Breeding Cleaner Shrimps?

[lil_clownfish13]

Anyone been able to do this? I've recently (in the past 2-3 months) seen my cleaner shrimp with tiny little eggs? surrounding her swimming legs-- in typical shrimp fashion... has anyone else seen this?

or better yet...how would one sex out for a male shrimp to keep mine company??


Thanks for anything!!

tina

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Cleaner shrimp are hermaphrodites (each individual are functionally both male & female). Usually after a molt, shrimp A will lay eggs which shrimp B will fertilize. Then shrimp B will lay some eggs & shrimp A will now fertilize those eggs. Therefore, with one pair, you will often have 2 shrimp carrying fertilized eggs. The babies are very hard to keep alive IME. I've tried at least 8 times but the longest I could keep them alive was 4 weeks. If you have several small tanks with bbs in them, you might have more like than I did.

Good luck,

Anthony

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

If you only have one, get another one about the same size if you want to try breeding them. If prefer to get mine med. size as opposed to large since they don't have very long lifespans.

[rickjames]

I have not heard of anyone who has been able to rear them from egg to shrimp. I believe that there is a portion of their life cycle that no one has been able to get them to survive through...

Check out this article: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-10/nftt/index.php

[Kabong]

There's multiple reports of sucessfull rearing on the
http://www.breedersregistry.org/species.htm
Just check under Lysmata sp.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

It is possible. I just haven't been able to do it, that's all.