Cleaner shrimp breeding!! ( i think )

[Spikehs]

Hey,

I noticed today that one of my 2 cleaner shrimp is carrying of what looks like a mass of green eggs on its underside

. I had a couple of questions about em. Since the eggs are there does that mean they are fertilized? or do femal shrimp just produce the eggs the whole time, even if there isn't a male around? Is is possible to raise the babies? if so can you point me in a direction that could help. THanks, any input would be appreciated!

 

[Litoria]

This probably happens to anyone who keeps cleaner shrimp long enough. Shrimp are hermaphroditic (male and female) so in theory they can self-fertilize. The reality is that they probably still mate with another shrimp. So, if you have more than one, chances are that they are fertile eggs. Now the hard part. It is almost impossible in the typical aquarium environment to raise the shrimp to adulthood. I have witnessed microscopic cleaner shrimp in my tanks but have never been able to raise any to adulthood, even with refugiums on all my systems. At least the eggs and babies make good food for your coral. I hope that answered your questions.

 

[Spikehs]

Thanks for the info! i hadn't really planned on raising them, but its cool to see it i guess....

 

[Spikehs]

If given their own dedicated tank, do you think it is possible to raise the larve? if so how do you think i should go about doing it? thanks

 

[Anonymous]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Spikehs:
<STRONG>If given their own dedicated tank, do you think it is possible to raise the larve? if so how do you think i should go about doing it? thanks</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


If you could pull that off you could make some good money - they sell for $15-$20 each, right?...

 

[davelin315]

I think the stress of moving it to a new tank would cause premature release of the eggs and a molt (two events which in my tank coincide). I have seen them hatch before, and I think you'd be incredibly lucky to have 1 single shrimp out of every 30 hatches grow to adulthood. It's just that difficult in captivity. I had a friend who could see his baby cleaner shrimp in his sump, but they din't last that long. Just let it feed your corals and your fish.

 

[stevemcadoo]

I had 2 Lysmata amboiensis ( I suppose this is the cleaner shrimp you are talking about) This is the skunk cleaner. Yes they are hermaphrodites. When one sheds , the other will mate with it, even if the male? has eggs. That is the only time they can mate. They are fertilized and do change color. If you look closely you can see them get eyes. This means they will hatch soon. About 2 weeks. I would turn off the pumps that night and use air stones. In the morning I would get a piece of airline tubing and get a siphon , put my finger over the end (outside )and move it close and suck up the shrimp into cup. usually there are about 50 or more. Then I put them into a tank(same water) with live rock and live sand that I have air stones on. I innoculate the water with nannochloropsis algae for a few days till the water gets green and the day I put in the shrimp I put in some rotifers. They live on the rotifers and algae, then settle into the rocks. Do water changes at this stage. When they are about 1/3 inch long they live close to the rocks and swim around in circles. Then they settle and clear out small areas of algae and diatoms. At this time they are 1/2 inch. At this stage start filtering the water with overflows. home free. Hope this helps, Steve