I guess, since I don't know anything about them, my concern is it's ability to kill other tank mates simply by snapping its claw and shooting a water jet at them. How common is this sort of thing? I really want to get one, but not at the expense of any other tank inhabitants. I think my little yellow bogy would surely benefit from it.
Despite their reputation, it's not common; pistol shrimp often get the blame for things like dead fish or inverts by hobbyists, but they're extremely unlikely to be the culprit (disease and aggression from other fish are much, much more likely culprits):
As stated, these guys really aren't the vicious hunters they're made out to be.
They're actually omnivores (see the quote below), and the tiger pistol (Alpehus bellulus) is one of two species so far (Alpheus randalli being the other - see the link in the quote below) that has been confirmed to feed on its goby partner's feces,* so adding a goby may very well help on the off-chance that your shrimp actually is being aggressive:
Some more info from the article linked in the quote above:A quick note here on pistol shrimp diet - pistol shrimp do not seem to be predatory, rather they seem to be more opportunistic, omnivorous scavengers (the only "hunting" that seems to take place outside of the burrow is done by the gobies, not the shrimp, and - to my knowledge - no one has ever confirmed if the shrimp actually eat the "prey" brought to them by the gobies; it might be that the goby eats them rather than the shrimp, or the shrimp might eat them as people generally assume):
Goby and shrimp associations: more than meets the eye - Coral Reefs
link.springer.com
"Diet analyses of shrimp associates indicate copepods, interstitial matter, and seagrass as main food items. Incidental observations revealed a more varied diet, facilitated by goby associates. Cryptocentrus cinctus and C. singapurensis [= C. leptocephalus] were previously reported to introduce items such as algae and bivalves into burrows for associate shrimps. We observed the goby, Amblyeleotris latifasciata, capturing a small crab near the burrow entrance and carrying this prey item toward the burrow entrance. Upon arrival, it rapidly moved up and down, a characteristic behavior we can best describe as ‘jumping’. The shrimp emerged from the burrow and proceeded to remove the entire prey item from the mouth of the goby, without resistance or struggle from the latter, before retreating into the burrow (Fig. 1)."
Additionally, as noted in the article linked above, at least some Alpheus spp. clean their gobies by eating the parasites off of them.
*Source:
Pistol shrimp are known to gather and eat macroalgae and seagrasses on occasion - the OP on the thread below caught their pistol doing this on video:
Repetitive clicking from Aquarium? SOLVED
Hey yall i thought i would share a fun little bit on my Monday. Started lastnight around dinner time. Click click click click, almost rhythmically. So i assumed a pump, mp10 somthing. Clean pump, clean mp10, clean skimmer About to go to bed, again clicking. Happening almost evey 5 minutes or...www.reef2reef.com
Me too! I also have a watchman goby.
Okay, just one more question about the pistol shrimp. Would he in any way be a threat to my cleaner shrimp or any of my snails?
Ive never seen any issue with that.
Not likely. Though I will say that my YWG drags small snails and hermits into his lair anytime they scoot by the entrance. I really don't think the tiger pistol is interested because they always crawl right back out.
