I am going to start up a salt water tank, and wanted to try to have a goby/shrimp pair, but wasn't sure which goby to get. My favorite goby that i've seen thus far is hands down the mandarin goby, but I know that some gobies are less likely to pair up with pistol shrimps, so I was wondering whether this would likely work and if anyone has had any success with this. Does that type of pistol shrimp matter?
Mandarin Goby/Pistol Shrimp Pair?
- Thread starter bobblehead27
- Start date
No, a mandarin will not form a symbiotic pair with a shrimp; you need something like a yellow prawn goby or a clown shrimp goby.
Thank you for asking about this before buying a mandarin like 99% of people out there seem to do. They are just not suitable for most saltwater tanks and are not correctly labeled. As mentioned, they aren't a goby at all but for some reason LFSs label them as such. They fall into the same family as scooter dragonets and there are actually several different mandarin species.
I agree with the others, a yellow watchman is your best bet.
I agree with the others, a yellow watchman is your best bet.
Would I be able to have a pistol shrimp, a Watchman (or another goby that'll bond with the shrimp) AND a mandarin? I really love the way they look, but I also really like the idea of the symbiotic relationship between the goby and the shrimp...