'Best' pistol/goby combo?

[Reef Quest 11]

I really have aspirations for getting a bonded pair of a goby and pistol shrimp, the idea of them tunneling and posting up around the tank is so exciting.

Recently I've been trying to do a little bit of digging and some concerns have been raised. Most notably, they disappear or they bury coral frags.

I currently have a 20 gallon aio and it only holds clean up crew, some macro algae and coral. The coral is very precious to me and I dont want them to be too disruptive to it.

I guess what im really looking for is recommendations for maybe a certain breed of pistol shrimp and goby that either are tinier to minimize there disturbances to coral and also that may be a little more social?

I've also heard I should wait upwards of 6 months before introducing a pistol shrimp into the tank, is that a good rule of thumb?

Any tips/tricks/stories for people with goby/pistols who regret it or would have gone about it differently would be appreciated!

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

6 months is a good guideline, the tank needs to be somewhat mature as the shrimp will feed on algae and such in addition to whatever food it finds.

The peppermint pistol shrimp is probably the most we'll behaved, but they'll still occasionally pile sand on corals and such. They pair well with smaller gobies such as Randall's, Dracula, Aurora/Pink Bar, Yasha, and Wheeler's. Personally the Randall's Goby is my favorite.

 

[Grouch]

I really have aspirations for getting a bonded pair of a goby and pistol shrimp, the idea of them tunneling and posting up around the tank is so exciting.

Recently I've been trying to do a little bit of digging and some concerns have been raised. Most notably, they disappear or they bury coral frags.

I currently have a 20 gallon aio and it only holds clean up crew, some macro algae and coral. The coral is very precious to me and I dont want them to be too disruptive to it.

I guess what im really looking for is recommendations for maybe a certain breed of pistol shrimp and goby that either are tinier to minimize there disturbances to coral and also that may be a little more social?

I've also heard I should wait upwards of 6 months before introducing a pistol shrimp into the tank, is that a good rule of thumb?

Any tips/tricks/stories for people with goby/pistols who regret it or would have gone about it differently would be appreciated!

Hi. I currently have two goby/pistol pairs in my 75, which is a year and a half in. At one end is a Pink Bar Goby with Candy Cane Pistol, and at the other end I have a Yasha Goby with another Candy Cane. Both pairs are great and keep to themselves. The Yashy is really shy and just comes out at feeding time, but the Pink Bar is out and about more. I love watching them when the Shrimps come out to do some excavation work.

 

[13rodo]

I’ve had a Randall’s pistol shrimp (also called a candy cane, Alpheus randalli) and a Yasha goby for a while now. Bought them separately and they paired up in about a week. Both are very small and I’ve never had any issues. They started in my 15g and now they’re in my 75g. Both times they’ve made their burrow right up front. The goby is always hanging outside the entrance during the day.

The pistol shrimp is definitely going to make the sand the way it wants it. I’ve personally never had one “bury” a coral though. I’d imagine if one did, the coral was just kind of downstream of where the substrate was being flung out.

The Randall’s is really small so that’d be my recommendation. As for the goby there are lots of cool ones but I’m partial to Stonogobiops (yasha and dracula in particular).