Looking for critter freaks...
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Hank49
Contributor
marinebio:
I've been a commercial aquaculturist for 27 years raising shrimp in hatcheries and farms (3 species), tilapia, milkfish or awa as they call it in Hawaii, walking catfish...But I always wanted to figure out how to catch and mate the alpheid (spelling?) shrimp and a pair of gobies that share the hole they live in. I have been told that there are about 10 or 11 different species of goby/shrimp that cohabitate this way and there are few to no cross over of species. In other words, only one species of goby lives with one certain species of shrimp. Given that the shrimp are pelagic at some larval stage, not to mention blind...how do they find each other?
Anyway, they are fun to watch. After a while of the goby flicking his tail to warn the shrimp there is a predator (me) in the area, the shrimp finally says, "the hole is filling with sand so OUT OF THE WAY!!" and comes out like a bulldozer pushing sand. One pair of Randalli gobies, (with the big sail fin dorsal) was sitting there and the shrimp, as usual was working his tail off, when the goby swam a little ways off, picked up a little stone and set it by the opening of the whole as if to say, "ok, ok, I did some work. Leave me alone". They would make a great aquarium item IF I could get pairs and mate them. Hank
Hank49
Contributor
I'm not even sure if these occur in the Caribbean. I saw quite a few different species in the Philippines and Malaysia. I tried (ssshhhhhhhh) digging some up very gently and after not seeing anything, tried not so gently but never saw the shrimp. The Randalli are pretty big and maybe I could have gotten to them but the only ones I had found were at a very popular dive site and the paying guests probably would have complained if they saw me stirring up the silt. I would guess that the larvae feed on chaetocerus or tetraselmus and graduate to artemia or some rotifer as they progress towards post larvae. The gobies....hmmm..... my only experience with larvae fish is Chanos chanos and we grew chlorella and fed it to rotifers as the primary feed. could be a good business. Hank
Hank49
Contributor
PS marinebio, you may get flamed by the "perfect divers" on the board regarding your dangling hp hose in your profile picture. Hank
lara1018
Guest
hi! i'm a student of marine biology in the philippines. i actually know someone who did her thesis study on the symbiotic relationship between the alpheid shrimp and the goby, she had pairs set up in aquaria and observed their behaviour over time. i could send you more info if you're interested.
i love watching fish build their homes/nests. i have moments laughing underwater through my reg when i see an "overachiever" fish, trying to move a pebble far far too big for it. if i could only give him a hand, let me do that for you... i think it would freak the poor thing out though.
i love watching fish build their homes/nests. i have moments laughing underwater through my reg when i see an "overachiever" fish, trying to move a pebble far far too big for it. if i could only give him a hand, let me do that for you... i think it would freak the poor thing out though.
Hank49
Contributor
lara1018:
Lara1018,
How did the person get the pairs of shrimp and gobies? I would love more info on this because I think it would be a great item to sell, expecially since a lot of places won't sell or buy fish that can't be proven to have been cultured and not taken from the wild, as is done in your beautiful country. I observed this interesting pair a lot while living and diving in Boracay. Thanks, Hank
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