Breeding Journal, Species: Lysmata amboinensis, Cleaner Shrimp

General
Species:  Lysmata amboinensis
Social Structure:  Pair
Size of Individuals:  2" body size, excluding legs
Age of Individuals:  Unknown
Date added to Tank:  10-4-2010

Broodstock Tank Details
Size of Tank:  Odd size, 24" x 18" x 13"
Substrate Details:  Sand
Filtration Details:  Tied into reef system, so live rock, skimmer, sand, some carbon.
Water Changes:  I aim for once every other week...that doesn't happen.
Water Temperature:  78-81
Lighting:  Clamp lamp with one of those energy saving swirly bulbs
Lighting Cycle:  Whenever I remember to turn it on and turn it off...usually on around 9am and off around 11pm, though it varies
Other Tank Inhabitants:  None at the moment, though I'm looking forward to adding fish

Broodstock Feeding Details
Food Types:  Frozen...everything (mysis, brine, etc), Formula 1 and 2 pellets, little critters in the tank
Feeding Schedule:  This pair only gets fed once daily since they're tied into the reef system

Spawning Details
Date of First Spawn:  10-14-10
Spawn Time of Day:  Sometime during the night
Dates of Consecutive Spawns:  This is their first spawn for me
Courtship Details:  Unknown at this point, since they spawned while I was asleep
Egg Size:  .5mm, round
Egg Color:  minty green right now (see pics)
Egg Count:  a whole bunch...1000 maybe?

Hatch Details
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Larval Tank Details
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Larval Feeding Details
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Metamorphosis/Settlement
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Description of Fry: 

Grow-Out Tank Details
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Additional Information
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You will be required to provide photographic evidence in this thread of each event submitted for the MBI Program.
If your thread does not contain these photos the MBI Committee will not be able to approve your reports.

Here's mamma cleaner:

 
Here's a closeup of the eggs...forgive the bad pic.

Great pics!  That's what we need.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Thanks Tal   The next time the banded coral shrimp is catchable I'll snag her and try to do the same thing.

NICE PIX Chelsey!  Way to go!

Killer pics!

Thanks guys   I'll try and get some pics like this for the CBS as well...provided I can catch her.

I got home today and HOLY COW THE EGGS HAVE EYES!!!  These are the best pics I can get unfortunately   I can see much more detail with my eyeballs.  Hopefully these suckers will hatch tonight and then I'll have all kinds of fun pics!
 

 

I managed to steal a few eggs tonight for a photo op.  Don't worry, I didn't waste them, I stuck them in an artificial incubator   We'll see what happens.

 

Funky little critters.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Aww, those little guys are so cute. I hope you have success with this species, perhaps even finding a way shorten their larval stage. The adults are so friendly and interesting.
 
How do you steal eggs from a shrimp anyway?

Very carefully, with a pipette

Very cool. I would have thought the pleopods are too sensitive to get away with something like that. It's good to know they aren't.

I don't think that I'll be doing it on a regular basis, but the shrimp doesn't appear to be at all harmed by it.  The key words to my previous statement are VERY CAREFULLY.  I didn't just pry the pleopods apart and pillage the eggs

I understand. Use with extreme care.
 
Have the little guys developed much in the past few days?

We moved the mamma shrimp into a separate container because we didn't have the egg collector set up on the tank she's in.  It stressed her out too much and she released the eggs prematurely   Lesson learned.  Next time we'll have the egg collector set up.  Her "mate" is also carrying eggs, though they're in the mint green stage, so when she's ready we'll set up an egg collector.