Pistol Shrimp goby pair- looking for info :)

[LesPoissons]

Hi all, looking to add some diversity to my tank but a few questions:
1. Is a pistol shrimp the same as a snapping shrimp?
2. Do they pair with any type of gobies or just specific ones?
3. If you can’t buy them as a pair- is it like clowns and nems- they may join up or they may never interact? How likely are they to find each other in a 220g?
Thanks!

 

[litlsea]

Never heard the term snapping shrimp but it’s accurate lol. Not all gobies but most of the sand dwellers. Never have purchased a matched pair but they always seemed to find one another in a day or three. Gobies are world class jumpers and I have lost a couple. I keep the screen top on all the time.

 

[spiraling]

On live aquaria they are calling them snapping shrimp. The red and white one, Alpheus randalli, is what I had. Also known as a pistol or randalls pistol shrimp. It paired with a yellow watchman goby in hours.

I had a pair of high fin banded gobies that never found their shrimp. Lost them both to carpet surfing before I got a lid.

I plan to get the randalls pistol and a yellow watchman again. They were fun to watch together.

 

[dan3949]

In a tank that large, it is highly likely that you will never see the shrimp/gobie after addition.

 

[spiraling]

In a tank that large, it is highly likely that you will never see the shrimp/gobie after addition.

It is a possibility. I made a hole for mine up front (in a 32g) under a rock and they stayed there for years. Add the shrimp to the hole, then the fish to the hole, and they might pair and stay there??

 

[LesPoissons]

lol I guess that is a definite possibility. hmmm. will have to think. Is it like nems and clowns that if I put them in a smaller area together (aka my fuge or an acclimation box) they will pair or will it only happen after a hole is established?