Pistol Shrimp--Goby Quarantine Question

joegoersch · 05/13/2011, 10:18 AM

I have a 30 gallon tank with maybe 55 lbs LR and 2 inches of sand and a 29 gallon refugium. I have a purple firefish, a pajama cardinal, a royal gramma, a few astrea snails and 2 cleaner shrimp. I have a 10 gallon quarantine tank with one piece of LR and no sand.

I want to buy a pistol shrimp and goby to go with it. I don't know what to do about quarantine. Should I put the goby in quarantine for a month and then buy a pistol shrimp and then put them both in the DT ? should i buy them at the same time and skip quarantine ? I don't think the pistol shrimp would do well in quarantine without sand..

thanks for your thoughts !

SWaquariast · 05/13/2011, 10:27 AM

It would be easier to buy them as a pair. I know your supposed to quarintien them but i didnt with mine. I had a tiger pistol and a wheelers goby. But Idk about the only two inches of sand the shrimp will burrow all day long, make sure all ur rock is sturd and touchin the glass on the bottom og the tank( because if its not when the shrimp burrows it might crush him) I had 4in sand.

jeffreylesser · 05/13/2011, 12:37 PM

I just introduced a goby pair and pistol shrimp to my display tank. I wanted to quarantine so I set up my tank with sand and a cavernous piece of live rock. I probably waited three months before adding them, more due to availability than patience I am sure.. Everything in the QT tank came from established systems and I shook out pods into the tank from my display macro. I kept them in there for a couple months until I was able to establish a pair of gobies(took 4 gobies, 2 of which were given away). If you can't do something like this I would go with a much shorter QT period, maybe 2 weeks, as the pistol shrimps diet is pretty particular and an established tank is the best. Feed frozen or live foods to them, it took some time before my gobies would accept pellets. I would get them eating pellets before going into the DT if possible. Target feeding in the DT is sometimes tough because you may not always see them. If they take pellets, you can just throw some in when you see them out of the burrow.

For introduction to the tank, I had great luck. I knew where I wanted them to go. There was a good rock outcropping on the quiet side of the tank that I thought would be perfect. Before placing the pistol in, I started a burrow next to the live rock, so the shrimp would feel the incline to the rock. It worked and their burrow is exactly where I started it. To note, I was expecting the shrimp to burrow right away but it did take a few days before it did. But now they all live happily together.

I think most books recommend a period together in QT in an attempt to establish a relationship between the shrimp and gobies. Then introduce the shrimp first into the tank, and follow this by the gobies. There are some nice articles in CORAL magazine issue Dec 2007/January 2008 on shrimp gobies.

This was my experience.

Hope that helps!

joegoersch · 05/13/2011, 01:09 PM

hmm...different ideas, both helpful.

BigGimp77 · 05/13/2011, 01:16 PM

You don't need to add them at the same time.

I bought a Yasha goby a month after I got a randalls pistol shrimp. They paired up almost immediatley.

greech · 05/13/2011, 02:02 PM

Put a shallow tupperware tub of sand in the QT and put the piece of LR in the tub on the sand. If something happens and you need to treat the fish you can remove the sand, rock and pistol and treat. The pistol can go in the DT. Just make sure you have some seeded sponges to keep up with bilogical filtration since the rock is gone.

Mike P · 05/13/2011, 02:54 PM

I put my goby in a QT first and then a week later added the shrimp. After about a few days they we're inseparable. After the quarantine, I added them both to the DT at the same time and they never came apart.

I hear though that when transferring them into the DT you should try your best to release them in as close as possible. However, either way I'm sure they'd find each other eventually. Even in a huge tank.

jeffreylesser · 05/13/2011, 04:28 PM

To clarify, my goal was a pair of gobies and I didn't want to trap an unwanted goby in my DT. My QT stage of the process was more elaborate than I usually do, though I generally keep a cycled tank running. I didn't know how long it might take to match a pair of gobies, so I set up basically a nano tank to house them. I think QT of fish/corals is always a good idea, no matter how you go about it.

Your orignal plan to QT for four weeks and then get a pistol shrimp is a fine idea. You could as one poster suggested add the shrimp in for just a few days, and then into the display. IME the shrimp/ shrimp goby pairing did not take long, though I have read of cases where it takes many months. In a small tank they will find eachother. Pairing a male/female pair of gobies is another story altogether. The good news is that as a fish that has a heavy slime coat gobies may be a little hardier than most fish. I tried four before finding my pair, and none of the fish ever exibited any signs of anything abnormal. The two that I gave away are doing fine as well.

As far as tank introduction, I followed the advice given in CORAL magazine as I posted above and it worked great. I have two islands in my tank and my fear was that after all that hard work they would burrow on th back side of the tank and I would never see them again. There is probably a good 30 pages of info on gobies and pistol shrimp in there. If you can't get it locally, you can order a copy online on their website.

Good luck!

05/13/2011, 10:18 AM	#1
joegoersch Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 327	Pistol Shrimp--Goby Quarantine Question I have a 30 gallon tank with maybe 55 lbs LR and 2 inches of sand and a 29 gallon refugium. I have a purple firefish, a pajama cardinal, a royal gramma, a few astrea snails and 2 cleaner shrimp. I have a 10 gallon quarantine tank with one piece of LR and no sand. I want to buy a pistol shrimp and goby to go with it. I don't know what to do about quarantine. Should I put the goby in quarantine for a month and then buy a pistol shrimp and then put them both in the DT ? should i buy them at the same time and skip quarantine ? I don't think the pistol shrimp would do well in quarantine without sand.. thanks for your thoughts !

05/13/2011, 10:27 AM	#2
SWaquariast Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: USA Posts: 745	It would be easier to buy them as a pair. I know your supposed to quarintien them but i didnt with mine. I had a tiger pistol and a wheelers goby. But Idk about the only two inches of sand the shrimp will burrow all day long, make sure all ur rock is sturd and touchin the glass on the bottom og the tank( because if its not when the shrimp burrows it might crush him) I had 4in sand. __________________ Mitch Current Tank Info: 20g Mixed reef aquarium.

05/13/2011, 01:09 PM	#4
joegoersch Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 327	thanks hmm...different ideas, both helpful.

05/13/2011, 02:02 PM	#6
greech Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 3,133	Put a shallow tupperware tub of sand in the QT and put the piece of LR in the tub on the sand. If something happens and you need to treat the fish you can remove the sand, rock and pistol and treat. The pistol can go in the DT. Just make sure you have some seeded sponges to keep up with bilogical filtration since the rock is gone. __________________ ~Graham Current Tank Info: Tank: 40 breeder; 20H sump w/SWC 120; Sicce 3.0 return; Vortech MP-10; Sundial T5, DIY Actinic LED (3W Cree). Livestock: Pair of Black & Whites; Midas Blenny; Firefish; Yasha/pistol; Black Leopard Wrasse; LPS and SPS

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05/13/2011, 12:37 PM	#3
jeffreylesser Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Anaheim, CA Posts: 278	I just introduced a goby pair and pistol shrimp to my display tank. I wanted to quarantine so I set up my tank with sand and a cavernous piece of live rock. I probably waited three months before adding them, more due to availability than patience I am sure.. Everything in the QT tank came from established systems and I shook out pods into the tank from my display macro. I kept them in there for a couple months until I was able to establish a pair of gobies(took 4 gobies, 2 of which were given away). If you can't do something like this I would go with a much shorter QT period, maybe 2 weeks, as the pistol shrimps diet is pretty particular and an established tank is the best. Feed frozen or live foods to them, it took some time before my gobies would accept pellets. I would get them eating pellets before going into the DT if possible. Target feeding in the DT is sometimes tough because you may not always see them. If they take pellets, you can just throw some in when you see them out of the burrow. For introduction to the tank, I had great luck. I knew where I wanted them to go. There was a good rock outcropping on the quiet side of the tank that I thought would be perfect. Before placing the pistol in, I started a burrow next to the live rock, so the shrimp would feel the incline to the rock. It worked and their burrow is exactly where I started it. To note, I was expecting the shrimp to burrow right away but it did take a few days before it did. But now they all live happily together. I think most books recommend a period together in QT in an attempt to establish a relationship between the shrimp and gobies. Then introduce the shrimp first into the tank, and follow this by the gobies. There are some nice articles in CORAL magazine issue Dec 2007/January 2008 on shrimp gobies. This was my experience. Hope that helps!

05/13/2011, 01:16 PM	#5
BigGimp77 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 318	You don't need to add them at the same time. I bought a Yasha goby a month after I got a randalls pistol shrimp. They paired up almost immediatley.

05/13/2011, 02:54 PM	#7
Mike P Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Berea, OH Posts: 96	I put my goby in a QT first and then a week later added the shrimp. After about a few days they we're inseparable. After the quarantine, I added them both to the DT at the same time and they never came apart. I hear though that when transferring them into the DT you should try your best to release them in as close as possible. However, either way I'm sure they'd find each other eventually. Even in a huge tank.

05/13/2011, 04:28 PM	#8
jeffreylesser Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Anaheim, CA Posts: 278	To clarify, my goal was a pair of gobies and I didn't want to trap an unwanted goby in my DT. My QT stage of the process was more elaborate than I usually do, though I generally keep a cycled tank running. I didn't know how long it might take to match a pair of gobies, so I set up basically a nano tank to house them. I think QT of fish/corals is always a good idea, no matter how you go about it. Your orignal plan to QT for four weeks and then get a pistol shrimp is a fine idea. You could as one poster suggested add the shrimp in for just a few days, and then into the display. IME the shrimp/ shrimp goby pairing did not take long, though I have read of cases where it takes many months. In a small tank they will find eachother. Pairing a male/female pair of gobies is another story altogether. The good news is that as a fish that has a heavy slime coat gobies may be a little hardier than most fish. I tried four before finding my pair, and none of the fish ever exibited any signs of anything abnormal. The two that I gave away are doing fine as well. As far as tank introduction, I followed the advice given in CORAL magazine as I posted above and it worked great. I have two islands in my tank and my fear was that after all that hard work they would burrow on th back side of the tank and I would never see them again. There is probably a good 30 pages of info on gobies and pistol shrimp in there. If you can't get it locally, you can order a copy online on their website. Good luck!