Pistol Shrimp Dead?

[Bear Claw]

I have had my Yasha goby and Candy Cane pistol shrimp pair for around 2 and a half months. I put them in my tank and they bonded after about a week. I did not witness them pairing and moving into a cave but they did. The Yasha has been living in that cave ever since and is doing fantastic. I have not seen my pistol shrimp since they paired up at all. Not even a glimpse but also no corpse. I am wondering if I should leave it be or not. My worries are that the goby will eventually die from not having a paired shrimp or that the shrimp is alive and getting another one will be useless and cause a fight. Thank you!

 

[PocketGoose]

Many folks have lost track of their pistols. I've heard stories of years going by only to find the little guy still kickin! I wouldn't worry too much. When many inverts molt they will also go into hiding for a bit. The yasha should be okay without a paired shrimp if he is in fact gone. Give it some time and see what happens

 

[skydirt]

I thought I lost mine bc I hadn't seen it in months and just the other day I caught a glimpse. He doesn't come out often. I'm guessing more at night

 

[MnFish1]

I have had my Yasha goby and Candy Cane pistol shrimp pair for around 2 and a half months. I put them in my tank and they bonded after about a week. I did not witness them pairing and moving into a cave but they did. The Yasha has been living in that cave ever since and is doing fantastic. I have not seen my pistol shrimp since they paired up at all. Not even a glimpse but also no corpse. I am wondering if I should leave it be or not. My worries are that the goby will eventually die from not having a paired shrimp or that the shrimp is alive and getting another one will be useless and cause a fight. Thank you!

The goby will not die (IMHO), and the shrimp can do an excellent job of hiding. You could get another shrimp - with the hope that they will not compete (if there are 2) - I'm not sure how many gallons you have

 

[Bear Claw]

The goby will not die (IMHO), and the shrimp can do an excellent job of hiding. You could get another shrimp - with the hope that they will not compete (if there are 2) - I'm not sure how many gallons you have

I have 32.5 gallons with a lot of hiding space. My worry with getting another is that the poor guy will starve because I won't be able to find him and feed him

 

[mwil79]

Mine tends to disappear for long periods of time, then I wake up to find my tank cloudy because he decided it was a good day to be Bob the Builder and stir up the entire sand bed.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

I thought mine was dead and I hadn't seen or heard him in over a year, in a 14 gallon aio.

That was 2 years ago. He's somewhere around 4 years old now and in a bigger rig. Still snappin'

 

[JayM]

I bought a Candy Cane a few months ago. I saw him all of 10 seconds when he was released into the DT and that was it for the next month or so. I figured he was gone, so I bought a Tiger Pistol and he and my YWG paired immediately. Fast forward a couple of weeks. I set up a fish trap with a chunk of food trying to catch a clown that went rouge. Next morning to my complete surprise - I found a Candy Cane in the trap. I let him out, he disappeared in 10 seconds and I haven't seen him since.

Moral of the story is - you, like me, may or may not have a Candy Cane Pistol Shrimp living in your tank.