Pistol shrimp behavior?

[The_Skrimp]

This is bizarre but I guess it makes sense. I fed my pistol shrimp a small chunk of frozen shrimp yesterday and today it looks as though he’s walled himself in. Almost all of the exits to his tunnel look like the image here.
Is that typical behavior? And should I be worried about my watchman goby? He seems to be walled in there with him. I heard a few pops coming from the tank this morning and I’m hoping the little guy is okay.

is this a hostage situation or....

 

[monti mike]

Mine does that all the time. Totally normal (I think!)

 

[Randomuser]

Our pair does the same thing as well as the reverse: when there is a major excavation project our tiger pistol seems to kick the YWG out of the house for the day and only lets her back in when all the furniture has been arranged to satisfaction. They're happily paired and it just seems to be part of their routine.

 

[The_Skrimp]

This is my first pair. They're a funny duo to watch. They paired up almost immediately but my goby made sure to sit around while the shrimp did all the work and then moved right in.

 

[Randomuser]

This is my first pair. They're a funny duo to watch. They paired up almost immediately but my goby made sure to sit around while the shrimp did all the work and then moved right in.

Ours paired up instantly as well. The pistol is so busy with underground projects that the YWG looks perpetually long suffering but her color is great ever since they teamed up. They're inseparable now and absolutely hilarious to watch doing their thing when they're both out scrabbling around.

 

[Calm Blue Ocean]

YWG looks perpetually long suffering

We call it "the infinite sadness" lol

Our goby pair seemed really stressed when we first put them in the tank and just seemed scared every day, huddling in a corner. Got them a shrimp and everyone assumed their positions immediately. Shrimp started digging, gobies stood guard. They really are amazing.

 

[Calm Blue Ocean]

This is bizarre but I guess it makes sense. I fed my pistol shrimp a small chunk of frozen shrimp yesterday and today it looks as though he’s walled himself in. Almost all of the exits to his tunnel look like the image here.
Is that typical behavior? And should I be worried about my watchman goby? He seems to be walled in there with him. I heard a few pops coming from the tank this morning and I’m hoping the little guy is okay.

is this a hostage situation or....

Your shrimp might be getting ready to molt. Ours has become pretty predictable in the time we've had him. When he's going to molt he absolutely tears the tank apart! Excavations everywhere! Then he gathers up all the empty hermit crab shells (especially ones with kenya trees growing on them), walls everything up at his main fort, and then molts. After he molts he lays low for a couple days and then he redecorates all over again. It's really fun to watch.

 

[Randomuser]

We call it "the infinite sadness" lol

Our goby pair seemed really stressed when we first put them in the tank and just seemed scared every day, huddling in a corner. Got them a shrimp and everyone assumed their positions immediately. Shrimp started digging, gobies stood guard. They really are amazing.

We had the exact same experience. Couldn't have hoped for a better outcome, really. Lovely to hear all these cool little fellows are finding each other.

Infinite sadness. HAHAHA, nailed it!