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Pistol Shrimp killing cleanup crew


Gunbeaux

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Has anyone had a pistol shrimp kill a snail or hermit crab, mine are disappering and the only thing in that tank is a pistol shrimp there is some large gravel like Live sand in the tank and what looks like crushed shells

Edited by Gunbeaux
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And are you 100% sure theres ONLY a pistol shrimp in your tank?

 

And yes they can kill little hermit crabs and snails

Edited by Yves17
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surgicalsense

My pistol and YWG both munch on the tiny neriths snails. But, only them outside of eating the food I provide. But, as for anything like my larger snails and hermits no. Size difference.

 

You can also hear the when the shells are being snapped, aside from the routine pistol shrimp gun shoot off. Just something to listen out for.

Edited by surgicalsense
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Thanks for the help I can hear him hunting at night I made the mistake of putting the tank in my bedroom and sometime in the middle of the night when I am sound asleep it wakes me up.... at least I know he is eating.

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Thanks for the help I can hear him hunting at night I made the mistake of putting the tank in my bedroom and sometime in the middle of the night when I am sound asleep it wakes me up.... at least I know he is eating.

 

Do you guys keep cleaner shrimps? Any issues there?

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My pistol is a jerk. I will never get another. Kills all my snails, torments my crabs, and has murdered many other shrimp. Not to mention always moving corals, snipping off acans/zoas for decoration, and hoarding food in a stash that screws up my tank.

 

Boooo!

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surgicalsense
Do you guys keep cleaner shrimps? Any issues there?

 

I have one fire cleaner. No issues. However, when it molts I leave the molt in the tank. Because Spot my pistol shrimp snatches the molt up and drags it into the den.

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I am glad others are having problems with theres I have set up a 2.6 gal rimless tank for the 3 and under contest an am thinking of puting him in there with a bare bottom so he can't move the sand around every other day. Does anyone think the 2.6 is too small for the shrimp.. might put a goby in there also.

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Might just put sand in the tank anyway I work for an engineering company and there are dozers around everywhere.. why not one on my desk.

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I've never been able to keep shrimp after getting my Pistol. I've bought like 5 peppermints in the last 6 months; they seem to settle in happily and come out looking for food. An one day, they just disappear...

 

Any yes, my Pistol is the prime suspect, because I've only got small peaceful fish in there. He;s the closest thinkg to a carnivore..

 

GBose

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In the past I've had trouble getting food to my pistol shrimp. My clown and even his goby buddy would gulp food down as fast as it went into the water. I mean, they would take every last pellet to the point where both would hold food in their mouths because they were too full to eat what they had. All the while the pistol would search like mad looking for a morsel. That's when the cleanup crew faced danger. To fix that I picked up a syringe and put a length of airline hose onto the end. I suck up some pellets in water and give a squirt right by the pistol shrimp. Now he's happy and quite non-murderous.

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Biggest problem ive had with pistols and cleaner shrimps, is the cleaners fighting for the pistol's food, and being dragged into the burrow along with the food they are holding on to.

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In the past I've had trouble getting food to my pistol shrimp. ...

 

I have routinely seen the tiger pistol eating "waste" right out of the backside of the goby. So I doubt he'll starve if you don't target feed.

 

Anything that goes by the burrow is fair game as far as he's concerned, that is except the serpent star that is five times his size. :)

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I have routinely seen the tiger pistol eating "waste" right out of the backside of the goby. So I doubt he'll starve if you don't target feed.

 

It's not about preventing him from starving to death. It's about reducing cleanup crew losses.

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It's not about preventing him from starving to death. It's about reducing cleanup crew losses.

 

 

I hear you, whatever works go with it. Anything that goes by the burrow in my tank, becomes a door. :o

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I hear you, whatever works go with it. Anything that goes by the burrow in my tank, becomes a door. :o

 

I have a couple of red leg hermits that never learn. They get dragged into the burrow and eventually climb their way out. My scarlet legged hermits on the other hand seem to have figured out that if they traverse the tank on top of the rocks then they're safe. The change in their behavior has been quite interesting.

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I am glad others are having problems with theres I have set up a 2.6 gal rimless tank for the 3 and under contest an am thinking of puting him in there with a bare bottom so he can't move the sand around every other day. Does anyone think the 2.6 is too small for the shrimp.. might put a goby in there also.

 

Definitly do NOT go bare bottom, and definitly give him a goby partner. A small one, like a Hi-Fin Red Band. A pistol shrimps whole life revolves around moving sand and constantly bulldozing. Keeping the goby fed, will in turn keep your pistol fed, as gobies will sometimes feed their shrimp partners. The goby will also protect the den entrance, and push away hermits and snails. This may lessen casualties. When I feed my goby, I shoot a couple mysis shrimp into the den, for good mesure. I havnt lost a snail or hermit since introducing the pistol shrimp. And I have little micro hermits.

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Thanks for all of the reply's I think I am going to put LS in the tank and get him a goby. the take is one I have entered in the 3 and under contest hopefully it is not too small right now he is in a 20L and just stays around one area.

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  • 4 weeks later...

My pistol has ripped legs off my emerald crab and just last weekend took on the peppermint shrimp as a snack. Arrggh

 

Unfortunately, I'd have to take everything out of the tank to catch him.

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My pistol has ripped legs off my emerald crab and just last weekend took on the peppermint shrimp as a snack. Arrggh

 

Unfortunately, I'd have to take everything out of the tank to catch him.

 

I assume reverse is what happened just this week in my pico, HH pistol is nowhere to be found . Emerald is the only thing in the tank that could have taken it down. Bummer, cause I liked that little dude. Came in on some zoas and was about 1/4" long. Last I saw it was about 2-1/2". Could have been a bad molt...

Edited by mbonus
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  • 6 years later...

My bestie had a missing red banded shrimp in his 40 cube.  we assume4d the pistol died so he replaced t wiyj a tiger shrimp.  A couple months later, both pistol shrimp were found in the same burrow, both alive.

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