Hi all. so... I have been doing loads of research on nano marine keeping as it'l be my first one, but thought i'd treat myself to some livestock research instead of boring powerheads and salt! so I've been making a list of what i'd like in my lil nano. im a bit confused about this shrimp/goby business.

firstly, i would looove either a wheelers watchman goby or a randalls shrimp goby (anyone any preferences?) and a shrimp to pair with it. but all i hear about is pistol shrimps! problem is, i would also loooove a few sexy shrimp (a must!!) and a peppermint for cleaning (not really bothered about aesthetically speaking but in my opinion essential for maintenance and aiptasia muching!) but i've also heard pistol shrimp don't get on well with them. what are compatability levels like with all these? if the pistol shrimp is not compatable are there any other "other shrimp friendly" shrimp to pair with the goby??

did that make sense lol??

thanks for your advice! I'm so excited!!!!!

Shrimp gobies only pair with pistol shrimps. That said if you pick the right pistol shrimp (I have tiger pistol shrimp) they will get along fine with other shrimp. Mine has been with sexies, clearner shrimp, and a pepermint shrimp.

Oh and to NR.

ooh wait found something...pistol shrimp is just the name for a particular bunch of shrimps, is that right? I found a randalls pistol shrimp, i thought all pistol shrimp were the same. anyways, same question still stands. plus...do all pistol shrimp behave the same towards other shrimp?

Yes the term "pistol shrimp" is used to refer to a whole family of shrimp.

Yes different pistol shrimps behave differerntly. Thats why I recommended the type I have the tiger pistol shrimp.

Tiger pistol shrimp are the species Alpheus bellulus (the pistol family is Alpheidae). I had one paired with a randall's shrimp goby. The randall's pistol shrimp (Alpheus randalli) may pair with the gobies you listed, but it will definitely pair with Stonogobiops gobies like the yasha haze.

to N-R!

I would rather have a Wheeler's Watchman Goby than a Randall's Shrimp Goby . JMO though.

First off I have a Hi Fin Red banded Goby (Barber Pole Goby) who is currently paired with a mated pair of Randall's Pistol Shrimps (Red banded Pistol Shrimps)

If you want to be perfectly safe then go with a Randall's. Some Tiger Pistol Shrimp, who pairs with the gobies you listed, will attack small shrimp, snails, hermits, etc. They get much larger than Randall's Pistol Shrimp. My mated pair of Randall's Pistol Shrimps haven't touched my Sexy Shrimp even when he was a tiny tiny little thing. The male, in his on going construction project lol, comes right up to the Sexy Shrimp all the time and never harms him. Not all Tiger Pistol Shrimp are bad but they can be.

Also don't go pairing any pistol shrimp with any gobies. Many pistol shrimp like the Bullseye Pistol Shrimp, Japanese Pistol Shrimp, hitchhiker pistol shrimp will not pair with any gobies, they prefer to live alone.

It is also tough to pair gobies with pistol shrimps if you do not know much about them.

Like Lakshwadeep said, Randall's Pistol Shrimp may pair with those shrimp gobies you mentioned, but they will defietnly pair with Stonogobiops gobies like the Hi Fin Red banded Goby and the yasha Goby.

IMO, randall's shrimp goby looks nicer than a wheeler's. It's really neat to see one raising it's dorsal fin, which has something like an eyespot, like a flag.

I have to agree that is cool about Randall's shrimp gobies!

I like Wheeler's better because of there personality. All gobies have great personality but the Wheeler's Whatchman has really awesome one!

thanks for replies everyone you've been so helpful and given me a lot to think about! Would it not be an obvious assumption that a randall's shrimp goby would pair with a randall's shrimp?? I love either one of the wheelers or randalls so I'd be happy with either. If they are likely to pair with a randalls shrimp i think thats a good option. Altho I could be tempted to take another look at Stonogobiops Dracula but not had chance to read up on the lil devils yet.


"First off I have a Hi Fin Red banded Goby (Barber Pole Goby) who is currently paired with a mated pair of Randall's Pistol Shrimps (Red banded Pistol Shrimps)"

Having a goby with a mated pair of shrimps must be so nice to see! Like a little happy family! so cute!! Do you have any pics of them??

shrimp tend to not like each other in general. do you have aiptasia?

That would be cool to pair them with a Dracula! Cool Fish!

Check out my 12G thread. Pics there

i don't actually have the tank yet lol, i was just kinda getting my stocking plans together, or at least looking at my options for the future. I am hopefully buying my tank this weekend (river reef 94) and I got all excited! I had a list of fish I would like but after all this research (which i know is good to do but doesnt half cross most things off the list!) im back to just the clowns and a few sexy shrimp!! I have more questions about fish but I'll post them elsewhere!!

Yay new tank!

eek dracula gobies are quite expensive for such a small thing lol. the randalls goby is a fraction of the price!

I'm just getting my tank started aswell (started the cycle a few days ago) and I have about the same ambitions as you as far as the goby/shrimp goes.

I don't have much to say, other than that my choice (that I'm going with) is Randalli goby + randalls pistol shrimp. Good luck, looking foward to hearing how it turns out

I'm about to attempt to add a Yellow Watchman Goby and Tiger Pistol Shrimp and hope my 6 Line doesn't kill them.

well got my tank, have bought al the necessary equipment and awaiting delivery of my live rock so the cycling can begin!!

after reading more i'm having serious second thoughts about the shrimp! the tank is right next to my bed and from wot people have sed they are pretty persistant with their clicking, and more to the point, loud! but i really want a goby/blenny. i was only able to get a small 48l tank to fit in my room so I'm just lookin at a pair of clowns. but id love a sand dweller of some kind but dont want a goby who typically pairs to live alone!! and a blenny i saw and really wanted is a dragonette and cant have one of those either!

help!!! conditions - must be reef safe, live peacefully with sexy shimp and pom pom crab!

xris, good luck with ur tank as well wud be nice to hear (and see!!!) how it goes.

haha yeah.. I'm juat mildly concerned about the shrimp staying out all night at the shooting range. My tank is also near my bed, but hey, what can ya do? I think (hope) the coolness will outweigh the annoyance

I'll definitely keep updates coming!

Well I have a randall's goby and randall's shrimp. Sadly I added the shrimp 3+ weeks after the goby so I'm not sure if they've met yet even in my little tank So mine aren't paired yet.

So I'd just suggest adding both shrimp and goby at the same time to up the odds.

The goby started off super shy, but about 8 weeks into ownership he's usually out and near his hole. The spot is cool and it does kind of a shivering thing with it's fin sometimes.

I've read some mixed opinions about encouraging the symbiosis... some say put the goby in first, let him find his hole, then drop the shrimp down right in front of him and the shrimp should boogie into the hole.

Others say put them in together. Other say put them in whatever and hope for the best.

I have no idea which is correct the first makes the most sense to me.

Obviously the surest way would be to get them paired already. Besides that, it's up to the individual goby/shrimp (provided the species are known to form pairs) to decide if and when they will pair.

See my shrimp and goby experience here: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=228844

It's unfortunate that there's such a limited variety in the selection of paired goby/shrimps

For shrimp, it's true, but there are many shrimp gobies to choose from:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/shrimpgobies.htm?h=

I meant sold as a combo, in the hopes that they're already paired. There are a lot of nice gobies out there.

OMG i've not even finished watching 5-O Reefer's video yet, i'm actually 31 seconds in, and im totally sold!! I could watch this kind of behaviour for days!! I love it. I am sooo getting a pair!

stupid question - the randalls shrimp is a pistol shrimp? and all pistol shrimp click? therefore...randalls shrimp = click click click??! how bad is the actual clicking? i know people have different experiences and i suppose its just the type of personality u get, but generally speaking, how do you find it?

also, ive read that if you put the shrimp in first, let him find his cave/spot then drop in the goby in close proximity to it, it shud (in theory) be love at first sight!

ok im gona continue watchin the vid...

pps. live rock went in 3 days ago...only a matter of time now...

I'm not sure of any other "randall's shrimp", but yes there is a pistol species with that name. Pistol shrimp clicking is used mainly for self-defense, which is often rare. I had a tiger pistol that clicked on occasion, but it was never annoying. The click is loud, almost like your glass is cracking.

Have you finished the cycle, yet?

no, no where near. its only just begun. On day 4 now. Not tested it yet today I'm still at work (just leaving, dont worry no skiving here!) but no change in results as of yet. I didn't think I would be this impatient!

Good news about the shrimp (told you it was a stupid question lol) i think I will get one. how can I not now!!

mine paired within moments of adding them(yasha hashe and tiger pistol)
unfortunately the yasha hase decided to be Harry Houdini and jump 48 hours later. Sigh

I wanted a Japanese pistol but they don't pair with gobies. Shouldve gone with him instead as I'm not a giant fan of most of the small gobies that work work in my pico AND pair with a pistol. Bleh.

if you're worried about pistols attacking, my Randall is so small that he cant really hurt anything. I've seen him "shoot" a hitchhiker mantis shrimp, hermits, and snails right in the face and there's no reaction on their part. you can take a look @ my sig the broadcast comes on at 11:30am PST or you can watch the recorded videos.