare info to have). Typically... the only way to enjoy the sight in captivity is to purchase them as a pair that were collected together...a very hard find. With kind regards, Anthony>

Goby-Shrimp association, non-native associations
Hi Bob, PF again (sorry to be a pest today, but I have to take advantage
of the mind cranking along at max while I can ;) )
I was wondering if the Florida snapping shrimp (Alpheus floridianus)
would form a symbiotic relationship with Goby's other than the Atlantic Orangespotted shrimp-goby (Nes longus) and the Spotfin goby (Gobionellus stigmalophius)?
<It's possible, yes>
I was thinking such as a Randall's or Filament finned prawn goby?
<Maybe...>
Would a stocking density of 1 per 4 sq/ft of tank bottom be appropriate? 
<About right... these fishes can be quite territorial...>
I'm leaning more and more towards my 300g being primarily Floridian/Caribbean in makeup, with a few oddballs from out biotope, such as clownfish, some corals, tropical abalone (from FFE) as cleaners, etc.
Can Orangespotted and Spotfins be mixed, or stick to one species?
<In a large system, they can be mixed>
or do the same species fight? 
<If overly crowded yes>
Thanks for your patience, according to Amazon I should be getting your books by Friday at the latest, I'm looking forward to it. Have a happy Fourth!
Mike
<You as well my friend. Peace. Bob Fenner>

Re: Goby-Shrimp association, non-native associations
I've done a little more digging and found that the local Floridian Goby's are considered endangered in the Keys not sure if they're on the CITES list or not), are they available in other parts of the Caribbean, and if so should I be able to order them either an online or LFS dealer without violating CITES reg.s? Thanks again!
<Hmm, according to fishbase.org these fishes have a wider range than Florida... don't know of anyone who collects them though... not easily/economically caught... And not CITES organisms as far as I know... definitely not Appendix I... Bob Fenner>
Mike

Pistol Shrimp & Gobies Pairs
How are you guys doing?
<Very well!>
Fine I hope. How aggressive are pistol shrimp?
<Mine only bother someone who tries to hide in their burrow.>
Looking to buy a goby/shrimp combo but I don't want him eating more expensive dinners than I do.    
<Given enough room and hiding spots, they are pretty peaceful, keeping to themselves, but mine have killed about a half dozen animals over the course of the four years I have had them. Two Cleaner Shrimp right after they were introduced darted down into the Pistol Shrimps' home. Snap, snap, snap, I never saw the Cleaners again. Also, a few small fishes when I have been rearranging rock or adding corals, basically disturbing things. The fish got scared and tried to hide on the other end of the tank. Note, that mine shrimp do not have a Goby living with them. Perhaps the Goby would have prevented the other fish from entering the cave. -Steven Pro>

-Goby shrimp w/out a shrimp goby!-
Crew Person: <Kevin person here tonight>
I was able to get a "paired" Randall's Prawn Goby (Amblyeleotris randalli) & Pistol Shrimp.  Unfortunately, a week into QT, the Goby died.  Now I am sitting here with a pretty expensive shrimp (that looks more like a lobster).  Anyway, my question is this:  can I get another fish to pair up, or am I up shrimp's creek without a Goby? <Haha, I suppose that would depend on the goby. Shrimp/goby pairs are actually very easy to set-up, so I hope you didn't pay too much for the luxury. I would just get a hold of another Randall's (after making sure what happened to this one won't happen again) and you've got a pretty good chance it will pair up. Make that a 95% chance.> It doesn't sound likely, but I had to ask the pros.  If the possibility exists, can I get any species of shrimp goby, or stick with Randall's? <The Randall's are pretty promiscuous as far as shrimp are concerned, so I'd go with that one. Good luck! -Kevin> Thanks for all you do, Rich.

-Shrimp gobies without their goby shrimp?-
Crew:
I often see Randall's Prawn Goby (Amblyeleotris randalli ) <My favorite shrimp goby!> and other shrimp gobies at my LFS without their shrimp.  Is this okay? <Absolutely> Can they live long lives alone? <Just like clowns and anemones, they only need to be together in the ocean. It's a dog eat dog world out there...> Are there any shrimp gobies to be avoided without their shrimp?  <Not that I can think of. Good luck! -Kevin> Thanks, Rich

Gobies (12-14-03)
hey again,<Howdy, Cody here today.>
what are your thoughts on the following:
if I got lets say 3 different pairs of "matched" goby and shrimp sets, with each goby being a diff kind, would the shrimp fight?<Unless you have a large tank I would stick to just one pair.  I think that it would be too crowded with all of them on and "in" the sandbed.  Although you may be able to pull this off if you had a large surface area.  Cody>
thanks
Mike

Randall's goby with lawnmower blenny
Hi,
Thanks for the great site, I send lots of people to it.
Normally I can find my own answers, but this time I want yours.
In a 37 Gallon " oceanic corner tank" I keep 25 lbs liverock, four inch deep sand bed. Fish are a pair of percula clowns pair of yellow  tail blue damsels, and a lawnmower blenny, with about 10 mixed snails, 10  blue leg hermits, and 6 asst mushrooms. Recently a friend gave me a 1 inch Randall's pistol shrimp. All is fine 2 weeks later, and I am wanting to add a Randall's goby or a yellow watchman goby. In this set up, do you think the goby and blenny would get along?
<I give you good odds. Salarias, Atrosalarias blennies are generally only feisty with algae eating competitors>
And if so which goby would be a better choice? Tank has been set up a years as is now.
Thanks for any reply, Roger
<The Randall's if you want to see interaction with the alpheid... The Watchman if not. Bob Fenner>

Re: Randall's goby with lawnmower blenny
Thanks for the quick reply, I keep an emperor 400 and the live rock, DSB for filtration, forgot to mention the emperor 400,again,  thanks.
<Sure, No problem.  I would suggest a protein skimmer if you don't have one already.  MikeB.>

Purple tang and shrimp goby questions
Hello there. I've had great fun reading and learning from your wonderful site.
<Me too>
Basics: we (my fiancé and I) have a healthy, vibrant reef tank: one-year-old 55 gal, lots of live rock well-covered in coralline algae, several inches of live sand substrate, very good water quality checked regularly and maintained religiously. As far as hardware, we have a CPR BakPak skimmer, three burly powerheads to move the water around (one agitates the surface -- FAQs!) , and a small AquaClear filter that gets its media cleaned several times per week (FAQs!). Lighting is about 200W of mixed color-temp (one yellow-er tube, one purple-er tube). Fish: A. melanopus clown w/green bubble-tip anemone, purple tang (young adult, 3-4"), red fire goby (yeah, I know, not the best match, got it when the tank was "gentler"), and a big royal Gramma. Everyone seems to be getting along fine. Inverts include various hard and soft corals (pulsing xenia, galaxy coral, mushrooms, plate coral, torch coral, daisy coral, etc) plus a good number of snails and a few hermits. Two big peppermint shrimp. Oh, and a Randall's pistol shrimp, more on him in a sec.
We feed a combination of Mysis shrimp, Cyclop-eeze, and assorted San Francisco Bay brand frozen prepared food (meat- and veggie-based). I've also been throwing in some Nori for the tang (FAQs again!). 
Questions (finally!):
(1) The tang is constantly hungry and has cleared out virtually all greens in the tank. It's also nibbled a lot at the xenia which is irksome as it's our favorite coral. We are wary of over-feeding as we have had phosphate spikes related to overfeeding which gave us Cyanobacteria problems (all better now -- FAQs!). Between the tang and the clown (we named him "Piglet") all food thrown in the tank basically vanishes. How much food should we give? In particular, how much Nori for the tang?
<To the point the fish doesn't appear concave... thin>
Also, in what form: one big hunk, diced up small, etc? I've been feeding about 1-2 square inches per day of the Nori, playing around with a few big hunks versus chopped fine. It all seems to vanish.
(2) We bought the Randall's pistol shrimp in combination with a Stonogobiops yasha (white-rayed shrimp goby or "Yasha Hase" goby). They lived together for a while then decided to move apart. Then the goby decided it liked the carpet better and we got expensive reef jerky :( The shrimp is still happily maintaining and expanding his burrow. Three weeks ago we got him another friend (same species of goby). The goby backed into the shrimp's hole -- and was never seen again. Perhaps reef jerky again?
<Or a shrimp meal>
Never found him -- maybe the cats did. In any case, we have secured the tank with taped-down screen and are ready to try again. Do you know what species of goby are compatible with this shrimp?
<Mmm, there are in print lists of naturally occurring hosts... but in captivity, many if not most "shrimp gobies" can/will learn to associate... See WWM re the various genera, species here>
In particular, is Randall's shrimp goby?
<Yes>
(Seems likely from the name but you never know). Any other recommendations based on availability, personality, compatibility, maintainability?
<Nope>
(3) Lastly, would a six-line wrasse be a good match for this tank? I love those guys.
<Perhaps, but may work your alpheid woe. Bob Fenner>

Goby/Prawn Association...The Best-Laid Plans...  09/13/2005
Hello,
<Hi there! Scott F. with you today!>
    I bought a Randall's Shrimp Goby about 2 weeks ago, and it hasn't been hiding very much. It picked a great spot right in front of the tank in a small cave to make its home. It has been making a little burrow for itself and I decided to add a Tiger Pistol Shrimp. As soon as I dropped the shrimp into my tank, the pair took off together to the back corner of the tank and were digging a tunnel within a minute.
<Amazing behavior, huh?>
Now, I can't see them except in a small reflection on the glass, and am wondering if I can do something to get them to move, it has only been a few hours now... Thanks for any help you could give me
<Unfortunately, this is just another one of those cases where the fish are "calling the shots"! Despite our desires, they'll do exactly what is best for them, without regards to the aesthetic issues for the hobbyist! Unfortunately, I really don't have a course of action for you. Attempting to get the animals to move would be cruel and disruptive. In a way, this is a neat situation. Let me explain: Some of the best aquariums that I've ever seen have lots of little pockets of life and activity throughout that make for fascinating viewing experiences. Very natural and very interesting! I say just enjoy it...Part of the allure of this hobby is the little things that you see in a well-established tank...Surprising little discoveries that keep our hobby exciting and fun! Enjoy it! Regards, Scott F.>

Pistol Shrimp and goby info 9/8/05
Hello I have a Hi Fin Red Striped Goby (Stonogobiops nematodes) and I was wondering what species of pistol shrimp it will host with.  <As a general rule, most commensal shrimps will pair with most commensal gobies.  We know that you have a commensal goby, but outside of the common shrimps, it is often hard to be sure.  The ultimate test is to see if the shrimp evicts the goby.  In rare cases, an especially aggressive shrimp may actually kill an especially insistent goby, so keep a close eye!>
I was also wondering if you could help me Identify a pistol shrimp I have gotten.  I ordered it from Etropicals but  am not sure what it is.  After looking at the pics it looks more like the Japanese Pistol Shrimp on Liveaquaria.  But I don't remember it having red and white claws and tail (on the tip).  It also reminded me of the Bull's Eye but it didn't have dark purple looking pincers and it didn't have the brown bull's eye on the sides.  I'm sorry this isn't very good info but its really all I got I didn't think to take a pic of it while acclimating and as you know its hiding lol.  So any help at all would be appreciated. <Unfortunately, this is often difficult even with a picture.  If you are a member of a local aquarium society, ask if anyone has back issues of "Aquarium Fish" magazine.  Scott Michael wrote a great series of articles on these fish/shrimp pairs a couple of years ago.  Best Regards.  AdamC.>

Valenciennea puellaris and Amblyeleotris guttata compatibility  11/17/05
I had a Valenciennea puellaris that jumped from my tank, so I had my LFS order another, but his supplier sent him Amblyeleotris guttata instead. 
<Not unusual to have suppliers mix gobies up>
My questions are: 1) would these 2 fish be compatible in a 135g system? 
<Mmm, yes, should get along>
Since the diamond watchman and the spotted prawn look so similar, I didn't know if that might cause them to fight. 
<Not likely>
2) I believe I had sufficient 'pods for the puellaris (they are -everywhere- both amphipods and copepods, very easy to find all over the rocks, glass, sand, any time of day). I have about 3-4" of sugar-sized sand throughout, and the live rock offers a lot of places for things to hide (very porous and stacked to make crevices). My concern is if they both eat 'pods that I would not have enough. I planned to add a refugium within the next 2 months, but do not have one yet. Would these two fish compete for food?
<Not to the point of starvation here>
3) I know the puellaris likes finer sand than the guttata - would it be possible to put some more coarse sand/gravel on one side for the prawn goby and keep just the finer sand at the other end for the puellaris to encourage them to stay on different sides of the tank?
<I would not add, mix the substrates>
Thanks!
Scott Hardin
<Try as the system is currently. Should be fine. Bob Fenner>