-Goby shrimp w/out a shrimp goby!-
Crew Person: <Kevin person here tonight>
I was able to get a "paired" Randall's Prawn Goby (Amblyeleotris randalli) & Pistol Shrimp.  Unfortunately, a week into QT, the Goby died.  Now I am sitting here with a pretty expensive shrimp (that looks more like a lobster).  Anyway, my question is this:  can I get another fish to pair up, or am I up shrimp's creek without a Goby? <Haha, I suppose that would depend on the goby. Shrimp/goby pairs are actually very easy to set-up, so I hope you didn't pay too much for the luxury. I would just get a hold of another Randall's (after making sure what happened to this one won't happen again) and you've got a pretty good chance it will pair up. Make that a 95% chance.> It doesn't sound likely, but I had to ask the pros.  If the possibility exists, can I get any species of shrimp goby, or stick with Randall's? <The Randall's are pretty promiscuous as far as shrimp are concerned, so I'd go with that one. Good luck! -Kevin> Thanks for all you do, Rich.

- Uninvited Guests, More Follow-up -
Hi, I setup my tank about 3 weeks back, the night before setup, I discovered lots of pistol shrimps. It was nightmare for me. It is now ok, took care of the problem.
<Oh... ok. Well, thanks for the update but do bear in mind that pistol shrimp aren't generally considered "harmful" and do have a role to play in a functioning ecosystem.
Cheers, J -- > 

Pistol shrimp/goby joy  8/13/07
Hi guys. For once this isn't a panicky question about an aquarium disaster. We just wanted to thank you for all the information on the site about shrimp gobies and their shrimps. We (rather naughtily) bought a "tangerine striped goby" from our LFS yesterday, having gone there intending to buy a copperband (they didn't have any). Admittedly, this goes against your golden rule of never buying anything on a whim and without reading up on it first, but our trusted LFS manager said it should be fairly easy to keep. We got him home and found that he's really a Randall's Shrimp Goby, did a bit of reading, and decided we'd try to find a shrimp to keep him company. Today we've brought home a tiger pistol shrimp, and within an hour of putting the shrimp in, the two have become completely inseparable. It's amazing to watch, and the shrimp is very entertaining to watch as he tries to build a burrow. Just felt we should share this with someone!
Jim+Jo
<Greetings. A while back I kept a whole tankful of snapping shrimps, and it was one of the most fun tanks I've kept. It's funny, but things like snapping/pistol shrimps and mantis shrimps are often written off as pests by reef keepers, but when the focus of their own tanks, become engaging pets. Snapping shrimps are incredibly hardy (these were, at least) and because of where the tank was set up, water changes were something that happened once a month, if that. It was the most basic aquarium imaginable: undergravel filter, no chiller (these were coldwater shrimps), and certainly no skimmer or living rock for water quality management. But they thrived! I can't be sure if they bred, but they certainly grew, and their numbers seemed to remain steady. The noise that came from the tank was quite eerie sometimes, like crumpling leaves. Anyway, all this is by way of saying I'm glad you're trying something a bit different, and wish you every success with your new pets. Cheers, Neale>