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pistol/goby pair question(s)

So tomorrow I'll be changing the substrate in my nano from black course gravel to a proper sand bed. In the near furtue I would like to add a pistol/goby pair.
1st: How deep should I go? my intention was to go about 2" or so.
2nd: Currently living in the nano is 1 blood shrimp, 1 sexy shrimp, and 1 pom pom crab. Will they be ok with the pistol?
3rd: Currently living in the nano is a Yellow Clown Goby. Will he be ok with whatever goby I choose to go with the pistol? The YCG normally hangs in the rock work and very rarely goes anywhere near the bottom of the tank.
4rd: are there any other concerns that I should know. This will be my first venture into the pistol/goby paring.
Thanks in advance
John
 
So tomorrow I'll be changing the substrate in my nano from black course gravel to a proper sand bed. In the near furtue I would like to add a pistol/goby pair.
1st: How deep should I go? my intention was to go about 2" or so.
2nd: Currently living in the nano is 1 blood shrimp, 1 sexy shrimp, and 1 pom pom crab. Will they be ok with the pistol?
3rd: Currently living in the nano is a Yellow Clown Goby. Will he be ok with whatever goby I choose to go with the pistol? The YCG normally hangs in the rock work and very rarely goes anywhere near the bottom of the tank.
4rd: are there any other concerns that I should know. This will be my first venture into the pistol/goby paring.
Thanks in advance
John

Sand bed depends. I have a CandyCane pistol that is pretty small and it is fine in a 1.5" sandbed.

I would stick with a shrimp smaller than the ones you have. If its larger than the others it may eat them.

YWG will pair up with a Pistol so you really don't need to buy another goby

If the goby and pistol don't pair up right away its ok. Mine took a week to pair off then split for 3 weeks now are back togeter.

Heres a Pic of my YWG/Pistol Pair. Camra Phone so its not the best quality.
IMG-20120226-00826.jpg


Josh
 

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
Our 12 gallon probably has about 1.5 inches of sand and it is fine. You don't really need to go too deep and especially in a nano where it will take away water volume.

Your other inverts will be fine with the pistol, but in a nano I would probably go with the candy pistol instead of the larger tiger pistol.
 

howze01

NJRC Member
If you're replacing the sand anyway make sure you put the rock in first and then add the sand. If put the rock on top of the sand it may either crush the shrimp or the shrimp may cause a rock slide. I also agree with Mike, go with the Candy Cane Pistol it will make far less of a mess and it probably won't be able to steal as many frags.
 
To answer No. 3: Adding a goby and pistol pair will not hurt your clown goby.

For a nano, I would stick with one of the smaller gobies, like a yasha, a Dracula, or a magnificent (if you can find it).

One other thing ou should know: the pistol may try to steal small frags on your sand bed. If you have any on your sand bed now, consider moving them.
 
Thanks guys. A quick search states that the randalls pistol is the same as the candy cane so it looks like Greg will have that as part of the invert buy. Hopefully he will have a few gobies avail at a pretty good discount also. As for the rock first then sand, that is how I normally do things anyway. Thanks for the help.
 
Nikki looks like I was responding at the same time as you. I do in fact have some frags on the bed. Some chalice, a 5+head acan, and a 1" plate. Im looking to get the chalice on the rocks anyways and the acan is pretty heavy. As for the plate, I had to lightly mount that to a disk to keep it in place because of the mp-10.
Also thanks for the help on replacing substrate. Hopefully all goes well.
 

TanksNStuff

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I don't know much about the pistol/goby pair thing... but I'd like to make a different suggestion for the sand replacement.

Instead of putting the rock on the bottom, I'd recommend either putting egg crate down first or making some "stands" our of pvc pipe to keep your rock off the bottom. Then put sand in around the rocks.

This will prevent the rock landslide (and possible damage to the tank or shrimp/fish) and will also keep the rock from being partially burried.

Anyway, good luck John.
 
Jim,
Do you know if that is avaiable at any of the local home centers?

Another thought I had was to use this stuff I found at Lowes. Its basically a corrugated plastic sheet, like what the use for yard signs. The stone would be able to "bite" into it causing it not slip. Any thoughts?
 
I have two small pieces of starboard,cutting board, in black if you want them . They are about 4 1/2" by 12" eachand i would guess a 1/4 inch thick. If you want them just pm me and ill leave them outside and give you my address. I sm in old bridge,08857. Rt9 and rt 18 . If you dont need them same offer to any member just let me know,Paul
 
Thanks Paul. I'll be on my way. Question, should the starboard span the entire aquarium or just under the rock, and should I be secured to the bottom of tank somehow? Thanks everyone.
 
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