Will I ever see my goby and pistol shrimp?

[sueandherzoo]

I picked up my paired tiger pistol shrimp and yellow watchman goby yesterday and after acclimating them I placed them in the tank. Of course they automatically went to the nearest hiding spots which I expected but this morning when I woke up and peeked I see that the shrimp is very busy digging and relocating sand. I expected this, too, but unfortunately all the tunnels and caves he's dug are in places I'll never be able to see them. After they get used to their new environment will they at least come out for feedings and occasional viewings or should I accept that I will probably never see them? I want them to be happy with their habitat but if there's something I can do to lure them out once in a while that would be great.
Sue

 

[nycbob]

the yellow watchman will come out once it gets acclimated. the pistol on the hand, wont come out except when the light is out.

 

[rebelprettyboy]

Dont you have a 12 gal tank? If so u might can see it more often than someone with a 90 gal tank would see it.
Im gettin one for my 5 gal nano

 

[keebler]

Originally Posted by nycbob
http:///forum/post/2772372
the yellow watchman will come out once it gets acclimated. the pistol on the hand, wont come out except when the light is out.
After a while, mine started coming out when it was feeding time. I got lucky and he is in a rock right up front. However my goby and shrimp aren't paired, so...Gobies do fine in smaller tanks, but I think the shrimp need a larger tank to live.

 

[sueandherzoo]

That's a good point - since they are in a 12-gallon tank they can run but they can't hide in TOO many places. The tiger shrimp is really gorgeous - glad I got some photos of him while I was acclimating them since I may never see him that clearly again.
Hopefully the shrimp will be ok in a 12-gallon for a few more months. I'm going to get a bigger tank as soon as I'm done figuring out what I want, how big, what kind of set up, etc. Still learning and researching..... hope to do the next tank in a way that I won't have any regrets. (yeah, right). If this hobby is anything like ponding, there are ALWAYS things you want to do more of and better and bigger.

Sue

 

[robertmathern]

I know its off subject here but thats a cool litlle turtle in your hand. I used to have a turtle in a pond for about a week. Forgot about the sprinklers outside so my little pond fell up and he ran away. I will miss him he was so cool.

 

[sueandherzoo]

Originally Posted by robertmathern
http:///forum/post/2772444
I know its off subject here but thats a cool litlle turtle in your hand. I used to have a turtle in a pond for about a week. Forgot about the sprinklers outside so my little pond fell up and he ran away. I will miss him he was so cool.
They are cool little creatures but it's not hard to see why there are fewer and fewer turtles in this world - they are as dumb as a rock.

I was presented with 22 of those hatchlings in the hopes I could get them to survive until they were big and strong enough to be put outside - they hatched way too late in the year and would have never survived their first winter outdoors. Glad to report they all made it.

Sue

 

[robertmathern]

Thats good to hear. And yeah they are dumb as a rock alright.

 

[keebler]

Anyone ever seen a turtle lay eggs? It's pretty cool to watch. Unfortunately when I saw it, a little while after a snake ate them.

 

[sueandherzoo]

One of my box turtles laid eggs this past Fourth of July weekend. I watched as she carefully and diligently dug a deep hole, laid four eggs, and THEN ever so carefully put the dirt back and covered the eggs. The whole process took her a little over four hours and I was amazed and teary-eyed at the care and hard work she put into it. When she was finally done and had left them behind (they lay them and never see them again) I went out about midnight and carefully dug them up and brought them inside and placed them in an incubator. Left outside the majority of eggs become predator food and the few who do survive long enough to hatch have a really low survival rate. On Labor Day weekend all four hatched in the incubator.

Note the egg sac still connected to the underside of the turtle in the second photo. That is what they feed from while in the egg and for about a week or so after hatching. Amazing.

 

[keebler]

Wow, that's awesome. I wish I had the resources to save the turts I was talking about. That's really cool thanks for sharing.

 

[robertmathern]

Sorry I did not mean to take your thread off subject but I just thought it was cool nice pics

 

[sueandherzoo]

As you know I picked up a paired goby and shrimp at 6:00 p.m. Saturday. Today I came home for lunch to find the goby dead. I can't imagine what could have killed him in less than 48 hours! I just did a water check:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: .05
Nitrate: 20
PH: 8.0
Alk: "normal"
Salinity: 1.023
Temp: 75 degrees
Do you see anything there that could KILL a fish that quickly????? I'm at a loss (literally) and don't know what to fix if I don't know what's broken. This is so sad. I feel like such a failure, and a murderer!

 

[kingsmith]

Sorry to hear about that Sue I was thinking about getting one of those watchmen myself did you get it at all pets?

 

[mch2o]

you know it could have been the fish it self. did u call where u got it from and tell them that it died less than 48 hrs ago in your tank. if it is your lfs maybe take them a sample of your water too. Just incase they think its your tank.

 

[sueandherzoo]

Thanks all. I did drop an e-mail to the guy I bought him from and when I got home there was a message for me to call him. Haven't had a chance to do that yet but will soon.
I use RO water, not RO/DI. Is THAT enough to kill a fish? Are there other test kits I should buy besides the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, alkalinity?
Sue

 

[keebler]

Originally Posted by SueAndHerZoo
http:///forum/post/2774435
Thanks all. I did drop an e-mail to the guy I bought him from and when I got home there was a message for me to call him. Haven't had a chance to do that yet but will soon.
I use RO water, not RO/DI. Is THAT enough to kill a fish? Are there other test kits I should buy besides the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, alkalinity?
Sue

In my opinion it probably had nothing to do with your water. Here is what I think about water and you will see a lot of conflicting views. Tap is okay for freshwater, ro or distilled is okay for fish and some inverts, and nothing but ro/di with 0 tds is okay for corals. When it comes to testing in a fish only, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, temp, alkalinity, salinity, and phosphates is all you need. When it comes to phosphates though, unless you have algae up to the gills it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[sueandherzoo]

Thanks Keebler - I'm beating myself up with guilt and frustration tonight so hearing that it might not be something I did wrong is good to hear. I'm feeling very discouraged right now but I'm sure I'll snap out of it by morning.... even though my experience with saltwater has been short and not very successful I'm still enjoying it a lot. I've just tried so hard to read and learn and do everything so right it hurts to still fail and to not even know WHERE I failed. Yes, I'm on the pity-pot tonight.
Even in my limited experience I think your water guidelines sound very reasonable. I'll definitely invest in an RO/DI before I get into corals. First I have to figure out how to keep fish!
Sue

 

[errattiq]

I'm still interested in the fact you had nitrite present, how long have you had your tank? have you added any liverock recently??

 

[butrfly2536]

We have a 55 gallon tank with a watchman goby. We didn't see him for the first two weeks. After that then we saw him every day. I hope you have the same luck.