Questions about pistol shrimp
 

Hello

I have a yellow watchman goby in a 200g reef tank and I would love to pair it with a tiger pistol shrimp (or any pistol shrimp species). I just have a few concerns

-I have two skunk cleaner shrimp and I heard pistol shrimp may attack and eat them. There is also a nature clip with depicts this in the wild. Does anyone have experience with keeping cleaner and pistol shrimp together? Also any danger to hermit or emerald crabs?

-I have a crushed coral substrate so much coarser than sand. Will the pistol shrimp do ok with this or do they need sand to dig a burrow? Right now the goby lives in a hole in the live rock. I think the hole is big enough for the goby and the shrimp. Not sure if they can live in such a hole together or if it needs to be a sand burrow.

Thanks!

They do not need sand to live. It is amazing how well pistol shrimp can dig into solid rock, especially when there is no where else to live. I am sure he will get by without fine sand. It is just really cool watching them constantly bulldoze sand from one side of the tank to the other.

As for your question about the shrimp. IMO people keep eels/anemones in reef tanks. They are just as bad, or much worse then any pistol. Just something to consider. When I worked at the pet store people bought tube anemones all the time even though I warned them about it consuming little fish. Sometimes they were model citizens, and others were returned within a week with the owner wondering why he/she did not listen in the first place.

I have had my 12 gallon nano running for three years and I have never seen the pistol shrimp I know that lives somewhere in there. Soon after lights out I can count on him to say goodnight. "Click, Click Click".

Amazing the tank is not much bigger than a milk crate and still this guy is unseen.

i have had many pistol shrimps, I have one right now in a 10gl with a cleaner and hermits and a 29gl with a peppermint and cleaner with no problems at all!
I added him last and my goby found him right away! love the little buggers!

idk about other shrimp? altho ive wanted to add a cleaner shrimp was just a little worried. i will stay tuned to see what others say. as for the hermits... my tiger pistol pops a cap in them quite often, she'll drag them in and rig their shell into one of her many structures. the crabs just pop back out, its fun to watch them crawl back out of the rubble. i have more issues with the hermit crabs trying to kill each other!

As far as I know pistol shrimps will not harm cleaner shrimp because they mostly remain on the sand bed and the cleaner shrimps live under crevaces.

I had my pistol shrimp in my refuge with sand and aragonite mixed, they constantly rearrange the tunnel and surrounding areas where they live. It won't be a problem keeping it in your tank. They kinda remind me of a bulldozer in an excavation site where they constantly bulldoze back and forth. Very active buggers!!

I've had a pistol shrimp living in my 90 gallons for quite a while along with 2 cleaner shrimps & one fire shrimps - no problems. Neither with hermit crabs. BUT I added an emerald crab twice in a row - and they were gone within 2 weeks. Same with porcelain crabs.... Peculiar...

Thanks everyone! Sounds like it will be ok. Frenchie, do you think the pistol shrimp killed your emerald crabs?

I believe so since it is the 2nd emerald crab that has disappeared... Would not surprise me... Good luck!

If you look close enough he doesen't have a pistol