So I heard snapping sounds today....

Sharkbait19 · Jan 19, 2021

shred5 said:
If it is a pistol it is most likely not one that pairs with a goby especially if it is living in a rock. Most of the ones that pair live in the sand. It still could be one that does but I have had tons of pistols that came in on live rock that never paired.

That’s interesting. I figured they’d all pair but I suppose that makes sense. The one in the rock also has much quieter snaps than the tiger pistol and the snaps are also more repetitive. I thought it would be a mantis but I did see it today and it was definitely a pistol. It had claws rather than smashers.

shred5 · Jan 19, 2021

Sharkbait19 said:
That’s interesting. I figured they’d all pair but I suppose that makes sense. The one in the rock also has much quieter snaps than the tiger pistol and the snaps are also more repetitive. I thought it would be a mantis but I did see it today and it was definitely a pistol. It had claws rather than smashers.

Yea there are a ton of different species of pistol shrimp but only a handful pair with gobies.
I think there even is a freshwater variety.

There is one that I have seen that are real tiny and live in sponges. They look like ants going through their tunnels.

Sharkbait19 · Feb 16, 2021

Haven't heard much from the hitchhiker in a while. Is it possible the tiger pistol killed it?

Cole.mormon · Feb 16, 2021

Maybe

s0mthinG · Mar 18, 2021

shred5 said:
It is probably a pistol but it could be a mantis. I had a small mantis in one of my reefs forever and it did little damage other than some snails. If it were large I would defiantly remove it.

If it is a pistol it is most likely not one that pairs with a goby especially if it is living in a rock. Most of the ones that pair live in the sand. It still could be one that does but I have had tons of pistols that came in on live rock that never paired.

My candy cane pistol (pairing sp) Loves to run around In holes in my rock. Hell, when I bought him he wedged himself so we'll inside the crevasses of a rock we took 20 mins to break it open and get him out. I'm sure with the size of shrimp those holes in the rock feel just as spacious, even more so then tunnels in the sand. I will note however that my pistol does also burrow in the sand.

s0mthinG · Mar 18, 2021

Sleeping Giant said:
Could be a hermit or snail shell snapping against the aquarium glass, mine do that from time to time

The sound is extremely different. I have some hermits that do the same, (One specific little dude that does it in the same spot every night) and that's more of a light tapping The pistol is more of a loud pop.

s0mthinG · Mar 18, 2021

Sharkbait19 said:
That’s interesting. I figured they’d all pair but I suppose that makes sense. The one in the rock also has much quieter snaps than the tiger pistol and the snaps are also more repetitive. I thought it would be a mantis but I did see it today and it was definitely a pistol. It had claws rather than smashers.

The quieter snaps could be due to the fact that he's much smaller. As for the repetition, potentially there's a snail or a crab encroaching on his territory causing him to snap at him to get him to leave. This happens with mine all the time. Some days he snaps once or twice, other days 5,6,7 times in quick succession.