Pistol Shrimp Lunch

40b Starter · Jun 20, 2021

Recently added a Randalli pistol shrimp to pair with my yellow watchman goby. Placed in tank near YWG burrow and all seemed well for about 1 minute. Then the shrimp came out from behind the rock and started “swimming” around the tank like crazy. Edge to edge and top to bottom in a 40 breeder about 3 times in under a minute. Needless to say this attracted a lot of attention from my fish and before I could get the net back into the tank my orchid dottyback grabbed the shrimp and had a pricey lunch.

Very disappointing to say the least...
Anything special needed to add a pistol shrimp into the tank?
Will add another in the future but want to do what I can to keep it alive for more than 2 minutes.
TIA

TCoach · Jun 20, 2021

1. Did you salinity acclimate it before adding?
2. How far into your day cycle were you?

I would normally acclimate the shrimp via drip until tank salinity was matched. Then I would place it in an acclimation box in the tank and let it out close to lights out.

Sorry for the loss, that really sucks.

40b Starter · Jun 20, 2021

TCoach said:
1. Did you salinity acclimate it before adding?
2. How far into your day cycle were you?

I would normally acclimate the shrimp via drip until tank salinity was matched. Then I would place it in an acclimation box in the tank and let it out close to lights out.

Sorry for the loss, that really sucks.

Yes shrimp was fully acclimated. Went into tank and scurried around in the sand and over some GSP to get into YWG burrow. All looked good. Stayed there for a bit then bolted.

Tank is nearly one year old with 5 fish, 2 cleaner shrimp, urchin, serpent star and a bunch of snails and hermits. So no concerns on tank cycle or levels.

Will have to try the acclimation box next time. Appreciate that advice.

srobertb · Jun 20, 2021

That’s an odd one. Bad luck I suppose. Typically when I add them the shrimp immediately starts digging. I won’t see him/her for a day or so and then I’ll see the burrow and the goby chilling.
The only time I’ve seen what you’re describing is when the fish store catches them