Runaway Yasha goby?

[Acanthurus1517]

Hello all,
About a week and 3 days ago I added a Yasha goby along with a red-banded pistol shrimp to my reef tank. I left them in a breeder box during the day to get them acquainted with each other without interference from the other fish, and put them into the tank fully when the lights went out. I see the goby briefly the following morning and didn’t see him again after that, nor the shrimp. Over a week has now passed and still no sign of the goby or shrimp. That said, I am aware there’s a possibility that they could just be hiding somewhere out of sight and although I don’t have a recording to prove it, I SWEAR every so often I hear a few clicks like those from a pistol shrimp, but of course I never see the shrimp make them. Are both of them still hidden or did I blow $105 on a now dead fish and shrimp?

 

[Reefing addict Clay]

What other inhabitants do you have? Anything that if the goby died would pick at and eat it over course of the day? I know I had a bunch of hermits in my old tank and they almost ate half of a anthias before I found it

 

[Acanthurus1517]

What other inhabitants do you have? Anything that if the goby died would pick at and eat it over course of the day? I know I had a bunch of hermits in my old tank and they almost ate half of a anthias before I found it

I do have a decent CUC that could’ve probably done something like that: hermit crabs, nassarius snails, and a serpent star although the star doesn’t look like it just ate a fish and/or shrimp. As for my other fish, one of them is a melanurus wrasse but if he went after the shrimp that wouldn’t explain the clicking noises I’m hearing. But if the goby really did die, I think I would point to the nassarius snails as the “cleanup culprits” since they’ve done a good job of cleaning up the remains of dead fish in my tank in the past

 

[Bear22]

The first Yasha I ever kept I didn't see for over a month. I wrote him off as a casualty along the way. And then one morning while slurping coffee there he was -and interestingly enough he became a pretty active fish that I would see on a daily basis. Don't give up hope just yet.

 

[MC Blowfish]

It's possible it died. But it could just be hiding. I've seen fish hide for weeks before coming out more often.

 

[Justfebreezeit]

Very possible he's just hiding.

Until they get used to the tank they are very careful

 

[Chessmanmark]

The clicks are the tell tale sign.

It’s normal for them to go underground in the hardest area to observe in your tank.

You are lucky if they burrow in the front, however more often than not they burrow in the back.

It’s frustrating at first, especially considering the cost, but be patient. They are most likely fine and will emerge, more likely later than sooner.

Good luck.