Psycho Pistol Shrimp?

sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
I know that pistol shrimp are supposed to be safe and are not known to shoot or harm tankmates but I can't help but think I have a psycho one who has killed several fish. A few months ago I had a "killer tank" in which I couldn't seem to keep any fish alive. Even though water parameters were good, fish kept dying. It was only a 12 gallon so I would only have one fish at a time but when it died I would try another, and another, etc. All my crabs, snails and shrimp were fine -- it's just fish that kept dying, and fast!
I never did find out why everything kept dying in there and then I got distracted with my new tank so didn't think about it much anymore. Now I have lost three fish in the past week in my 46 gallon bowfront which just happens to be the tank where I moved the pistol shrimp to! I woke up to find BOTH of my fire gobies dead on the same day.... in the same spot. No visible signs of injury or illness. They were fine and eating the day before, but in the morning they were dead. Two days later, my watchman goby was dead.
Is it just coincidence that whatever tank my tiger pistol shrimp in seems to have "rotten luck"? I really can't find any evidence of a pistol shrimp going on such a killing spree but it sure seems like he's the culprit! He is now in the 46 gallon with nothing but my two seahorses and I am scared to death they may be next. I can't get the shrimp out without completely tearing apart the entire tank and I may just do that this weekend - I certainly don't want to put anything else in there until I know.
Anyone ever heard of such a thing?
 
fenrir

fenrir

Member
What type of Pistol Shrimp is it? I know some can be agressive, but I think it is a coincidence that your pistol just happened to be in the same tank.
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
It's a tiger pistol shrimp. He molted last week which makes me wonder if he's that much MORE cautious and sensitive to intruders and maybe is firing at anything that moves?
 
L

lsu

Guest
My buddy had a similar problem. I loaned him my snowflake eel and the pistol was gone over night. Just a thought if you don't want to tear down your tank.(just move the horses out first)
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Wow - it's so good to hear of someone who had a similar problem - I can't seem to find much evidence that pistol shrimps can go on a killing rampage..... at least this gives my theory some validation because I can't imagine why else three fish have died in this tank and I never did figure out why several died in the other tank.
The eel idea is actually not a bad one -- I could then put the eel in my aggressive tank to live. I worry about moving the seahorses into a strange environment, though .... they are such sensitive creatures I am afraid of doing anything to stress them. Definitely food for thought because I've had a trap set up for the shrimp for 24 hours now and he isn't biting.
Sue
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
I just remembered that I took a couple of pix of my dead goby's back end before I flushed him because I thought this area was suspicious. Could this be an injury from the pistol shrimp? If so, then I might have some evidence that will indicate why I've lost so many fish mysteriously. It hardly seems like enough of an injury to have killed him but maybe the blow is so forceful that it does kill them?

 
rotarymagic

rotarymagic

Active Member
I'd get the tiger pistol shrimp out and trade him in for a candy stripe...
and get you a new goby to go with it. Candy stripes don't get big enough to do anything.
 
paintballer768

paintballer768

Active Member
The goby tail wounds can be from one of two things IMO: either an impact wound or a bacterial infection. How long have you had that specimen? I believe bacterial infections to take some bit of time to develop, and if this fish came in during the rapid killings, I would suspect impact wound.
 
lkgrenegade22

lkgrenegade22

Member
I would question a bacterial infection but with the details Sue provided I'm willing to bet that is an impact wound. You can see the pinpoint discoloration (bruising) in the dead center of that area. You can also see the different depths of bruising with the small purple center, whitish circel around that and blood filled capillaries on the outmost edge. Looks like the goby backed into the hole the shrimp was in and BANG...Pistols are much more prone to over protecting themselves right after they molt.
I know the pistols can be deadly but it just surprises me that a shot to the tail region kills the fish so effectively.
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
I really think the goby was shot. I had only had him for about 2-3 weeks and he seemed fine, and then I tore apart my 12 gallon, caught the shrimp, and added him to the 46 gallon so he and the goby could "find each other". They did within the first few hours and SEEMED to be living happily together, but then all of a sudden the poor goby was out in the open all the time. I kiddingly told my husband I thought the goby and the shrimp had had a fight because and the goby got thrown out to sleep in the doghouse. Then I found the molted shell of the pistol shrimp, and then the goby was looking kind of strange.... comatose. Two days later he was dead. I'm thinking the goby was shot more than once in a few days' time but the final one did him in.
I've got a trap in the tank hoping to catch the shrimp but something tells me I will be tearing the tank apart this weekend. the only thing in that tank now are my two seahorses and they are probably safe (since they don't go into burrows) but I really don't want to take the chance. The shrimp needs to find a new home, like at my LFS!
Thanks for the input - I thought that red spot in the center of the wound was pretty indicative of a shooting, too.
D@mn that shrimp - I feel so bad for all the gobies I've lost "mysteriously".
Sue
 
lkgrenegade22

lkgrenegade22

Member
It's not just you. I wanted a pistol for one of my shrimp gobys. I had called around, found one and even put him on hold. I figured I should read up on them one more time before I went to get him (especially since I have already made some stocking mistakes) and I found more than 1 story like yours so I decided he just wasn't worth the risk.
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Thanks for the confirmation that it IS possible that this pistol shrimp is more than likely the cause of a few of my puzzling deaths. Having found BOTH of my firegobies dead, the same day, in the same part of the tank, really made me suspicious. They had been perfectly healthy for months and then one morning - gone. They apparently tried to wander into one the burrow where the shrimp was hanging out and paid for that mistake with their lives. Live and learn, but I hate that I learned at the expense of several fish.
Sue
 
fenrir

fenrir

Member
I have a mated par of tigers in my 3 gallon. They are pretty peacful unless my hermits or emerald goes near one of there holes. Then it's like firecrackers going off in my living room.
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
OK, officially scratching "pistol shrimp" off my list of cool things I want to experience in my salt water tanks. This was a bad experience.

Sue
 
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