Peppermint Shrimp Spawn (Lysmata boggessi)

[DeneBanger]

Today was the expected due date for the larvae. No larvae after 14 days, but mama's eggs are starting to look a green/grey colour so my guess is we are still about 2-3 days off, which will bring this batch of eggs to 16-17 days.

Now while I was feeding them tonight, the other one is carrying eggs too! This is a small clutch, compared to the other one. Not sure when this happened, perhaps at the same time...not really sure, I'll have to keep close attention to the egg colour on the second one and move it to the nursery just before the hatch. With any luck I should have two spawns within a few days of each other.

......stay tuned!

[DeneBanger]

Here are a couple of pics of mama holding eggs.

[DeneBanger]

It's day 20 and both are still holding the eggs.....

[monocus]

shouldn't the eggs hatch in 10-14 days

[DeneBanger]

Originally Posted by monocus

shouldn't the eggs hatch in 10-14 days

......that is what I thought, but here we are at day 20 and I have two that are still holding the same eggs. I have begun to see eye spots on one of the clutches so that means I should see the larvae in the next few days from at least one shrimp. What I find interesting is that the system is 77-82 F so to have them holding eggs for this long seems extremely interesting. Perhaps this will be a very healthy batch..... or not....we are about to find out!

[DeneBanger]

This is day 21...on one of the PS the eggs are completely silver and full of eye spots...so I am expecting one batch of larvae after lights out tonight...the other PS is still holding but the eggs are starting to look green/grey so the second batch should follow in a few more days...

[DeneBanger]

Quick update....still no larvae! Both PS are STILL holding and the eggs on both are now a distinct silver and plenty of eye spots are visible to the naked eye...perhaps I'll have a nursery full of larvae tonight.

Now a note about the snails that I've added to the nursery, I added them too soon! On several occassions I've caught the adult PS killing them for a little escargot even though they are very well fed....so not a good idea to add the snails until after the larvae have arrived and the adults have been moved back to the broodstock tank. With this new diet that the adults are on I've observed significant growth and of course this prolonged period of carrying the eggs. We are now at day 22, I was of the understanding that it only takes 10-14 days for the larvae to hatch as was my experience with the first batch. Now, I'm starting to think that this prolonged period is far better and should produce higher quality larvae (time will tell) and that the previous 14 day cycle may well be a premature cycle as a result of poor nutrition (this is only an idea based on what I'm currently observing).

Now as far as the system goes, I am running a set of NO flourescents across the broodstock and the nursery; however, because the nursery has very little flow through I am starting to see the development of cyano , so the plan is to move the lights to a position several feet above to create more of an ambient lighting effect. If this doesn't help with the cyano then I'll switch to a light source for the broodstock only tank and leave the nursery with no direct lights. (The photoperiod is important to get the PS to keep spawning).

....my next entry should be the announcment of the larvae (I hope).

[DeneBanger]

Day 23...............both still holding.............

[DeneBanger]

Here is another very interesting occurrence.....today, while feeding the adult broodstock I noticed an empty carapace, the adults have undergone a full molt while holding the eggs at day 23 and it has not effected the eggs at all. I didn't know that this was possible.
So while we are waiting on this ever so slow larvae to make their grand appearance, let me mention something about feeding time. At feeding time I simply slice off a sliver of my frozen seafood goo and stick it to the end of my finger, each PS comes up to the surface in turn hangs on to my finger then takes off to the bottom of the tank again with a nice little clump of food. It has gotten to the point that they only have to see me coming and up they come!

[asylumdown]

Is the 10-14 day hatch period widely described elsewhere? If that's how long it's supposed to go, it's nuts that they haven't hatched yet. I'm imagining my sister 9 months overdue...