Trapped Yellow Watchman Goby?

[j.Zero]

Hi!

I have a YWG and Tiger Pistol Shrimp pair. I had them for a month now and at feeding time, the YWG would usually stick its head out from their burrow. I haven't seen them in about 2 days now. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the hole that they usually hide into, was blocked by sand and an empty snail shell.

Is this a cause for concern? Should I break apart my rockwork and look for them? I'm worried about them not getting any food.

Thank you!

 

[BostonReefer300]

Unless something big happened like you rearranged your rock work, I wouldn't worry about them being trapped. Those odd-couple pairs are famous for moving around a tank in search of the perfect home---particularly when new. Kind of like my wife never being happy with whatever house we buy. Anyway, they'll turn up and hopefully they won't have decided on a home in the back of your rock work facing the wall.

 

[fachatga]

That’s right. Mine have dug out under every rock in my tank. A shell blocking the entrance won’t trap them either. That shrimp can move it if he wants. Great pair to have too. Watch when they come back that the shrimp always has an antenna touching the goby when he is out of the burrow. That’s how he senses where the goby is. Really fun to watch them together.

 

[BostonReefer300]

Come to think of it, I'm sure my wife would think we resemble a goby/shrimp pair. She'd consider herself to be the shrimp (doing all the work) and me the goby (laying around doing nothing except eating).