What type of pistol shrimp?

shark32

Active Member
Hi,
I took my son to the LFS today, to get guppies for his tank and I had no intentions of buying anything. However, while I was perusing the SW tanks, I saw this awesome guy...They said he was a "white snapping shrimp".. I was looking online to ID him exactly and I cannot find anything that looks like him...
I have him in my 20 gallon fuge for now, but if he is ok, when I change tanks, I will move him up to the new DT..
I currently have a Randal's pistol and another small pistol shrimp in my 75...
Here are some pics: THANKS!!


 

shark32

Active Member
Thanks guys! I thought he was very cool and unique myself! He almost looks a little like a cross between a mantis and a pistol to me because his back legs look feathery, yet he has a large claw.....and meknudson2, it funny you say he looks like a bug, my son said he looks like a termite
 

shark32

Active Member
I think he might be some type of mud shrimp.. I was checking through my Reef Creature id books and he looked similiar to a ghost shrimp they had in there and when I googled the ghost shrimp a bunch of different pics came, one of them looking like him... one description said they have uneven claws... my guy seems to have made himself at home down there in my fuge... . I see his many different hole/mounds of sand from under the rocks.. I just have to do a little research on him to see his size/ diet before I move him up to the DT
 

meknudson2

Active Member
It really does look like a mud shrimp, I am sure you are right and that is what it is . Still very cool looking shrimp.
 

shark32

Active Member
I found this info on WETWEBMEDIA, in case anyone else comes across this cool guy...asisde from the color difference, he looks like what I have....I hope he does well in my fuge..

Snapping Shrimp ID? Nope, Thalassinidean - 8/26/10

Hello all!
<Hello Donna, Lynn here today!>
I own a saltwater reef store in Las Vegas
<Neat!>
..and can't count how many times you guys have helped me silently.
<That's great, I'm glad we've been able to help.>
I was sent an "assorted snapping shrimp" and before selling it I would like to ID it if possible.
<Good for you! The more you know, the better chance that little shrimp has of ending up in a system that suits its needs.>
It is without a doubt one of the coolest ones I've ever seen.
<It is, indeed.>
It does look to be Alpheus Sp. judging by the claws but I can't find anything that even remotely resembles it on the web.
<Yep, although the claws do look similar, and are unequal in size, this is another creature entirely. It appears to be a Decapod crustacean in the infraorder Thalassinidea, aka 'Ghost', 'Mud' or 'Sponge' shrimps. This group is typically comprised of deposit/detritus-feeders and filter-feeders. I believe your individual belongs in one of two families: Callianassidae ("Ghost shrimps": big-time burrowers, combination deposit and filter-feeders), or something in the family Callianidaeidae, (shrimps associated with reef/rubble habitats that tend to burrow or hang out under rocks/within rockwork). I wish I could narrow it to one family or the other, but I can't quite see enough detail to make that determination. At any rate, I'm leaning towards the latter family, namely those species in the genus Callianidea. If your individual came from the Indo-Pacific region, it could easily be Callianidea typa as it seems to be a fairly common, widespread specie. As far as diet, I couldn't find any specific information, but it's likely another deposit/detritus-feeder that would do best in a mature system with a deep sand bed, rockwork, and rubble. As with any potential burrower, there's always the possibility of undermined rockwork and rearranged aquascapes, so that should be kept in mind for anyone wishing to take this little fellow home. Please see the following links for examples of Callianidea typa:
http://24.dtiblog.com/c/calappa/file/20090224111920.jpg
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/reefs/guamimg/crustacea/crusties/Pages/Image18.html
Family Callianassidae, genus Calianassa: http://www.marinelifephotography.com/marine/arthropods/shrimps/callianassa-1.htm
Good basic information link re: Thalassinidean shrimps: http://museumvictoria.com.au/crust/thalbiol.html >
Thanks in advance for your help.
<You're very welcome.>
Donna
<Take care, Lynn Z>

pistol[1].jpg
pistol2[1]%20callianassa.jpg

 

shark32

Active Member
Hi,
I just thought I would post a little update on Flurry (my kids named him because we had a snow storm the day we got him)..
I put him in my 125 DT and now that my stand has openings underneath the tank, we are able to watch this guy in action. He has made various tunnels under the rocks and make small openings everyday somewhere new.. I have seen one of my pistol shrimp (you can see him in the 3rd pic) in his tunnels as well as worms and amphipods.. Here are a couple of pics:




Thanks!
 

shark32

Active Member
I came across a rather peculiar situation, my mud shrimp has caverns all over one side of the tank. I noticed awhile ago, one of my pistol shrimps live with him in his tunnels. Now the weird part, I haven't seen my purple firefish for a couple of days and was kind of getting a little worried that he died. Low and behold, I was checking on my mud shrimp and I saw Brutus, my firefish in the tunnels.. I was very relieved he was still alive, but I noticed that the pistol shrimp closed all the openings by the rock on the top of the sand, with my firefish in there..Should I intervene, and make a hole so my firefish can get out? Or give it another day or two and see if he comes out on his own?
 
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