Japanese Pistol killed 3 peppermints within minutes

[lilrobb]

Not sure what happened,

I added the pistol to my Goby last tuesday and today I heard the 'snap' sound the first time repeatedly.
I sneaked to the tank and saw the pistol drag a dead peppermint into his burrow.
Not even 3min later again, the second peppermint was a goner and another 10min later the third peppermint was history.

He was truely on a seek and destroy mission.

Any advice, is this normal behaviour?

I doubt he even tried eating them - he just killed them...
Any other crustaceans I have to be concerned about now?

Robb

 

[lilrobb]

Very sure, saw the pistol kill the two shrimp right in front of my eyes.
I had the peppermints about 2 months I would say, healthy as can be and always full of eggs.

 

[lilrobb]

I actually would have preferred the peppermints if I had known, they did super great keeping Aiptasia under control.

Robb

 

[seedless reefer]

Pistol shrimps hunt and eat.......shrimps.

My Randalls was a prize posession and any other shrimps stupid enough to cross his path well.....

Wait till he gets a 20 dollar cleaner!

 

[tokejr]

Seedless Reefer;306952 wrote: Wait till he gets a 20 dollar cleaner!

Where the heck did you get a cleaner shrimp for 20? I paid $28.00 each for mine.

 

[weaglereefer]

Got mine for $20, and he is a biggun. I see little babies going for $25-$28, so I know I got lucky.

 

[derek_s]

Expensive meal. I love shrimp, so I'd eat them befor I let something else.

 

[derek_s]

Wow we all jumped on that one

 

[derek_s]

My list:

SWC usually has them around 20, I think, size may vary.

Pets Unlimited (non-sponsor) has had them as low as 16 I think, but they were small. not too small, nor as small as I have seen, but small. THat was a sale, though, and they usually run 20 I think.

At 25, its not the best deal in town, but Creation Reef sells really large ones at that price, then your discount. I opted fo the ones at Creation versus cheaper ones just because they were so big, some of the biggest I have seen in a store, and at 22.50, they are a good deal, IMO>

 

[seedless reefer]

Jeeze shrimp police.

I just threw a number out there.

Ok I guess he was 20 something now I hope you can all sleep easier after crucifying me.

I am sending back my membership card first thing in the morning meanies.

 

[weaglereefer]

Haha, we're trying to recreate natural environment, right? What's more natural than the food chain?

 

[shromy]

Sal at SWC has em for 20 all day long last one i bought was 19.95.

 

[crew]

au01st;306980 wrote: Haha, we're trying to recreate natural environment, right? What's more natural than the food chain?

Empty coke cans and pieces of eight

 

[soarin']

I have heard that some of the pistols are very territorial, so that may have been part of why he killed the pepps.

I saw a post by a guy who got an atlantic pistol -- any invert that happened to walk by the pistol's area got "shot".

So your pistol may have been trying to establish his territory by taking out any possible competition for food and space.

I would like to get a candy shrimp / goby combination -- hopefully the candy pistols are small enough not to bother any other inverts.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

That is one of the purposes of the pistol's "pop"- to disable its prey, including shrimp.

 

[FutureInterest]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKPrGxB1Kzc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKPrGxB1Kzc</a>

One of my favorite vids on pistol shrimp and very relevant...

 

[spike]

I guess my shrimps stay out of the pistols way. I have 2 Peppermints and 1 cleaner in my 180. Never a problem.

 

[fisherwoman]

Now you have me worried. I have a ginormous pistol in a 3 gallon with my sexies. So far they have lived in harmony for months. What to do .. what to do.

~Susie~

 

[lilrobb]

I would understand if he killed to eat - but he just killed an moved on to the next...