Chris' CAD Lights 45g Shallow : Another Re-Scape (Video)

[cnseekatz]

[cnseekatz]

Bullseye Snapping Shrimp (Alpheus soror)

 

I found this cool little guy at my LFS about a year ago, and after some quick Googling, I bought it. It's a fascinating little creature, and surprisingly, I've never seen another one at a fish store, or in anyone else's tank blogs. Given how beautiful it is, and how (mostly) reef safe it seems to be, I figured I'd do a short write up to spread awareness about the Bullseye Snapping Shrimp.

 

 

Alpheus soror is a beautiful golden color with vibrant purple/blue legs and claws. For anyone who has owned an azule damsel, you know the exact color combination. He is a pistol shrimp, and has a lot of the same characteristics and behaviors as other pistols, with a few major differences. They are burrowers and tunnel-builders, but unlike most of the pistol shrimp we see in this hobby, they don't seem to bond with gobies. For whatever reason, the Bullseye is a solitary figure. Whether it's causation or correlation, it seems to be much more active and bold than other pistol shrimp. He is constantly on the move, has an extensive network of tunnels spanning the entire length of my tank (3' across). He has become bolder the longer he's been in my tank, and I see him often now, and not just poking out of tunnels, but creeping around on the base of my rockwork as well. He doesn't have a goby to keep him safe, or to help feed him, so he's out and about all the time. He's an avid scavenger, and does an amazing job cleaning up uneaten food. His burrows have allowed improved water movement underneath my rocks and he stirs up a lot of detritus while he goes about his business. Another interesting trait is the "snapping" part, which is shockingly loud (I hear him snapping from across the room with the TV on). As Live Aquaria puts it, "The sound it makes comes from an appendage on the pincher which moves when the pincher is opened or closed and water is ejected." Check out the little video below, if you turn your sound up, you can hear him snapping at my forceps.

 

 

He is listed as reef safe, though after a year of observing him, I can add a few caveats to that statement. First, I've never seen him go after any corals, hard or soft. He doesn't go after snails or fish, but I have seen him go after hermit crabs who get too close. He won't kill them, but he'll snap at them ferociously, and even attack them. The attack doesn't accomplish a lot, but he'll shake the shell for a few seconds and then both will retreat to their respective corners. For the most part, he's a good citizen in my reef tank. The one major BUT is in regards to, surprisingly enough... gobies! Seeing as he is a loner, he does not take kindly to anyone who tries to invade his tunnels. I've attempted several gobies and blennies over the past year, and they always end with the same result. These fish, who either burrow themselves, or just enjoy a nice cave under a rock, inevitably find a nice pre-made tunnel and try to make themselves at home. Only problem is that when the Bullseye catches them in his house, he charges them, and snaps... The fish, who weren't expecting such rudeness freak out, fly out of the burrow, and then out of the tank. I've only seen it happen once, when I was fortunate enough to rescue the carpet surfer, but unfortnately it's happened multiple times, with multiple species of bottom dwelling gobies and blennies while I was not around to stop it. He is clearly not compatible with bottom dwelling gobies and blennies. Not because he wants to eat them, but because he defends his turf, and it leads to jumping. Keep in mind, my tank is only 45 gallons, so with a larger tank, and more territory, one might have success... though it's safe to say, the shrimp and fish won't be living harmoniously together. 

 

In summary, this is a gorgeous, unique shrimp, who is really engaging and fun to have in your tank. He provides the typical benefits of a scavenging shrimp, with the same risks/rewards of a tunnel builder. They appear to be pretty rare in the hobby, so if you come across one, I encourage you to pick him up... unless of course, you house any kind of shrimp gobies, or sand-sifting gobies, or bottom dwelling blennies... because it's likely to end badly. 

 

 

[teenyreef]

Very cool, thanks for the write-up!

[kimberbee]

what a cute little shrimp!! 

[Christopher Marks]

Fantastic writeup @cnseekatz! I've never seen or heard of a bullseye snapping shrimp, how cool!

[cnseekatz]

Best buds... the wrasse follows the diamond goby around everywhere, picking at all the junk he kicks up as he sifts the sand.

 

[cnseekatz]

I've had the Gyre 230 on my tank for a couple of months now, and the difference for me is night and day. My SPS are really happy. I had twin MP10s blowing up to 85% (reef crest mode) before, and I just couldn't get good coverage around my tank. The Gyre (on 4 second, 40% bursts) hits almost everything, and my PE has gone from very below average to this:

 

 

[malacoda]

On 3/23/2017 at 11:18 AM, cnseekatz said:

I've had the Gyre 230 on my tank for a couple of months now, and the difference for me is night and day. My SPS are really happy. I had twin MP10s blowing up to 85% (reef crest mode) before, and I just couldn't get good coverage around my tank. The Gyre (on 4 second, 40% bursts) hits almost everything, and my PE has gone from very below average to this:

 

They look really happy.  How long is the pause between the 40% bursts?

[teenyreef]

Wow, that's pretty convincing! I've used reef crest forever but I've often thought it doesn't change enough from low flow to high flow. Maybe I should try doing something more like your 4 second cycle and see what happens...

[Berlibee]

wow that's crazy PE

[Berlibee]

I think I want one Maxspect XF230 now as well

[cnseekatz]

On 4/1/2017 at 4:22 PM, malacoda said:

They look really happy.  How long is the pause between the 40% bursts?

 

It goes 4 seconds on, 4 seconds off. I was originally looking to create a swishy wave, but I got bored, and liked how the SPS reacted to this. 

 

On 4/1/2017 at 5:05 PM, teenyreef said:

Wow, that's pretty convincing! I've used reef crest forever but I've often thought it doesn't change enough from low flow to high flow. Maybe I should try doing something more like your 4 second cycle and see what happens...

 

I totally agree. Most of the time, I can't tell if I'm in Reef Crest or Lagoon. They just don't create a dramatic swing, it's pretty slow and gradual. 

 

On 4/1/2017 at 5:59 PM, Berlibee said:

wow that's crazy PE

 

On 4/1/2017 at 8:21 PM, Berlibee said:

I think I want one Maxspect XF230 now as well

 

I can't speak to the durability/longevity, but I'm loving the power and the pattern so far!

[Berlibee]

Oh, you didn't remove the mp10 you just run them at 20% + Gyre ?

[cnseekatz]

2 hours ago, Berlibee said:

Oh, you didn't remove the mp10 you just run them at 20% + Gyre ?

I turned them way down, and stuck them in the back bottom corners of the tank... where the rock-work would likely block most of the flow from the Gyre. They're basically pushing water out of the corners, up into the Gyre's flow.

[Berlibee]

Ok I see, I have two mp10 as well now. But I think I will just replace them or maybe leave one.  Because I was using one mp40 before, then two mp10 and still have lot of dead spots. It is indeed hard to get the right flow in a shallow tank.

[cnseekatz]

Guess who's back?

 

 

Tyree Space Monsters. Ever since my colony (more than 200) melted, I've been trying to track down the OG strain, and I finally found someone with a colony. When they arrived, they looked terrible. They were all inverted, and they were on their way to melting. After a few weeks of careful attention, they're responding well. Still need to color up a bit, but this is the first time I can see them for what they are... The guy actually sent me a few Rose Nebula polyps (as a freebie!), and I'm growing them right next to each other so that we can see the difference side-by-side.

[cnseekatz]

I also got some Rainbow Yodas... but they're not quite ready to be photographed... Stay tuned.

[Berlibee]

Ok, Gyre will be here on Thu. can you please recommend a mode ? Or it just 24/7 - 40% long pulses of 4 seconds ?  

[cnseekatz]

18 minutes ago, Berlibee said:

Ok, Gyre will be here on Thu. can you please recommend a mode ? Or it just 24/7 - 40% long pulses of 4 seconds ?  

I thought about setting it up to calm down at night, but I didn't get that far, and everything seems happy, so I haven't messed with it.

[Berlibee]

Ok so just 40% - 4 sec. pulses.  Thanks.

[cnseekatz]

Some natural sunlight on the reef before the LEDs come on.

 

 

 

[Berlibee]

Got the Gyre, thanks for the advice.

[cnseekatz]

On 4/6/2017 at 4:54 PM, Berlibee said:

Got the Gyre, thanks for the advice.

How are you liking it so far?

[Berlibee]

8 hours ago, cnseekatz said:

How are you liking it so far?

 

At this moment all corals are happy, but I can't say that there is a huge improvement with PE. But the flow is much much better for sure. I run at 60% - 6 seconds pulses 24/7.

[Asureef]

18 minutes ago, Berlibee said:

 

At this moment all corals are happy, but I can't say that there is a huge improvement with PE. But the flow is much much better for sure. I run at 60% - 6 seconds pulses 24/7.

 

Thats a lot.  I'm at 20% and mp10 at opposite side at 70%.  I can't go beyond that with the gyre or the sand would get pushed to the sides. I tried it once at 40% and I had to modified some chopsticks with a plastic spork glued to the end to scoop my sand back because I can't reach my hands to the bottom of the tank with all the growing corals.