Red Caribbean Pistol Shrimp With a Tiger?

[FlyinAg]

Howdy!

Anyone ever kept a Red Caribbean pistol shrimp with other species, like a tiger pistol? I was sold a "candy cane pistol" that was actually just a baby Red Caribbean. Could never figure out why he would not pair with a Yellow Watchman... Well I know why now. Red Caribbeans do not pair with shrimp gobies.

We really like it as he is fun to watch and very very active. But we really want a shrimp goby an pistol pair. Could they all get along in a 25 gallon peninsula?

Thanks!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

If you got your Red Caribbean shrimp a nem host (on the other side of the tank), then I'd guess they'd get along fine, but I may be wrong. Without a nem host, I'd guess it could be a bit risky.

Hopefully someone with firsthand experience will chime in for you here though.

Some info on your shrimp for anyone interested:

Actually, the Curly Que Pistol Shrimp, Alpheus armatus, doesn’t pair with gobies - it pairs with the Corkscrew Anemone, Bartholomea annulata, which tends to live in small cave/burrow-like structures (and A. armatus can find these nems even when they’re completely buried in sand).

A. armatus is considered an obligate symbiont with this anemone, so keeping it without one is likely incredibly stressful to the shrimp. Additionally, at least some of these Alpheid species (many of whose diets are inferred rather than properly studied) have been demonstrated to feed on the excrement of their goby partners, so it’s possible that this shrimp would feed on its host anemone’s waste in nature as well. If so, between lacking the safe shelter of its host nem and the (possible) lack of a major/primary food source, the extreme aggression would be much less surprising.

Edit: perhaps better terms than caves/burrows would be crevices, nooks, or ledges (more like mini caves than actual caves).

 

[FlyinAg]

Good info, thanks! Hopefully someone has good or bad news either way with their experience. Other than never bonding, I have yet to have any other issues with it. He has his spot that he guards from hermits during eating time.

I would introduce the other on the opposite side of the tank that I don't see him burrow or venture out to...

Also, I know they say these things are blind and that is total BS, at least for the Red Caribbean!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Also, I know they say these things are blind and that is total BS, at least for the Red Caribbean!

Yeah, they're definitely not blind - there is some dispute about how good their eyes actually are, but the few studies I can find would seem to indicate to me that their eyesight is actually quite good (though there's some speculation that they may not be able to see red light).

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262088563_Visual_acuity_of_the_goby-associated_shrimp_Alpheus_rapax_Fabricius_1798_Decapoda_Alpheidae

 

[Doctorgori]

I’ve had Caribbean pistol shrimp roommate with Pacific gobies