Cleaner Shrimp Breeding.....

[N-E CICHLIDS]

I'm messing around with Cleaner shrimp breeding and the raising of the fry. From the research I have done, It seems like no one has had luck raising them to full size. I saw where Scientist have had luck in a lab, but not to the point of being able to produce mass quantities for the aquarium trade. I read there are 4 stages to the fry cycle and it takes roughly 4 months to complete. I have not found a lot of info, so any would be helpful. I am currently messing with 3 shrimp at the moment (2F/1M) First female released about 2.5 weeks ago. I have started to see the fry the last couple of days. They are still very small, but definately shrimp and not copepods.

If you have had any experience or know where to find more info, Please post.

Thanks
Nick

 

[cephalopod]

What kind of food cultures and rearing tanks do you have?

 

[N-E CICHLIDS]

What kind of food cultures and rearing tanks do you have?

It's actually my 55 Gallon Live Rock Tank. I mix my own liquid food and pour it in every other day. No predators in the tank to feed on them, so all the food can be consumed by the inverts. I'm really surprised at the growth of them in 2.5 weeks.

 

[kingfisherfleshy]

If the eggs have hatched...and you have seen them swimming around...and there are no predators in the tank...and you have cultured live rock you are in the clear. Coral food also works well for shrimp/baby shrimp. Post some pictures of the little ones. My peppermints used to breed in my 55g, and although I never fed coral food, and there were fish in the tank a couple did grow up to maturity.

 

[wishntoboutside]

i would love to see some fry pictures. cool stuff

 

[Aquascaper]

Lysmata shrimp are prob one of the best shrimp to begin with...

I would suggest- raising some pepps first maybe...
The different life stages are called ZOE or Life in Latin

The most accepted technique in raising these shrimp is by utilizing a "kriesel" "or pseudokriesel" type nursery...
These are tanks designed to keep the Zoe suspended in the water column until they "drop" or have completed their Zoe stages....

I will soon be running a pole or a thread here in inverts to see what everyone is interested in and we will start tackling a few subjects into greater depth.

 

[Aquascaper]

A few quick pics of the equipment used for a DIY hatchery- "neo pseudo kriesel"

I will make a new thread in the DIY forum for the process's that can be utilized for instruction benefit....

This set-up can be used for seahorses, shrimp zoe- or "Life" stages, jellys....

 

[fishoutofwater]

nice keep us posted. My pepperment shrimp breed all the time and find lots of fry on occasion until my mandarin get them.

 

[_Alex_]

Hmmm now you got me wondering if my pepps did. Any one have pic of fry from them? I have a bunch of small red, almost look like small tadpolls all over and every one that has sen them says, there not pods. But Guess wil see no fish i have seems to bother them

 

[fishoutofwater]

ionly see them when my light are off and when I am target feeding my sun corals. Saw them the other night and there was 500 or more and they were fry not copapods. they all swarmed together. once I turned the system on they were gone. Have not seen them again. Now last night when doing the same my peppermint shrimp came out to feed and she had a sack full of eggs. If i can see them again I will try and get some pics.

 

[TheLivingReef]

When the shrimp are in larval stage they will molt every few hours. The first ones to molt will usualy eat the others while they are molting. Peppermint shrimp are one of the few that don't and they have been raised commercialy. If you want to rase cleaner shrimp you will haft to seperate the larva before they eat eachother and raise each one individualy.

 

[_Alex_]

Well the ones i have stay inside a hollow coconut size fiji rock during the day and start coming out about an hour after light s out and moonlights come on.

about a month or so ago my gf noticed one of the pepps had a large green colored sack in its belly was there 2-3 days and then gone over night. Then just noticed these new little guys swarming inside the rock. Was that green spot the egg sack?

If So guess i should tell guy buying my 2 pepps they are a spawning pair lol

 

[Aquascaper]

Peps are hermaphroditic -

They cross fertilize each other-

note: it is possible for a fertilized pep to drop a clutch of 500-1000+ eggs,
then molt and egg up again and drop fertile eggs,
and repeat this process 3x without needing to breed except for the first time

 

[Aqua Amie]

Also, just a thought....while the small shrimp-like fry ya'll are seeing in your tank systems hiding during the day and out at night may very well be pep babies, it is more likely that what you are seeing is small Mysid Shrimp. If you feed your tank frozen Mysid, or have live rock, then there is a chance this is what they are. Many people don't realize this is what they are seeing when they find little miniature shrimp in their tanks...

just a quick link---
http://forums.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?54797-Need-bug-ID

there's a lot of info on Mysid Shrimp online---

 

[_Alex_]

Well I noticed other day that both of my skunk cleaner shrimp are holding eggs on abdomen. ill try and, post some pics tonight or maybe I can get ryan to post the ones he took on his phone last night. Gonna Have him bring his camara by tomorrow and hopefuly they wil still be holding them.

 

[Aqua Amie]

It is very common for peps and cleaners, and most ornamental marine shrimp, to egg up very frequently...They begin with the large green bundle of eggs under their abdomen...these eggs take around 2 weeks or so to be ready to drop, depending on temperature...once they turn brown and fuzzy, they usually drop at night and within 24 -48 hours...this is usually when they are pulled and placed into a hatchery to release the larvae, then the mother is removed so she cannot cannibalize the babies...peps usually are better mothers in that point....and begins the VERY difficult task of raising the larvae through the 4 stages of development....this is very difficult, and rarely seen....most aquarium shrimp continually egg up, drop, shed, egg up, drop, shed.....very often, every 2 weeks or so for some....and the larvae are usually considered to be a nice nutritious snack for corals and fish...also worth noting, if you have 2 shrimp of the same species, they will often both be egged up at times...this is because shrimp are both male and female, and while they cannot fertilize their own eggs, it only takes any 2 of the same species to get the cycle going....
Good Luck and happy reefing!

 

[_Alex_]

Ok Thank you for the info. Wish i had more coral to eat them lol but im just let them do there thing and maybe later on take a shot at it.

 

[pdisner]

If the eggs have hatched...and you have seen them swimming around...and there are no predators in the tank...and you have cultured live rock you are in the clear. Coral food also works well for shrimp/baby shrimp. Post some pictures of the little ones. My peppermints used to breed in my 55g, and although I never fed coral food, and there were fish in the tank a couple did grow up to maturity.

I thought it was rotifers and brine nap.?

 

[pdisner]

It is very common for peps and cleaners, and most ornamental marine shrimp, to egg up very frequently...They begin with the large green bundle of eggs under their abdomen...these eggs take around 2 weeks or so to be ready to drop, depending on temperature...once they turn brown and fuzzy, they usually drop at night and within 24 -48 hours...this is usually when they are pulled and placed into a hatchery to release the larvae, then the mother is removed so she cannot cannibalize the babies...peps usually are better mothers in that point....and begins the VERY difficult task of raising the larvae through the 4 stages of development....this is very difficult, and rarely seen....most aquarium shrimp continually egg up, drop, shed, egg up, drop, shed.....very often, every 2 weeks or so for some....and the larvae are usually considered to be a nice nutritious snack for corals and fish...also worth noting, if you have 2 shrimp of the same species, they will often both be egged up at times...this is because shrimp are both male and female, and while they cannot fertilize their own eggs, it only takes any 2 of the same species to get the cycle going....
Good Luck and happy reefing!

I would like to raise some fry. Thinking about buying the book about raising pep and skunk cleaners. Any readers? Have you tried raising fry? I have heard the hardest stage is the one when they sin their first set of paddle legs...

 

[Livinlocal]

Any updates ?


I have also noticed some sort of shrimp growing in my frag tank, it’s definitely not a type of pod. I have a pair of cleaner shrimp that always carry eggs, and the ones in my frag tank are now starting to get red lines. I do not have any peppermint shrimp in my system, but I do feed Mysis, so could they be mysid? I’ll try and get a video or picture