Pistol shrimp susbtrate?

[jencheung]

I'm so excited! My Randall's pistol shrimp and hi fin red banded goby (I bought separately) found each other and are already living together in the first night of being in my little reef tank! The shrimp is busily burrowing away while the goby keeps careful watch. I've attached a couple of pictures of the happy couple. My concern is I think I need to add something to the substrate for the shrimp to use in his burrow building but I'm not sure what. My substrate is currently just sand (Caribsea Argamax) and since the pictures were taken, the big shell in the foreground of the pictures below has been dragged over and incorporated in their entrance way. The pair seems to be venturing (together) further and further out of their burrow and I think it might be in search of building materials to help shore up the walls of the burrow. Is there anything else I can put in the tank to help him out? I was thinking of maybe breaking one of the extra empty shells I have into a couple of smaller pieces. Would that help? I don't have any extra live rock to crush otherwise I would do that. I could take a few pieces of gravel (white) from my freshwater tank and throw those but I don't have the bag for it anymore so I don't know if it's saltwater safe. Any other thoughts?

My other question is I have seen that some pistol shrimp may attack ornamental shrimp. I have a peppermint shrimp and a fire shrimp in the tank and while the pistol is only about an inch now and the others are more than twice that, will it become a problem in the future? Will the pistol be a threat to other small fish like my green clown goby in the future? I am having trouble differentiating between the "ornamental" pistol shrimp that seem to stay small (everything I've seen is 1.5-2 inches max) and the hitchhiker pistols that are known to eat fish. Can someone clarify this for me? Thanks!

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[saltydunc]

cool goby and shrimp....love the way these fish and shrimp pair up its amazing....don't know the answer to your question .... don't really know a great deal about how predetory the pistols are......great pics..:)

[Reefscape]

My concern is I think I need to add something to the substrate for the shrimp to use in his burrow building but I'm not sure what. My substrate is currently just sand (Caribsea Argamax) and since the pictures were taken, the big shell in the foreground of the pictures below has been dragged over and incorporated in their entrance way. The pair seems to be venturing (together) further and further out of their burrow and I think it might be in search of building materials to help shore up the walls of the burrow. Is there anything else I can put in the tank to help him out?

<<Fine sand is usually not the best for burrowing creatures like the pistol because the sand is so fine, the walls of the burrow will keep collapsing. I found that adding large particle sea floor mix, which is also made by Caribsea, provides stability to the sand for the burrows...Its very possible that they are looking for something to add as strength to the burrow.>>

I was thinking of maybe breaking one of the extra empty shells I have into a couple of smaller pieces. Would that help? I don't have any extra live rock to crush otherwise I would do that. I could take a few pieces of gravel (white) from my freshwater tank and throw those but I don't have the bag for it anymore so I don't know if it's saltwater safe. Any other thoughts?

<<A lot of people use the basic seafloor grade "rubble" type mixtures. Follow the link to see it..

CaribSea Coralite Bermuda Pink Sand (http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~SearchStr~~action~view~idProduct~CS090 1~idCategory~FISSDS~category~CaribSea_Coralite_Ber muda_Pink_Sand_15_lb_Saltwater_Aquarium_Supplies_S ubstrates_Dry_Sand~vendor~.html) >>

My other question is I have seen that some pistol shrimp may attack ornamental shrimp. I have a peppermint shrimp and a fire shrimp in the tank and while the pistol is only about an inch now and the others are more than twice that, will it become a problem in the future?

<<Its always a possibility, however, i never expereinced any agression from a pistol. Ensure its well fed, and all should be fine>>

Will the pistol be a threat to other small fish like my green clown goby in the future?

<<I have never had a problem with these attacking fish personaly>>

I am having trouble differentiating between the "ornamental" pistol shrimp that seem to stay small (everything I've seen is 1.5-2 inches max) and the hitchhiker pistols that are known to eat fish. Can someone clarify this for me? Thanks!

<<All depends on the specific species>>



Added some comments in red above...

[Reefscape]

P.S .....They look very happy together...LOL... :)

[jencheung]

Thanks! I hope they're as happy as they seem! I'm going to run to the LFS to see what I can find in the way of "rubble" substrate. I'm hoping they'll have something smaller than a 15 pound bag since I really don't need all that much. Or maybe I'll pick up a piece of rock and take a hammer to it :grinyes:. As far as keeping the pistol well fed, I currently feed the tank cyclops, spirulina brine and mysis. I haven't actually seen the pistol eating yet (only had him 3 days) but the goby eats anything and everything that gets within a few inches of their burrow. I've also been using the turkey baster to squirt a little food directly into their burrow. I'm hoping that the pistol is at least eating that. Is there anything else I should be feeding him at this point or in the future? He's still pretty small but I don't think he's going to get that much bigger. Should he be okay with what I'm feeding so far or should I add something else to the mix? I'm thinking of picking up something else just for variety purposes while I'm at the LFS anyway, any suggestions? Thanks again!

[FeatherDuster]

Reefscape listed a great substrate to add. You don't need much. Picking up a rock to break apart also works. You could also break some snail shells. Thats what mine is currently using.

You should be safe on other shrimp and fish since you have a smaller species of pistol shrimp. The only thing that isn't safe from these shrimp is bristle worms. Bristle worms can be bullies and invade the cave looking for food. Thats usually the main cause of the sounds you hear at night from the shrimp warning them off.

As for food. I use pellets to feed the shrimp. I would place a couple by the cave before the lights go out. That way the shrimp might venture out during night time to get it. Soon he should lose his shyness and venture out during feeding times. Mine appears about twice a week during feeding times.

Very cute pair. Its one of the most popular ones since they happen to find each other 90% of the time in the tank.

[jencheung]

So I definitely saw the pistol eating tonight which was exciting. Both it and the goby were shy the first day in the tank and I only saw them after the lights were out that night but for the past two days they've both been out and active during the day. It was only when I got too close to the tank the goby would warn the shrimp back into the burrow. Tonight the goby was too busy darting around grabbing bits of food to warn him I was still there and the pistol came out and grabbed a piece of mysis for himself. I'll have to try the pellets too. I want to make sure everyone is getting a good variety of food and if he'll take to the pellets that would be great!

I saw the substrate that Reefscape recommended at the store but they only had 10 or 15 pound bags which is way more than I need. I really was just looking for about a handful. I'll definitely have to remember it for the next tank I set up though. For now I ended up picking up a rock and a small coral skeleton from the LFS that I'm going to smash up and put a bit in around the entrance to the burrow for the shrimp to use in his building endeavors. Hopefully that'll help!

Thanks for all of your responses!