Wamland
Community Member
Penn (The Pistol shrimp)
Teller (The Wathcman Goby)
My tank is turning 3 months old and I never thought watching a relationship would bring me so much joy and loss
I started with a live sand bed and some dragon stone rock. Coming from a freshwater world that’s what I had laying about. I barely scaped a thing and added some other live rock from my LFS for seeding.
After getting my initial cycle down I decided to add a few fish. A couple clowns and then I read about the symbiotic relationship between the pistol shrimp and a goby. I thought it was truly cool and headed out to the store where they told me it was a 50/50 chance they’d get along or someone would become dinner.
I brought them home and put them in a bucket together to get acquainted and acclimate.
They became fast friends and Penn set to work. And he worked. Night and day. Pushing sand up and down. All over the place, Teller of course right there within antennas reach. Watching them was fascinating. It was like a dance. A ballet. A salsa at times but always moving. I’d wake up and it was a whole new tank every day.
Over time they got into a routine and caves were dug and then filled in and then re dug again.
They eventually settled into a spot under some pulsing zinias that kept predators at bay and served as a great alarm system.
When food dropped down Teller would pop out and Penn, feeling his friend gone knew something was up and they tag teamed some dinner. Quickly hushing back under the rocks whenever a clown got too close.
I knew I wanted to upgrade my rock before the tank got too far along but felt incredibly bad for disturbing all the work Penn had done. Yet I knew Penn loved to push sand and always looked for a challenge. So I was okay with giving him one
This was going to be a monster job and I knew Penn was up for the task.
I gave Penn a project and we worked hand and claw on the new build. I found just the structure I wanted and I knew he could make it a home.
worked again night and day building a place for his friend and it turns out they liked It
Over then next month or so a lot of change came to their neighborhood. New fish, new coral new inverts new plants. Some stuck around. Some didn’t. This tank has always been my test kitchen to see if I wanna go big and what would be involved. I never figured I’d partner with a Shrimp on this adventure but here we were.
The dirty phase settled in and the brown algae, then the green algae and Penn and Teller would disappear for a couple days but they would always return popping out of their newly built basement apartment for food or just to see what the heck I was adding or taking away.
Last week in the midst of a cyano bloom I notice Teller coming out from their apartment and coming up to the front of the glass and staring at me. This was just something he doesn’t do. I couldn’t figure it out. What does he want?
I wa used to not seeing Penn for a few days so wasn’t concerned.
Then I woke Tuesday morning and Penn was out in the middle of the tank laying down. Teller wasn’t around. They are never apart. What’s going on? Within an hour or so Penn was on his side and his legs are twitching. I have no idea what’s going on.
I decide to give him the night to see if anything changes. The next day Penn is in the same spot and I decide I need to get him out. My hospital tank has copper and I knew he couldn’t go in there. I pull out a bucket and get it ready with water, heater and an air stone. I pull Penn out and put him in the bucket and hope for the best.
2 hours later I go back down and Penn isn’t moving. I know he’s gone. I figure he got into some algae or a nudibranch or something.
I’m a 56 year old man who was in the military. I have 5 kids and have lost pets, many friends as well as an exe wife. Here I was, sobbing over a shrimp. Maybe it’s the time we’re in when connection with any other living thing feels so distant some times. Maybe it’s just that I felt like I had a partner on this adventure. Most of all I feel sad for his friend who doesn’t know what happened. He’s going to now know that he’s just gone.
Today I know he misses him too as he can just simply swim out and sit on a perch looking out the glass waiting for his friend who I think we both now know will not be coming back.
So Thank You Penn the pistol. I’ve seen where some have said you build tanks around certain inhabitants. Anemones and such. Our tank… Penn and mine was built around him. He made it as much as I did and I will always thank him for that.
I know Teller does too.
Teller (The Wathcman Goby)
My tank is turning 3 months old and I never thought watching a relationship would bring me so much joy and loss
I started with a live sand bed and some dragon stone rock. Coming from a freshwater world that’s what I had laying about. I barely scaped a thing and added some other live rock from my LFS for seeding.
After getting my initial cycle down I decided to add a few fish. A couple clowns and then I read about the symbiotic relationship between the pistol shrimp and a goby. I thought it was truly cool and headed out to the store where they told me it was a 50/50 chance they’d get along or someone would become dinner.
I brought them home and put them in a bucket together to get acquainted and acclimate.
They became fast friends and Penn set to work. And he worked. Night and day. Pushing sand up and down. All over the place, Teller of course right there within antennas reach. Watching them was fascinating. It was like a dance. A ballet. A salsa at times but always moving. I’d wake up and it was a whole new tank every day.
Over time they got into a routine and caves were dug and then filled in and then re dug again.
They eventually settled into a spot under some pulsing zinias that kept predators at bay and served as a great alarm system.
When food dropped down Teller would pop out and Penn, feeling his friend gone knew something was up and they tag teamed some dinner. Quickly hushing back under the rocks whenever a clown got too close.
I knew I wanted to upgrade my rock before the tank got too far along but felt incredibly bad for disturbing all the work Penn had done. Yet I knew Penn loved to push sand and always looked for a challenge. So I was okay with giving him one
This was going to be a monster job and I knew Penn was up for the task.
I gave Penn a project and we worked hand and claw on the new build. I found just the structure I wanted and I knew he could make it a home.
worked again night and day building a place for his friend and it turns out they liked It
Over then next month or so a lot of change came to their neighborhood. New fish, new coral new inverts new plants. Some stuck around. Some didn’t. This tank has always been my test kitchen to see if I wanna go big and what would be involved. I never figured I’d partner with a Shrimp on this adventure but here we were.
The dirty phase settled in and the brown algae, then the green algae and Penn and Teller would disappear for a couple days but they would always return popping out of their newly built basement apartment for food or just to see what the heck I was adding or taking away.
Last week in the midst of a cyano bloom I notice Teller coming out from their apartment and coming up to the front of the glass and staring at me. This was just something he doesn’t do. I couldn’t figure it out. What does he want?
I wa used to not seeing Penn for a few days so wasn’t concerned.
Then I woke Tuesday morning and Penn was out in the middle of the tank laying down. Teller wasn’t around. They are never apart. What’s going on? Within an hour or so Penn was on his side and his legs are twitching. I have no idea what’s going on.
I decide to give him the night to see if anything changes. The next day Penn is in the same spot and I decide I need to get him out. My hospital tank has copper and I knew he couldn’t go in there. I pull out a bucket and get it ready with water, heater and an air stone. I pull Penn out and put him in the bucket and hope for the best.
2 hours later I go back down and Penn isn’t moving. I know he’s gone. I figure he got into some algae or a nudibranch or something.
I’m a 56 year old man who was in the military. I have 5 kids and have lost pets, many friends as well as an exe wife. Here I was, sobbing over a shrimp. Maybe it’s the time we’re in when connection with any other living thing feels so distant some times. Maybe it’s just that I felt like I had a partner on this adventure. Most of all I feel sad for his friend who doesn’t know what happened. He’s going to now know that he’s just gone.
Today I know he misses him too as he can just simply swim out and sit on a perch looking out the glass waiting for his friend who I think we both now know will not be coming back.
So Thank You Penn the pistol. I’ve seen where some have said you build tanks around certain inhabitants. Anemones and such. Our tank… Penn and mine was built around him. He made it as much as I did and I will always thank him for that.
I know Teller does too.
