Goby and Pistol Disappeared - Under the Substrate?

[NHDude47]

Looking for an opinion from experienced reefers. I have a Wheelers Goby and Candy Pistol. They paired up and the shrimp started burrowing. Goby stood by the top of the burrow for about a week as the shrimp did its thing. Goby never tried entering the burrow (the shrimp is TINY — about 1cm long — and the burrow opening is also tiny). Goby would stick to the corner of the tank near the burrow and was always easy to find.

This weekend I added two Firefish and a Royal Gramma to the 40gal tank. They've been peaceful (the gramma has been in hiding and the Firefish are swimming around but docile) and the Goby was still in his usual corner for 24 hours or so. He seemed to be staying a little less out in the open, but wasn't otherwise acting odd. As of Monday evening I can't find the Goby, and the mouth of the shrimp's burrow has caved in (due to normal CUC activity) and the shrimp hasn't cleared it. I haven't seen the Goby in over 48 hours which is unusual and there aren't many places to hide for a prolonged time. This morning a naussarius snail was half-burrowed right where the mouth of the shrimp burrow used to be.

My question is this... Is there any reason the Goby would squeeze into the tiny shrimp burrow and remain there for days, including with the burrow opening getting covered over? I'm concerned he jumped out of the thin gap in my lid, or he went into the burrow and ran out of oxygenated water or something. Anyone have experience with something similar? Seems weird that they'd be in the burrow and let it get completely caved in.

 

[ReefEco]

Welcome to Reef2Reef! Time will tell on where your critters are - though the caved in burrow and Nassarius is suspect. It's not outside of the realm of possibility that the shrimp became a meal for something (Gramma...) if it was in fact that small. Or, they just moved the burrow and you haven't seen it yet? Maybe take a flashlight to the tank after the lights have been off for a few hours and see if anything reveals itself...

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Do you hear any clicking? That will let you know if the pistol is alive.

When you release them, they will immediately just dig under the first rock they see, but later on will usually move their cave somewhere else. Firefish also live under rocks, so adding them might have prompted the goby/shrimp to move somewhere else. Hopefully you'll see them pop up somewhere else soon.

 

[NHDude47]

Welcome to Reef2Reef! Time will tell on where your critters are - though the caved in burrow and Nassarius is suspect. It's not outside of the realm of possibility that the shrimp became a meal for something (Gramma...) if it was in fact that small. Or, they just moved the burrow and you haven't seen it yet? Maybe take a flashlight to the tank after the lights have been off for a few hours and see if anything reveals itself...

Thanks for the input. My guess is that the shrimp wasn't eaten. The gramma is the only thing big enough and it has been in hiding full time until yesterday. My flametail blenny tried eating it and failed when I first added it to the tank. Now that you mention it, the Nassarius could be concerning in that location because it could signal that one of them is dead under the sand there, right?

 

[ReefLife_Guy]

Don't worry too much! I have a shrimp and goby pair who made a burrow and the shrimp buried themselves in there the day that I got them. I didn't see them for the next 24 hours and after some similar concern I dug out the burrow a little and watched, and the shrimp buried himself again. A couple of days later I saw the goby peak his head out too. Typical behavior in this symbiotic relationship is for the shrimp to make a burrow for the both of them and maintain this burrow by opening the entrance each morning and closing the entrance at night. Not all pairs are exactly like this but from what I have read and experienced myself this is typical behavior. You may not see them for several days if they are afraid of the new inhabitants. Below is video I caught of my two on the first day of putting them into my tank.

 

[ReefEco]

Very cool video ReefLife! I'd just wait it out - let them adjust in their own time. And if they died or became lunch, there's nothing you can do about it anyway. I'd avoid trying or dig or uncover the burrow to investigate, which will only disturb them more...

 

[ReefLife_Guy]

Very cool video ReefLife! I'd just wait it out - let them adjust in their own time. And if they died or became lunch, there's nothing you can do about it anyway. I'd avoid trying or dig or uncover the burrow to investigate, which will only disturb them more...

Thanks! And yes I agree! I should have put the disclaimer that I would not recommend doing what I did to uncover them, I did that before I knew this was typical behavior for them. I think this will do more harm than good and just stress them out. You could try feed something meaty like frozen mysis and see if that lures them out, mine always open their entrance when they smell food.

 

[M3rmaids]

Thanks! And yes I agree! I should have put the disclaimer that I would not recommend doing what I did to uncover them, I did that before I knew this was typical behavior for them. I think this will do more harm than good and just stress them out. You could try feed something meaty like frozen mysis and see if that lures them out, mine always open their entrance when they smell food.

Hey did they ever come out?

 

[ReefLife_Guy]

Hey did they ever come out?

Slowly but surely! My YWG is becoming more and more confident and will hangout at the entrance to his burrow. I’m the past two weeks he has started to venture out of his cave to capture food. The YWG must be bringing the shrimp adequate amounts of food because I have not seen that guy in probably a month. I know he’s still in there because I can hear him snapping away.

 

[homer1475]

If it makes you feel any better, hadn't seen my pair, or heard the shrimp snapping in months! Figured they had died under the rock somewhere.

Low and behold, they were both out yesterday. Goby was looking for food, and I heard the shrimp snapping this morning.