Sand sifting Goby / peppermint shrimp

TahoeMtn · 01-21-2006, 04:13 AM

I was reading another thread and it said something vauge about Gobies eatin shrimp.

I have what the LFS called an albino watchman, I have put in 4 peppermint shrimp in hopes of getting rid of some Aptaisia No sign of the shrimp since they were put in and the Aptaisia is growing very well

Do Gobies eat shrimp??

smeese · 01-21-2006, 06:09 AM

No...if you can get a pistol shrimp they will actually pair up, and teh shrimp digs out the den while the "shrimp Goby" watches over to make sure no predators come near. One of those fun symbiotic pairs found in the ocean.

whatevva · 01-21-2006, 06:16 AM

Quote:

No...if you can get a pistol shrimp they will actually pair up, and teh shrimp digs out the den while the "shrimp Goby" watches over to make sure no predators come near. One of those fun symbiotic pairs found in the ocean.

I was watching these at the LFS, VERY Cool! WAY up on my "must have" list.

gwen_o_lyn · 01-21-2006, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whatevva

I was watching these at the LFS, VERY Cool! WAY up on my "must have" list.

I truly believe my tiger sleeper goby which is a sand sifter was eating my cleaner shrimp.... I had 4-5 cleaner shrimp go missing while he was in the tank. I would buy the shrimp one at a time, and within a week they would be gone. Six months after the goby died, I tried some peppermint shrimp and they are doing fine....I've had the pepperments for 3 months now.

JennM · 01-21-2006, 09:21 AM

Large goby + small shrimp = menu item.

If the shrimp is larger and there first, and the goby is small it's usually not a concern. Watchman gobies are more likely to eat smaller ornamental shrimp but not all gobies are a risk for this.

Look at the goby's mouth - if it looks big enough to eat the shrimp then that's probably your culprit.

Having said that, peppermint shrimp often hide - they could just be keeping a low profile.

I have a fire shrimp in my 120 that I see about once a month... he's just really shy.

Sleeper gobies, engineer gobies and watchman gobies can and will eat smaller shrimp, but most other gobies will leave them alone.

HTH

Jenn