Help! My randall’s pistol is MIA and goby not eating

[JayFish4004]

I’ve had a randall’s pistol paired with a pinkbar goby for a good 7-8 months now. Unfortunately we disturbed the crap out of their hole messing with some coral mounting. I saw them both run out and I assumed they were making a new burrow in the back, but I have not seen or heard the pistol in a few days now and I usually at least hear him nightly.

The goby is hanging out in the back area and it feels somewhat like the area has been dug out, but I’m not positive. Also usually see some burrow progress Im not usually seeing. My only hope is the goby is still protecting the burrow meaning the pistol is alive, but this could also just mean the goby has no better place to hide.

I fear I’ll lose the goby if I wait too long if the pistol is in fact dead, but I also dont want to screw over the pistol by getting another if he is in fact alive.

HALP! lol

 

[Tankkeepers]

The goby does not actually need the pistol to survive and live happy and the pistol foes not need the goby

I have a Randell pistol in my tank had him now for over a year with no goby and I hear him every night

In my past tank I had a yellow watchman for 5 years with no pistol

While cool they don't have to be with eachother they can and will thrive on their own

I also have a bare bottom tank my pistol lives in a rock cave it dug and made itself

YAY!! I look forward to hearing updates and seeing pics of your tank!

 

[Tankkeepers]

The goby does not actually need the pistol to survive and live happy and the pistol foes not need the goby

I have a Randell pistol in my tank had him now for over a year with no goby and I hear him every night

In my past tank I had a yellow watchman for 5 years with no pistol

While cool they don't have to be with eachother they can and will thrive on their own

I also have a bare bottom tank my pistol lives in a rock cave it dug and made itself

 

[JayFish4004]

The goby does not actually need the pistol to survive and live happy and the pistol foes not need the goby

I have a Randell pistol in my tank had him now for over a year with no goby and I hear him every night

In my past tank I had a yellow watchman for 5 years with no pistol

While cool they don't have to be with eachother they can and will thrive on their own

I also have a bare bottom tank my pistol lives in a rock cave it dug and made itself

You think the pistol is done for if I haven’t seen or heard evidence in 3 days?

 

[Tankkeepers]

No I often won't hear mine for a week or 2

Heck at one point it had been about 2 weeks I was like yep its dead same night he started popping like crazy

It might be yes but it might not be I have not actually seen mine in over 6 months but I hear him most nights not every night tho

It also like to pop my finger when I messing with the rocks scares the crap out of me

Does not hurt tho

 

[Tankkeepers]

I also have no watchman the pistol finds its own food just fine

 

[Tankkeepers]

Hope it turns up and all is well

 

[JayFish4004]

Hope it turns up and all is well

My one concern right now is the goby is hiding in the back where he doesn’t come out to eat. Usually the pistol digs out a few holes in a spot where he can see when we feed, so he’s not getting much food. If I get another pistol is it a guarantee they’ll fight to death?

 

[Tankkeepers]

I would not I'd just spot feed the goby for now

 

[JayFish4004]

I would not I'd just spot feed the goby for now

Still no sign of the pistol at all - the goby is eating at least but you can tell he’s not happy without a shrimp to dig him a hole. He’s essentially got himself wedged into dug out area behind a rock but it’s not the same type of hole that a pistol would dig out. Starting to think more and more that the pistol is a goner..

 

[Tankkeepers]

It might be

 

[Tankkeepers]

The watchman will eventually come out in the ipen given time

 

[JayFish4004]

The watchman will eventually come out in the ipen given time

My goby is actually a pinkbar who is much more skittish than a watchman - I doubt he’ll ever come out in the open outside of his daily swim he does checking things out.

 

[Tankkeepers]

Mastertronic. I have one and am on the fence about getting another for my second system. It works great and unless you need alk scheduled to test more than 1x a day. you can manually trigger as many tests as you want assuming the MT not already busy. Why not get the device that can test all 5 major parameters; I love this device. It identified low nitrates in my system and helped save some coral. The app is more intuitive than the kh director and the trident and it works with 3rd party test kits- no proprietary crap (yet). It has been very handy to click a button for a phosphate test and get a push notification when the results are ready. No more missing the Hanna display never thought I’d measure phos or nitrates as much as I do but it has been more telling than my alk as of late.

My goby is actually a pinkbar who is much more skittish than a watchman - I doubt he’ll ever come out in the open outside of his daily swim he does checking things out.

Did not realize this ya your right you may never see it and it might die from stress
In the case I orobly get another pistol pretty quick

 

[JayFish4004]

Did not realize this ya your right you may never see it and it might die from stress
In the case I orobly get another pistol pretty quick

Okay - yeah my current thinking was wait til the weekend and if no sign of pistol get another. Might bite the bullet and do it sooner though, this pinkbar has already been through enough - when I first got him he was paired and his partner jumped which was the most depressing thing ever