Removing Pistol Shrimp

[joerome]

I have a pistol shrimp pair up with my watchman Goby. I want to get rid of my pistol shrimp because it moves too much sand in my tank.

Any suggestions?

If i remove my watchman goby first, would it be easier to remove the pistol shrimp?

Thanks in advance.

 

[mta_morrow]

Hello and welcome to R2R!

#welcometoR2R

How long have you had the pistol shrimp in your tank and what kind is it?

Is it small and red and white?

Or brownish?

How long have you had it?

I’m asking because some will flat out wreck a tank. And some get busy for a while then calm down.

 

[ccombs]

Welcome to R2R!

These guys can be hard to catch, sorry you don't like him in the tank.

Someone here will have a good answer on how to get the shrimp out.

 

[SuncrestReef]

If you remove the goby, the shrimp will likely stay hidden under the rock indefinitely. They only feel safe to come out with the goby keeping an eye out (hence the "watchman" name), since the shrimp is nearly blind. When my goby died, I didn't see the shrimp for months until I got a new goby, now they're out and about often.

 

[joerome]

I have the tiger pistol shrimp. Brown and white strips.

I don't mind if the shrimp is hiding as long as they don't create a sand storm and bury my corals.

 

[mta_morrow]

I have the tiger pistol shrimp. Brown and white strips.

I don't mind if the shrimp is hiding as long as they don't create a sand storm and bury my corals.

I removed my tiger in my prior tank. I hear ya.

I actually had to remove all the rock. Not fun.

I have a candy cane in my current tank with a pair of wheeler gobies and much nicer for sure!

You can also do a search here on bottle traps. That may work as well.

 

[joerome]

I am trying the bottle trap as we speak. But was wondering if I should remove the watchman first.

 

[mta_morrow]

I am trying the bottle trap as we speak. But was wondering if I should remove the watchman first.

I would leave him in as the shrimp may not feel safe coming out without his buddy present!

 

[joerome]

Right. But if I don't want to create a sandstorm and have corals bury. Would removing the watchman a good idea.

 

[saltyhog]

Yeah, I will never have a Tiger again. Too big and to disruptive. A. randalli (candy cane pistol shrimp) has never caused a problem in my tank.

 

[kireek]

I had to do this once for my display tank. Unfortunately I had to take the whole thing apart.I still couldn't find the shrimp until I started putting it all back together.Turns out he was wedged inside one of a rocks. So hopefully the bottle trap or some nice looking crevices will do the trick.Best of luck!

 

[Oldsalt]

They will wedge themselves into a notch, recess or hole in rock, making them so easy to miss with the rock out of the water. Get a clean plastic garbage pail that you can carry when half full of tank water. Then you need to be meticulously thorough by searching (doing it outside makes it easier). The sunlight helps in 2 ways - 1) You can see better (wear high contrast yellow tinted sunglasses if you have any). 2) As you rotate the rocks the shrimp (and crabs) will try to move out of the bright light. That movemen makes detection much easier. Another pair of eyes always helps. I highly recommend that you wear gloves. Not so much for the shrimp but for other critters that can sting plus to reduce the risk of cuts. I learned the hard way with bleeding like mad without realising that I've even been cut. There are stories of nasty infections too.

With traps (read below), I've had fairly good success catching pistols and mantis from my and friends tanks. Mantis seem more likely to enter the trap but they are smart enough to escape. One time a mantis actually busted open the side of my plastic trap by punching a hole in it.

For pistols/mantis, a plastic soda bottle with its top cut off then placed inwards gave only fair results. Better results came with using a plastic food container weighed down with some sand or small rocks plus the bait inside. Cut an "X" (about 4" x 4") on the lid with a sharp Stanley knife then bend the 4 triangular tabs downward just enough for the shrimp plus its pistol/club to get in. Getting out will be much harder. Pistol shrimp have poor vision. They usually rely on buddies (watchman Gobie) for the all clear before venturing out. If you have a watchman, I recommended that you leave it in the tank. It will give the pistol shrimp a better sense of security during lights on. Setting the trap an hour before lights out seems to be the best way. It's your choice of bait, but an average sized shrimp or some mysis in mesh are both tempting. Mysis seem to give off a stronger scent and can attract other life not on your hit list. You can always get them out along with your problem crustacean.
I use a small blue LED flashlight to scan the trap about an hour after lights out. I let my eyes get used to the darkened room for a few minutes before scanning. It really helps with our night vision.
Good luck and post photos of your pesky mini Clint Eastwood.