My fish will not come out of a rock

[Clownfish king]

Umm my shrimp goby and pistol shrimp are hiding in a rock together and will not come out no matter the food I have to spray it underneath the rock. Should I lift up the rock I know there still alive cause I hear the shrimp. But I have not seen my goby. 

[Mwil79]

How long have you had him? That's pretty normal for a goby when first being acclimated. I didn't see mine for 10 days.  Don't just spray food down in his home he will find food. 

[Clownfish king]

I have only had him for a few days thanks a lot 

[empresto]

My shrimp and goby trio (1 shrimp - 2 gobies) didn't come out during daylight from under the rock they settled on for a number of days when first introduced to my tank.  Unless you usually target feed your fish, I think I would just feed the tank as you would normally and they will eventually come out when they feel ready.  The shrimp probably won't come out much at all with the lights on if it is like mine (pistol shrimp are basically blind, after all, which is the reason for the symbiosis with the goby).

 

Definitely don't lift up the rock, this will only stress them again and make it take longer for them to come out and say hi. 😉 

 

Do you have anything else living in the tank that might look a bit scary to a tiny fish like a goby?

[Clownfish king]

A clownfish with is scared to come near the rock there under and that’s it. 
 

[empresto]

Probably just new space jitters for the goby and shrimp.  If you still don't see them 2 weeks from now, then it's time to start wondering... 😉  Assuming everything else is fine in the tank, they'll come out when their ready.  Good luck!

[Tired]

Don't lift the rock, you might smush them. Put some food near the rock when you feed them, and wait. 

 

What kind of goby? Antenna gobies are even more prone to hiding than other shrimpgobies.

[TerraIncognita]

I would not feed them inside the burrow if I wanted them to come out

 

Why would they venture out if food is inside and it's safe and cozy.

 

IME Pistols come out when.

 

1. They're making their burrows. I've found they're MOST active at night.

2. They're scavenging for algae/food .

3. Ehe Goby just wants to go out anyway.

 

The Pistol shrimp ONLY wants to leave it's burrow to find food, or make it bigger. No real reason for him to leave safety if you think about it logically. They're basically blind and can't see a thing, so they rely on the Goby to lead them around the tank.

 

With that SAID, if you JUST added your Goby, give him 1 week to settle in the tank. Everytime I've ever gotten a shrimp goby, they take about 1 week to settle. Your shrimp even if it's a little hungry, is going to depend on your Goby to let him know if it's safe. If your Goby is just settling, he wont be venturing out that much, and therefore, your shrimp is probably chilling with him waiting for him to get comfortable.

 

I wouldn't spot feed them, they're a scavenging pair, and will scavenge, I'd only spot feed if you really feel there to frightened to even try to look for food. But I've never seen that.... The way I've always seen them happy is the Goby goes out, shrimp starts working on the burrow, as he's shifting the sand, detritus and small food particles come up, Goby takes his fill, and watches out for predators. Flicks his tail when my face gets too close and they all run back inside.

 

I feel by spot feeding them into the burrow, you're just giving them more a reason to not leave.

 

I've kept 3 Pistol Shrimp and Goby Pairs all successful... except the recent earthquake that squished my last one.

[Clownfish king]

23 hours ago, Tired said:

Don't lift the rock, you might smush them. Put some food near the rock when you feed them, and wait. 

 

What kind of goby? Antenna gobies are even more prone to hiding than other shrimpgobies.

The goby I have is an orange spot

22 hours ago, TerraIncognita said:

I would not feed them inside the burrow if I wanted them to come out

 

Why would they venture out if food is inside and it's safe and cozy.

 

IME Pistols come out when.

 

1. They're making their burrows. I've found they're MOST active at night.

2. They're scavenging for algae/food .

3. Ehe Goby just wants to go out anyway.

 

The Pistol shrimp ONLY wants to leave it's burrow to find food, or make it bigger. No real reason for him to leave safety if you think about it logically. They're basically blind and can't see a thing, so they rely on the Goby to lead them around the tank.

 

With that SAID, if you JUST added your Goby, give him 1 week to settle in the tank. Everytime I've ever gotten a shrimp goby, they take about 1 week to settle. Your shrimp even if it's a little hungry, is going to depend on your Goby to let him know if it's safe. If your Goby is just settling, he wont be venturing out that much, and therefore, your shrimp is probably chilling with him waiting for him to get comfortable.

 

I wouldn't spot feed them, they're a scavenging pair, and will scavenge, I'd only spot feed if you really feel there to frightened to even try to look for food. But I've never seen that.... The way I've always seen them happy is the Goby goes out, shrimp starts working on the burrow, as he's shifting the sand, detritus and small food particles come up, Goby takes his fill, and watches out for predators. Flicks his tail when my face gets too close and they all run back inside.

 

I feel by spot feeding them into the burrow, you're just giving them more a reason to not leave.

 

I've kept 3 Pistol Shrimp and Goby Pairs all successful... except the recent earthquake that squished my last one.

Thank you a lot for that information!

i will make sure to take it seriously 

[Mwil79]

No worries, you learn as you go. Mine would scrounge for food at night. It's now about 2 months later and during regular feedings he snags his helpings with my other fish which NEVER previously happened. They just tend to be more shy. I'm no expert but everyone on this forum has been super helpful and has given me excellent advice. Expect to make mistakes, live and learn 🙂 Happy reefing.

[TerraIncognita]

1 hour ago, Mwil79 said:

No worries, you learn as you go. Mine would scrounge for food at night. It's now about 2 months later and during regular feedings he snags his helpings with my other fish which NEVER previously happened. They just tend to be more shy. I'm no expert but everyone on this forum has been super helpful and has given me excellent advice. Expect to make mistakes, live and learn 🙂 Happy reefing.

yeah, as fish get older and more established, I think they get more confident.

 

One thing I've kind of learned a lot from with Coral care funny enough is Bonsai theres a LOT of similarities including even trees/coral looking dead, and suddenly springing back to life.

 

And through Dogs and Cats, Lizards and all the other domesticated pets I've kept through my life and their own behavior patterns, One common denominator always is anytime any animal is ever introduced to a new territory  they always have to adjust. My puppies and cats always start in 1 room of the house, and then eventually think they can go anywhere  😝 .....

 

I may be weird, but I can relate a lot myself as a human.

 

Any time I've moved, I'm always a bit stressed, harder to sleep, not as hungry. Funny phenomenon, but always happens to me as well. If you think about it, the animals didn't even want to move, or really even knew what was going on, so if you can think of you getting picked up and dropped off somewhere new, no matter how nice it is, I'm sure you can relate.

 

I always like to look at my pets from perspectives like this.

[Mwil79]

Well said and completely agree. Other than my Chocolate lab who ran full speed through my house when I first bought it to absorb everything as fast as possible. Now he is a rug that barely leaves my office lol. 

[Clownfish king]

Thanks a ton for all the info. Happy reefing as well