Cleaner Shrimp Reproduction

[mdcorcoran]

ok, i have 2 cleaner shrimp in my tank. recently, i noticed a difference between the two- one of the shrimp has a belly full of what appears to be eggs. i'm pretty sure that is what it is, thats what they look like, and the other shrimp never displays this trait, so i have ruled out the matter being food. so here are my questions.

1. if she is carrying eggs, are these eggs fertilized?
2. how long is the gestation period for a cleaner shrimp, and will the eggs be laid prior to hatching, or will they hatch in the mother before release?
3. on larval mortality- should the female be moved to a different tank, do the other critters in my tank pose a major threat to the survival of cleaner shrimp larval (percula clown, blue damsels, 2 anemones, various hermits and a coral banded shrimp)?

thanks for any help or links.
mdc

[maphew]

Don't want to burst the bubble, but with my experiences i have never seen a single tank raised cleaner shrimp.
But there is always a first. And if you get some i want a couple.

[billsreef]

If they are Lysmata sp. cleaners they are functional hermaphrodites. Each one will end up with eggs The eggs take about 2 weeks to hatch depending on temperature. Spawning and hatching are the easy parts. The larvae go through several stages over a period of about 4 months, each stage is difficult and the odds of any survival is about slim to none. It is has been done in aquaculture labs, but to much trouble and too low a larval survival rate to be commercially viable yet. At the very least the hatched larvae are excellent food for the fish and any corals

[R1Bill]

If you look at your tank with a flashlight at night, you will probably see loads of them swimming around. Look almost like fish fry. In my tank they never seem to get past 3/8" inch.

Bill

[Alice]

I've had both of my cleaners carrying eggs at the same time, in different stages of development. Free coral food!

[Jeremy1973]

Question:

Right now, I have one cleaner. I wouldn't mind getting a second and seeing if they mate. How can I tell what sex they are? Or, do they have the ability to change sex due to the enviroment they are in?

[Alice]

They are hermaphrodites; they are each both sexes although you still need two to tango. They can't fertilize themselves. So pick any two and you have a pair