Sw33tdave
Community Member
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2025
- Messages
- 42
- Reaction score
- 13
- Location
- Ridgway
- What state or country do you live in
- Colorado
One of the main reasons I got into the saltwater reefing game was because of an infatuation with the symbiotic relationships I could observe right in my home. I was most intrigued by the pistol shrimp goby combo. I was enchanted by the seemingly impossible pairing of these twodifferent creatures.
Upon setting up my 15-gallon Hello Reef nano one of the first additions I made was a skunk cleaner shrimp. A utilitarian addition I grew to really enjoy. He was a character to watch, filled with personality and dare I suggest... charm.
Shortly after the addition of my CUC I went back to the LFS and grabbed my watchman goby and tiger pistol shrimp. I was assured by both the store owner and the internet that these two fish were quite safe and didn't require large tanks due to an affinity for the sand life and personally curated caves. One dead hermit, a dead fire fish, and a dead, beloved, skunk shrimp later, the tiger shrimp is heading back to the LFS. To rub literal salt on the wound, my goby never liked my tiger and did not pair.
Of course, after my fish started to die I began obsessively checking my parameters. There must be some measurable problem that was the answer for these mysterious deaths, but everything kept coming up clean. I then began researching the possibility my tiger could be harming my livestock. What I learned was that this is not an isolated event and was actually likely in a nano tank. Many people have had this experience, and tiger shrimp are in fact quite territorial and a nano tank can really bring out the predatory feline in them. I also learned that this school of thinking is quite controversial with many reefers having wonderful experiences with very docile tigers and being quite vocal about it, all the while other folks are claiming tigers are the anti-fish sent from hell to lay fire and brimstone to their tanks. Unfortunately, my experience was more akin to the latter.
I write this because the comments on the R2R forum appear to be quite binary. Reefers raising the pistol shrimp flag high, claiming no pistol shrimp has ever killed anything in a tank ever, and then the opposition saying they are completely non-reef safe and best left inside a Jurrasic World style paddock. I think there are reef safe tigers out there, and I think there are others that have much less kind dispositions and no patience for pestering skunk shrimp. As nano reefers I think you should be aware you really don't know what you are getting until it is in the tank with your stock and interacting. Just be aware a tiger shrimp in a nano tank can be a roll of the dice.
Ultimately I do think I will try again with a candy cane pistol. I would love some comments on this decision or should I just hang up the towel and accept that my tank is too small for even the smallest of pistols and wait until I upgrade to my 40g?
Upon setting up my 15-gallon Hello Reef nano one of the first additions I made was a skunk cleaner shrimp. A utilitarian addition I grew to really enjoy. He was a character to watch, filled with personality and dare I suggest... charm.
Shortly after the addition of my CUC I went back to the LFS and grabbed my watchman goby and tiger pistol shrimp. I was assured by both the store owner and the internet that these two fish were quite safe and didn't require large tanks due to an affinity for the sand life and personally curated caves. One dead hermit, a dead fire fish, and a dead, beloved, skunk shrimp later, the tiger shrimp is heading back to the LFS. To rub literal salt on the wound, my goby never liked my tiger and did not pair.
Of course, after my fish started to die I began obsessively checking my parameters. There must be some measurable problem that was the answer for these mysterious deaths, but everything kept coming up clean. I then began researching the possibility my tiger could be harming my livestock. What I learned was that this is not an isolated event and was actually likely in a nano tank. Many people have had this experience, and tiger shrimp are in fact quite territorial and a nano tank can really bring out the predatory feline in them. I also learned that this school of thinking is quite controversial with many reefers having wonderful experiences with very docile tigers and being quite vocal about it, all the while other folks are claiming tigers are the anti-fish sent from hell to lay fire and brimstone to their tanks. Unfortunately, my experience was more akin to the latter.
I write this because the comments on the R2R forum appear to be quite binary. Reefers raising the pistol shrimp flag high, claiming no pistol shrimp has ever killed anything in a tank ever, and then the opposition saying they are completely non-reef safe and best left inside a Jurrasic World style paddock. I think there are reef safe tigers out there, and I think there are others that have much less kind dispositions and no patience for pestering skunk shrimp. As nano reefers I think you should be aware you really don't know what you are getting until it is in the tank with your stock and interacting. Just be aware a tiger shrimp in a nano tank can be a roll of the dice.
Ultimately I do think I will try again with a candy cane pistol. I would love some comments on this decision or should I just hang up the towel and accept that my tank is too small for even the smallest of pistols and wait until I upgrade to my 40g?
