Pistol Shrimp Kill Firefish?

[Landers]

I lost a firefish on Monday and I’ve been trying to figure out what happened and this is the best theory I can come up with. I bought a yellow rose goby and candy cane pistol shrimp pair and the firefish all last Saturday. I took my time to acclimate all of them and my firefish was doing great on Saturday and Monday morning. He was exploring the tank and had no signs of stress or disease. I came back home Monday to find him pretty beaten up and dead right next to his hiding place under one of my rocks. My pistol shrimp had gone under a rock on the other side of the tank so I didn’t suspect him at first, but a couple days ago I found him and the goby under the rock where my firefish had been hiding and was found dead. Is it possible that my pistol shrimp moved rocks on Monday and killed my firefish to get him out of the spot? Since it was within 48 hours after I bought my firefish that I found him dead, I am able to get a replacement fish but should I be looking for a fish that won’t hide under my rocks? I would really hate to have another death

 

[rkpetersen]

Highly unlikely that a pistol shrimp killed your firefish, especially a small one like a candy cane. More likely that the goby or another fish harrassed it. Or it died of something else that you weren't able to detect.

Mysterious fish deaths aren't rare at all in this hobby. The first few times it happens, it hits hard.

 

[Landers]

Well it definitely wasn’t the goby as he’s been hiding a lot ever since I added him Saturday. Plus yellow roses are not aggressive and he was much smaller than the firefish. I only have one other fish, a pajama cardinal, who I watched ignore my firefish while the firefish was exploring the tank. I guess it was just a “mysterious death” then...

 

[Timfish]

I also seriously doubt the shrimp did in the firefish. Sometimes fish just die. It may look healthy but that doesn't mean it is. Once a fish dies just about everything else in the tank is going to start picking at the body.

 

[FindingPonyo]

I lost a firefish on Monday and I’ve been trying to figure out what happened and this is the best theory I can come up with. I bought a yellow rose goby and candy cane pistol shrimp pair and the firefish all last Saturday. I took my time to acclimate all of them and my firefish was doing great on Saturday and Monday morning. He was exploring the tank and had no signs of stress or disease. I came back home Monday to find him pretty beaten up and dead right next to his hiding place under one of my rocks. My pistol shrimp had gone under a rock on the other side of the tank so I didn’t suspect him at first, but a couple days ago I found him and the goby under the rock where my firefish had been hiding and was found dead. Is it possible that my pistol shrimp moved rocks on Monday and killed my firefish to get him out of the spot? Since it was within 48 hours after I bought my firefish that I found him dead, I am able to get a replacement fish but should I be looking for a fish that won’t hide under my rocks? I would really hate to have another death

I have a pistol shrimp and a purple firefish so I'm pretty well versed in this kind of situation. Remember, pistol shrimp do not try to kill fish. They are blind. However, I did get both of them on separate occasions because when fish are stressed and not used to a new tank, they will act differently. And since the pistol shrimp is stronger, I made sure to get the purple firefish settled in the new tank, about one month before I got the new pistol shrimp. The shrimp would be more aggressive so make the that the firefish has the upper hand and the "home-field advantage". My pistol shrimp I did not find to be aggressive but they are territorial. If the firefish is stealing its hiding spot, it will fight back. But a bigger the tank means the more hiding spots there are which means the less Interchange but even with my tiny 14 gallon, they still stay away from each other. As long as it is not a territorial thing, shrimp will not hurt the fish.

 

[laverda]

Very in likely. Consider you only had the fish 2 days it is much more likely it was not healthy when you got it. Proper acclimation and your water parameters are possible contributors. Sadly your experience is pretty common when adding new fish. One reason it is important to QT fish.