Watchman-Pseudochromis Conflict?

[yacobito]

I have had a Wheeler's Watchman Goby paired with a Tiger Pistol Shrimp for over a year now. They have always been a fantastic pair to watch work and over the year are now brave enough to venture all over the tank in plain view (not just in their tunnels anymore). Recently I added a Purple Pseudochromis to the tank and at first all was normal. Now, three weeks in, the Goby-Shrimp team no loger comes out of the tunnels besides when it is feeding time. I have never observed the Pseudo chase the Watchmen, but was wondering if that could be the reason why they stay inside? Anyone ever have a problem like this? I checked all my water parameters and nothing is abnormal and nothing else has been added. Any thoughts? :thinking:

 

[hagfish]

Purple psuedo's can be very mean. Especially to fish with a similar body shape. And most gobies do have a similar body shape. Although since you added the psuedo after the goby I think it will probably be fine given time. Especially if you don't actually see them fighting.

 

[yacobito]

I am starting to wonder if the pistol shrimp was molting in his tunnels. The watchman never leaves his side (only to gather food for them), so maybe they just are hanging out for a while until his new layer is nice and hard. Every shrimp I own molts fairly often, but I have never seen the pistol do so. :thinking: I will keep an eye on them and see if I can catch the psuedo picking on them. Maybe you are right and things will just eventually go back to normal after a while.

 

[orangespot]

They are very aggressive. Mine thankfully died after several years of terrorizing everything in my tank. I believe it is harassing your shrimp and goby

 

[hagfish]

I agree they are aggressive. But IME they don't bully fish that have established territories much. If you don't see the goby being chased (and you know he's still alive and healthy) then I'd say he's fine.

 

[yacobito]

Oh boy, I have seen it first hand now. The Psuedo is for sure the problem. I saw him swoop down at him twice right before lights out last night. Now I don't know what to do. If I can catch him, I might take him back to the LFS I guess. The pistol/watchmen combo are one of my favorite things in my tank and would rather have them happy.

 

[hagfish]

He will be very hard to catch so you might have to remove a lot of rock or trick him some way. If you can catch him you might want to try the fridmani psuedo. They look similar but aren't nearly as aggresive. The are a little more expensive though. It's a shame because I think the purple psuedo is one of the best looking fish there is.