Cleaner Shrimp Mating?

[Gizmo]

So I've been keeping an eye on these cleaners since I got them. They stick to one cave, never venture out alone, But hang out at the entry waiting for my tang or rabbitfish to come by for a cleaning. Is it possible for them to be keeping offspring in that cave of theirs? I've never seen cleaners act like this, usually mine have been out in the open free to roam and clean. Just a though, let me know if you have heard of this.

G

[Troy F]

No, they don't "keep" offspring but they most definately are mating. If you don't see them for a while it could be that they've molted.

[Bob I]

The answer is no.

[Gizmo]

Originally Posted by Troy F

No, they don't "keep" offspring but they most definately are mating. If you don't see them for a while it could be that they've molted.

Yea they molted about a week and a half ago.

[Beverly]

I've got two cleaner shrimp in my 67g. Most of the time, they're together under a ledge at the back of the tank. They do come out at feeding time when they swim all over trying to grab a mysis or two. I also see them on occasion away from their ledge, but not very often. Don't think they are a mated pair, though, but I guess they could be.

You might do a search on RC for mated cleaner shrimp for more information on what they do with their eggs and such.

[Ruth]

My coral banded shrimp ate my cleaner shrimp so not sure about those ones but my CBS are a mated pair. About every other week or so one of them has a stomach full of green eggs. I assume they just dispurse into the water column and become food for the reef.

[Troy F]

If you have two of either Lysmata amboinensis or L. wurdemanni you have yourself a mated pair. They are hermaphroditic. They carry eggs on the underside of their body. The eggs hatch producing a fairly continuous supply of planktonic larvae.