Boldest Goby to Pair with Pistol Shrimp?

[puffy127]

I've had a YWG paired with my Tiger Pistol shrimp for several years and barely ever saw them. Recently I've seen my pistol shrimp but not my YWG. I'm wondering if he died as it has been several months now that I haven't seen him. I would like to replace him with a goby that is more bold. None of my fish ever attacked the pair or bothered them. As soon as any fish even swam near them, they darted back into their burrow. Any suggestions for a more bold, less skittish goby to pair with my pistol shrimp?

 

[nereefpat]

Pink and blue spotted, Cryptocentrus leptocephalus, is my favorite. They get bigger and bolder. I had one for the better part of a decade. I did not keep it with a shrimp, however.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Most of these guys are not bold by nature. They are runners, not fighters. The boldest I have seen are the yellow watchman. I have had tangora, dracula, pinkbar, ruby nose, and all are very shy.

 

[Baldguy]

Most of these guys are not bold by nature. They are runners, not fighters. The boldest I have seen are the yellow watchman. I have had tangora, dracula, pinkbar, ruby nose, and all are very shy.

My Yellow Watchman was the boldest I've had too. He never strayed far from his burrow but was almost always out and seen.

 

[CoralNerd]

I always found YWG nutty lol
I might need to try another one as I like the yellow. How about a Randall's (Amblyeleotris randalli) they get bigger than most 4.5".

What fish do you have now and tank size?

 

[Nick30G]

I see my pair all the time. My ywg is very bold and is almost always visible just perching outside his burrow. Occasionally nipping at my clowns when they get too nosey. Whenever I get close to the tank he will follow me around the tank and hover in place especially near feeding time. My pistol shrimp on the other hand is always scurrying about his multiple burrows moving pieces of rubble around. They are a great addition to my tank!

 

[playapixie]

I had a Yellow Watchman Goby with a Randall’s pistol shrimp for 7 years. The YWG got quite big and was generally quite visibile and was often all over the tank at mealtime, though sometimes he’d disappear for hours or rarely, days. The last time I saw him was several weeks ago and he had been apathetic and lethargic and not feeding well for several days before that, though without other signs of illness. I wonder if he died of old age. I actually just replaced him with a Hi Fin goby yesterday. He darted into a rock hole after about an hour and I haven’t seen him since. I hear the shrimp snapping occasionally though; I hope they’ve found each other. We’ll see. The only other shrimp goby I’ve had was a Yasha, and he hid all the time. Almost never saw him.

 

[Narniahopper]

I made the switch to wide-barred shrimp gobies (Amblyeleotris latifasciata) for that very reason. It still took a couple of weeks to get the second one (I have a pair) to really get comfortable, but after they do, they should be out and about all the time. They are pretty big for shrimp gobies, between 4 and 5 inches.

 

[bsn_rn_cen]

I bought a pair of orange stripe gobies from divers den. The smaller of the two is shy but the big one is always out and about. When I get home from work he even comes to the top of the water with the clown fish. I don't know if that is just his personality or if it has something to do with them being a pair. Like he knows the smaller one will guard his shrimp while he cruises.

 

[Jeff_H]

I have a couple of thoughts on the topic based on my experience with a pink spotted goby and a candy stripe shrimp we've had for almost two years now. When we introduced the pair, they quickly disappeared under the rocks and it was very rare to ever see them. In fact, I've literally only ever seen the shrimp one time since that day, and the only reason we know its still alive is the snapping we hear a few times a week. The goby sightings were very rare until a few months ago so we started calling her 'Nessie', as in the Loch Ness Monster, because in the beginning, the sightings were few and far between and when you did catch a glimpse it was just a blur as she would dart back in the burrow.

So what changed - A few months ago we donated our Cowfish to a public aquarium because she was pushing 10 inches in length. Within a week of removing the cowfish, we started noticing the goby out all the time and she sometimes ventures out and around the tank now. While the Cowfish was not aggressive towards anything, I can only conclude it must have been the size of the fish that scared the goby and keep it from even showing its face, even at the burrow entrance. So if you have larger fish in your tank, you might consider looking for a bigger goby or asking around to see if anyone has one with larger fish. You might find certain types have a better track record in larger tanks with bigger fish. Just a thought...