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Yesterday I noticed that one of my Cleaner Shrimp that was carrying chartreuse eggs was suddenly carrying beige eggs with little black dots in them. With a little research I learned that this was to be the evening of my first spawning critter. :biggrin: So, after the lights went out, I parked myself in front of my tank and waited for the show. About an hour later, parked directly under my moon light on the highest rock in the tank, she lifted her tail and blasted thousands of little shrimp into the water. Yipee!! My fish seemed to like it the best, darting around eating their invisible treats!!
I cant seem to see any today, and I am sure they wouldn't have lasted long anyhow.
Just thought I would share, although I am sure it is quite common and ordinary to most of you.

-Greg :biggrin:
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SQUIRTING AMATEUR

It's neat eh. I keep a pr in my 35 hex & 33g seahorse tank just for the spawnings/live zooplankton every 2-3 weeks. I've tried raising the larvae in my brine shrimp tank but the longest I've kept them alive is 3 weeks.

Just in case you're interested:
They need newly hatched brine shrimp or rotifers as their initial food. Maybe in a refugium some would survive, especially if you add some baby b.s. or other live food first. Scoop out or siphon. Nets damage them.

This has come up a few times, unfortunately I still don't think anyone other than the Waikiki Aquarium has raised them to adulthood. :frown:

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Thanks, perhaps a project for the future!!
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JCPENNEY GIFT CARD

:cool: I've got four cleaner shrimp and have yet to see one of them release eggs. :sad:

Deb-Are they kept 1 pair/tank?

Keep them well fed & let nature take its course. Of course, it might be the testosterone & estrogen I supplement their feed with :lol: :lol: I've found that with many of my animals, if I keep them fat & happy, s*x is the next thing on their (my?) minds :lol: Even my seahorses bred, although unable to save the babies. The shrimp are hermaphrodites & they'll usually release the eggs at 2:00 am (good thing I'm a night owl) & molt the next day. Usually within a day or two, they'll both have fertilized eggs again. Yum, yum for the other inhabitants. Sushi anyone?

our pair in our home tank just released a set last night, and the other one is about ready to release some as well(hamaphrodites)

No, I have four cleaners, two scarlets, and two peppermints in the tank.

My seahorse tank had 1 pr of cleaners & 1 pr of peppermints, so I had 4 spawnings a month? Must be that platinum horseshoe my friends insist I keep "where the sun don't shine" :lol:

Deb - Are yours pairing off? Every time mine pair off, poof - eggs :biggrin:

Definitely they hang out in pairs. But for the most part seem to be a unit. :confused: Or a least a threesome with a voyeur.... :razz:

Deb do you at least see them carrying eggs?

I noticed that when I had shrimp and they carried eggs that you really needed to be there at the release because 5 minutes later they would literally be all gone. In fact, I didn't so much notice that suddenly there were baby shrimp but rather that suddenly everyone was eating like there was no tomorrow (shrimp included).

That said, I notice that sometimes they would carry eggs and sometimes not, and I don't know if there was a rhyme or reason for the cyclical pattern.

I did notice that if a shrimp was about to molt, that the other shrimp would be very agitated and excited. The shrimp would step out of the shell and then suddenly the others would just descend on the molter. At first I thought it was cannibalism then I wondered if that could just be the window of opportunity for mating. Maybe the opportunity for mating exists only shortly after a molt.

Yeah mine have carried eggs a few times too, just never hung out late to watch them release.

Here's a link for a hatchery that has raised cleaners too
http://www.tmc-ltd.co.uk/