Cleaner shrimp question

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Warr7207

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I have 3 cleaner shrimps in my tank. Tonight one of the shrimps is swimming around the tank from reef to powerhead and so on. Now normally they walk around on the reef. Is there something wrong with this creature ?
 
Ok, it is getting weirder, since the lights have gone out and the moonlights are on, all 3 are now swimming around, almost like they want to get out ??
 
Warr, just something interesting. Shrimps will spawn monthly and provide your system with additional food source in the tank. So they have an additional benefit other than being part of the clean up crew.
 
They are getting ready to spawn as Alfie said :) Means your tank is in good shape :p
 
Sounds AWESOME Warr! BTW: Do you see a greenish "sack" below any one of their bellies? If so, these are their "Eggs" which they hatch internally, and then release the tiniest of shrimps fry you can find :)

The corals and fish just LOVES this. BTW: I do not know of anyone who have successfully raised shrimps from the spawning stage to adulthood.
 
should a pair of shrimps be isolated ie.in a seperate tank just for them.is there any chances of the babies surviving?will love to breed my boxing shrimps as they always spawn
 
Mekaeel, I know that at 2 oceans they have them in seperate little tanks and the use some Micro mesh set up to catch them in the water overflow.

It is actually a very simple concept. I don't think the rear them though.
 
Mekaeel said:
should a pair of shrimps be isolated ie.in a seperate tank just for them.is there any chances of the babies surviving?will love to breed my boxing shrimps as they always spawn
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In saying that, any reason boxing shrimps are half the price of cleaners ?

Is it because Boxing can be captive bred and cleaners not ?
 
I think boxing shrimps are more abundant than cleaner shrimps. Therefor the difference in cost.... They might be easier to "catch" or breed, as you say.

BTW: there's nearly no chance of actually raising the young of shrimp. They say it have not been done yet, as far as I know.
 
yip mekaeel try it dude.:yeahdude:
And if you can raise one, then i have 1st dibs on him:whistling:
 
Mekaeel said:
should a pair of shrimps be isolated ie.in a seperate tank just for them.
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The eggs visible between the shrimp's pleopods (swimming feet) are already fertilised, so there is no need for another shrimp to be present "at birth".

Some interesting Lysmata amboinensis facts:
  • Shrimp are hermaphrodites, thus being both male and female.
  • They take turns fertilising each other. This occurs at night, and soon after one of the shrimp has motled.
  • The newly molted shrimp receives the sperm from the hard-shelled shrimp and stores it for later use - it then produces eggs after it's shell has hardened, and then fertilises them with the stored sperm.
  • The sperm-carrying shrimp does not use all the sperm in one go - it can fertilise up to 4 batches of eggs without the need to couple with another shrimp.
  • The eggs hatch after a few days, but the larvae remain attached to the pleopods for approximately 2 weeks.
  • The larvae are then released by the shrimp swimming in a strong current, or lacking that, by the shrimp rubbing it's "belly" on protruding objects (rocks, etc.).
  • The "parent" shrimp will molt as soon as the larvae have been released.
The shrimp larvae are VERY small, and although they have been successfully reared since the 1990's (Joice Wilkerson, 1994, Luis Magnasco 1998), it is still the exception rather than the rule. I've managed to keep some larvae alive for some 10-12 days after "birth", but have never been able to keep them for the 40+ days needed before they metamorphosed into little shrimps.

For more info, check the Breeder's Registry

Hennie
 
I've managed to keep some larvae alive for some 10-12 days after "birth", but have never been able to keep them for the 40+ days needed before they metamorphosed into little shrimps.
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But why not Hennie, I mean with the collective knowledge available to us through the internet and our ability to fairly accurately mimic the conditions in the sea, surely we must be able to do it? If we can get the correct tank setup, correct conditions and correct feeding requirements, surely it must be possible. Any idea what the limiting factor is? Are the ways of the ocean just too complex for us to understand or to mimic on a smaller scale?
 
viper357 said:
But why not Hennie ... If we can get the correct tank setup, correct conditions and correct feeding requirements, surely it must be possible.
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The problem is two-fold: water condition and food
  • Even though we can successfully keep most corals these days, I believe that there are still some issues with the accumulation of heavy metals in out ranks, and even in the make-up of our synthetic sea salt. The articles published by Dr. Ron Shimek and others clearly point out that there are many elements in even our best salts which are elevated to much higher levels than found in natural sea water (read here and here and here) for more info.
  • Clownfish eggs hatch into larvae, which after about 12 days metamorphose into baby fish. Having reared many broods of baby Clarkii clowns, I can confirm that clown larvae are very delicate, need specialised food, and can die in masses for no apparent reason. Shrimp babies undergo about 10 metamorphoses over a period of about 40 days, and for each of these stages the larvae require a specific size and type of food, making it *very* difficult to feed them.
Hennie
 
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