pistol problem

[kracker]

I was just doing a little night viewing on my tank and finally saw my pistol shrimp for the first time since I got him.He was mowing through my xenia!I did not know know they would do this.The xenia was on the sand bed next to the hole he made.Could this be why he was snapping the xenia's off?I moved them off the sand bed.Also are pistols always so shy?

 

[dinogeorge]

My guess is that he was removing it from his hole. Anything near his entrance is a place where predators could hide and ambush him. So he was just doing a little housekeeping.
If he is by himself, he’ll be very shy. But if you add a Goby that will live with him, then he’ll come out a bit more often because he’ll have the Goby keeping an eye out for danger. That is the benefit of his symbiotic relationship.
Good luck man.

 

[kracker]

What are they doing when they "snap"?Everytime I hear it I run to the tank cause I'm scared it killing something.

 

[perfectdark]

Its their way of catching prey, unless you have small really small inhabitants that venture too close to him its prob just snapping at an amphiopod or small invert. But the notable snap is where they got their name from, they pull their claw back like the hammer of a gun then snap it shut, the concussion of the action stuns their prey allowing them to capture it.