Tiger Pistol Shrimp

Care at a glance

Overview

Reef safe. The pistol shrimp has no interest in coral, it's too busy running its burrow. Harmless to tankmates aside from the loud snap now and then, which is just noise and not a threat to fish or other inverts. Pair it with a compatible watchman or shrimp goby (Cryptocentrus, Stonogobiops, or Amblyeleotris species) for the full symbiosis. Without a goby it tends to stay buried and hidden rather than fail outright. Give it a sand bed deep enough to burrow in and expect loose rockwork to get rearranged as it renovates.

In the wild

Native across the Indo-West Pacific, from East Africa and the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean to Thailand, Indonesia, the Solomon Islands, and Japan. Lives in sand and mud flats near reefs at depths of about 2–20 m, where it excavates and maintains a burrow system, almost always shared with a symbiotic goby. In the aquarium it needs a few inches of fine sand to dig in and, ideally, a goby partner to pair with.

Good to know

Named for the oversized snapping claw that fires a jet of water fast enough to collapse into a cavitation bubble, producing one of the loudest sounds of any animal and enough force to stun small prey. Nearly blind, it relies on touch, keeping an antenna on its goby partner at all times so it can retreat the instant the goby signals danger with a flick of its tail.

Did you know

Like other snapping shrimp, its claw snap is fast enough to briefly flash light and heat approaching the temperature of the sun's surface inside the collapsing bubble, though the effect lasts a fraction of a millisecond and is harmless outside it.

Related species

• Randall's Pistol Shrimp

  Alpheus randalli

  1.6 in (4 cm)11 gal (40 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Camel / Dancing Shrimp

  Rhynchocinetes durbanensis

  2 in (5 cm)16 gal (60 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Harlequin Shrimp

  Hymenocera picta

  2 in (5 cm)11 gal (40 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Marble Shrimp

  Saron marmoratus

  2 in (5 cm)11 gal (40 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Peppermint Shrimp

  Lysmata wurdemanni

  2 in (5 cm)11 gal (40 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)

• 

  Fire Shrimp

  Lysmata debelius

  2.4 in (6 cm)20 gal (75 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)