I wanted to create a display with a shrimp and shrimp goby. Can I use southdown sand (sugar sized crushed arragonite) or is it to small of a size for the shrimp to build it burrow?
I had a shrimp and goby in my refugium with southdown. After adding a couple of fist fulls of coarser stuff, the shrimp was able to build a more stable burrow.
I lost my first pistol shrimp to (I believe) starvation. Make sure to feed your shrimp alot! They don't wander like other shrimp (peppermints, cleaners, etc.) so you have to bring food to them. Plus they work really hard!
Mine had my refugium all to themselves. A friend has a mated pair of pistol shrimp that have savagely murdered several fish and other shrimp that entered their territory. I don't know if this is typical or they are more aggressive when mated.
Since pistol shrimp's snapping can knock small fish unconsious they have the potential to be particularly dagerous.
I suspect that in a larger tank most other critters are fairly safe since the pistol shrimp don't wander far from the entrance of their burrow.
Wing, I always try to add a bunch of coarser substrate to my tanks with southdown that I plan on keeping burrowing critters in. The southdown just won't stay put when they try tunneling through it.
