Breeding Journal, Species: Lysmata boggessi

General
Species:  Lysmata boggessi
Social Structure:  Simultaneous hermaphrodites; 4 in the tank at first, then down to two that were spotted consistently     
Size of Individuals:  2-3 inches
Age of Individuals:  Unknown, wild caught
Date added to Tank:  May 27, 2013

Broodstock Tank Details
Size of Tank:  30 gallons
Substrate Details:  Aragonite sand
Filtration Details:  Live rock, canister filter
Water Changes:  ~15% every other week
Water Temperature:  78-82 F
Lighting:  LED
Lighting Cycle:  6am to 9pm
Other Tank Inhabitants:  Four clown gobies, blue leg hermits, cerith and columbellid snails, sailfin blennies (two), A. ocellaris pair         

Broodstock Feeding Details
Food Types:  Various frozen foods (mysis, squid, krill, shrimp, etc), Formula One flake and pellet, occasionally black worms
Feeding Schedule:  1-3 times a day

Spawning Details
Date of First Spawn:  There were many spawns before, but the first one I watched/tracked from egg carrying adult to hatch was 8-22-2013
Spawn Time of Day:  During lights out, between 9PM and 6AM
Dates of Consecutive Spawns:  These spawn continuously (meaning they always have eggs) as long as they have been fed well
Courtship Details:  None noted since spawning occurs in the dark after molting
Egg Size:  Not measured, estimate a millimeter or so
Egg Color:  Greenish
Egg Count: Not counted, but often hundreds based on how many larvae are collected

Hatch Details
Hatch Date:  6-9-2013; 6-10-2013; 9-2-2013 (from 8-22-2013 spawn); 9-11-2013; 9-23-2013 (there are other hatches, I just don't always have the snagger on to catch them)   
Hatch Time of Day:  After lights out
# Days after Spawn:  They seem to hatch out 10-14 days after spawn, but it has been difficult to track which shrimp is releasing the larvae since there are multiple adults in the tank.
Larvae Description:  Attracted to light, clear-ish, have eyes, tail and legs that can be relatively easy to see.  


Larval Tank Details
Temperature:  Room temp, currently 72-77, BRT has a heater set to 79F
Substrate Details:  None
Other Tank Decor:  Air line
Filtration Details:  None, other than live phyto
Lighting:  CFL, Fluorescent strip light over the BRT            
Lighting Cycle:  6am-9pm
Water Changes:  In the smaller container, daily or every other day as needed to remove an uneaten food.  In the larger container water changes have been less frequent and I instead just slowly increased the total water volume.  Bottom siphoning was done twice in a three week period.  

Larval Feeding Details
Food Types:  NHBBS, enriched partially grown brine as the larvae got older, Golden pearls 300-500 uM after the first week or so were added occasionally, sometimes daily if I didn't have enough bbs.  Also, after a couple weeks they seem to enjoy munching on the slime algae that gets scraped off and floats around after a water change.    
Feeding Schedule:  continuous

Metamorphosis/Settlement
Date of Settlement Start:  10-16-2013 (for the day 24 batch in the BRT) and 10-17-2013 (for the day 36 batch in the 3-4 gallon fishbowl)
Days after Hatch:  24 and 36
Date of Settlement End:  10-28-2013 (for both batches, oddly enough)
Description of Fry:  Miniature adults.  Some are more red than others.

Grow-Out Tank Details
Temperature:  ~78F
Size of Grow-Out Tank:  17 gallon BRT, hanging breeder basket (which they escaped into the 40B tank that also has some L. debelius in it)
Substrate Details:  None
Other Tank Decor:  PVC pipes and fittings, yarn mops, egg crate
Filtration Details:  Sponge filter in the BRT, skimmer and live rock in the 40B
Lighting:  Fluorescent strip light above the BRT, metal halide above the 40B
Lighting Cycle:  6AM to 9PM
Water Changes:  Random, as needed
Size at Transfer:  ~1cm
Age at Transfer:  those in the BRT were not transferred, the others were moved several weeks after settlement (for the ones that settled first at least)

Grow-Out Feeding Details
Food Types:  Pellets, live artemia, flake 
Feeding Schedule:  at least once a day, no set schedule

Additional Information
(No Pictures or Videos in the Section Please)
Miscellaneous Information: 
I reared two batches so far, 11 days apart.  The older batch was in a 3-4 gallon fish bowl that was not heated and the younger batch was in a 18 gallon BRT that was heated.  They both started settlement within days of one another and the last larva settled in each container within days of each other as well (may have even been the same day).


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I have seen molts and usually 3 of the 4 shrimp with eggs since I bought them. The last couple nights I have been using the larval snagger to actually give these a go at raising.

There are four adults, so keeping track of exact spawn and corresponding hatch dates might be tricky, but I'll try.

Here are some pics of the adults:



You can see the eggs. They don't live in the breeder basket, they were just put in there so I could try to get some pics of them.

I collected some larvae last night of what I believe to be peppermint shrimp larvae (perhaps hermit crab larvae, I've found those in this tank also) and will try to get some pics. They are currently in a 1 gallon fish bowl and were fed nhbbs this morning. I will probably also put in some apocyclops because I have those handy.

Another hatch last night, 6-10-2013, but it was pretty small.  I just used a baster to suck them out of the snagger and put them into a 1g water pitcher with some apocyclops for the day.  I don't expect much to happen with them in this setup, but I was in a hurry this morning and couldn't do much more. If they make it through the day I will combine them with the first hatch (which I hope to move today to a different tank/vessel.  They keep getting caught on this little lip on the bottom, then I have to sort of stir them up periodically.  It would be great to move them to the 3-4 gallon orb bowl, but I currently have some eggs tumbling in there.  However, the eggs are starting to look bad, so maybe I will just move the eggs out and put the shrimp in there.  

Shannpeach, 
Can you expound a bit on this larval snagger/ baby catcher? Looking to start messing with my shrimp, seems like they are always at it, but I have never done anything with them. 

 
Sure.  In the past I have made snaggers, but this time around I was feeling lazy and pressed for time so I just ordered a Vossen snagger:

 
These are super nice because you just attach your airline to the rigid tubing he puts in place for you (on the left side of the picture), suction cup it inside the tank, put the light (that he sends with it) outside the tank, and you are good to go.  I think there are a couple threads around about different snaggers people have made themselves (pretty easy...basically just 2L bottles and some PVC are necessary) too
 

and you just put that in your main tank? I will have to go find some of those threads??? 
 

Yep, you just put it in and it does the work.  No more checking every 15 minutes after lights out, using a flashlight to attract the larvae and scooping them out
 
I would probably be able to collect more if I turned off at least some of the pumps when I collect, but since I have just been leaving it in every night while I figure out a spawn/hatch schedule for 4 different shrimp, I just leave the pumps on.

Is it a blue or white light that he sends wit it? I think I am going to try and build one!  

It's a white, pretty small almost like a candlelight if that makes any sense. 

Yeah I think I might have a few things that will work for the job. I am going to have to look up some more specs on it, but this is a great starting place! Thank you!
 
Do you keep it continuously in your system, or just place it in there for a couple of nights when you know you have pregnant shrimp?

Right now I'm just keeping it there all the time, and just letting it go continuously in my display just in case of any early birds My dad attempted to make his own, and it doesn't work REALLY well, but I have gotten a few spawns from it. The only problem with it is that it floats, but I'm thinking of reinforcing it with some suction cups. Here is a pic:

The holes in the top are for the suctions, and I'm going to put a third at the bottom in the middle.

Nice, I do a lot of plexi and glass work, so I may try and mimic that first one... but I definitely know what to do if I don't want to spend the time cutting glass....RAID THE KITCHEN! I have plenty of dishes that'll work like that! Thanks for your help! 

Anytime! I'd recommend the more circular ones than square just so you can have a circular flow and the larvae don't bump into things

ok... good idea. Maybe go with plexi... gotta do some more research now I love jumping into a new project!
 

I have been leaving mine in every night recently just because I don't know exactly when the hatches will be since there are 4 shrimp. It's also not my "main" display, so I don't mind it just staying in there most of the time

Hey, one more question for you... what size (roughly) is that first one you have in that photo... the store bought one. 

I forgot to measure this morning, but from memory its about 7in x 7in x 1in 
 
I never got a chance to move them to the fish bowl, but the ones in the small water pitcher are goners, as I expected.  There are still some alive in the fish bowl, but I didn't feed any nhbbs, so they are stuck eating just the copepods that are in there if they can until I can move them/find a way to flush out the old bbs.  

Thanks. 
Bummer about the pitcher babies being gonners. 

what rate of bubbles per second are you running your vossen snagger? I went ahead and ordered one, now just trying to fine tune the bubble so I can actually get something! 
 

I am not exactly sure about the bubble rate. I do know that it nearly always ended up being faster than I want since I often just tie a knot in the airline as a way to control it (not very fine tuned!) instead of just putting a valve on the line.  I just try to make sure that things aren't being sucked up against, and held against, the micron mesh and then I hope for the best.  It may take you a few tries to tweak it just the way you want, but the snagger gives a lot of wiggle room, I think.

hey shannpeach, just thought I'd let you know... my shrimp just released her larvae! I ended up netting most out, just because my Banggai thought it was a feast!(and the snagger was too slow in order to catch them before she did! lol.... Let's see how this goes now!  
 

So these guys have been going about their business despite quite a bit of neglect from me. They have all had several egg clutches since I got them, but lately I haven't been feeding as much and they have very few eggs, if any. I plan to up the food again and to start collecting larvae once I get some new lights for my larval snagger (which should be delivered in the next week).

Here are some pics of them carrying eggs since they've been in the tank:

Nice, what's the furthest you've gotten the babies along?
 

I haven't really made a serious effort yet. I've pretty much just dropped them in a container a couple times and tossed a few bbs at them. I plan to make a more serious attempt once the adults are in better spawning condition again, hopefully in the next couple weeks

ok cool, well I am giving them a go and keep loosing them at 10dph or so.... so maybe you'll have better luck! I'll keep watching your posts.
 

So, I was collecting some Clibanarius tricolor larvae and was getting them all set up in a water pitcher for a rather lazy attempt at rearing, and I realized that I had ONE, just ONE, peppermint larva in with them.  I had thought my shrimp I saw carrying eggs a week+ ago would have hatched by now, but I only caught this single one.  I realized that although I have collected these larvae before, I don't think I posted any pics.  So I threw the one I had under the microscope for a couple pics, and then put it back in the water pitcher.  Right now there are L strain rots, live phyto, nhbbs, and apocyclops panamensis in there with it (in addition to lots and lots of clibanarius larvae).
 

 

So I finally got a decent hatch last night.  I collected this morning out of the Vossen snagger and put them the 3 (4?) gallon fish bowl orb, but only about half filled with broodstock tank water.  I added some chaetoceros, and some nhbbs that I had sitting in the fridge already.  I also added in a few rotifers, but hardly any at all. 
 
Some M. forceps also hatched last night.  It didn't seem like very many, but I didn't have time to really count/get a good estimate.  They were thrown in with the peppermint shrimp also.
 

Day 6 and they got a 50% water change and bottom siphon. A quick peek under the scope suggests zoea III for them. I saw one chowing on a golden pearls ball so at least now I know that they have been eating some of those.

Last night they got a ~30% water change/bottom siphon and I pulled a couple to take some pics.  Most are at Zoea IV, I believe, which is when I think they get their spear legs.  A few are still in Zoea III.  I tried to get pics of each stage, but the problem is that they are getting to big to easily take microscope pics!  In any case, here is what I have:
 
Day 8, Zoea III:


I wasn't able to get any good shots of the telson
 
Day 8, Zoea IV:
Googly eyes!


 
It's possible I mixed a couple pictures up since they were both on the same slide when I was looking at them and photobucket often doesn't upload them in the order they were taken.
 
The last couple days I have been feeding Formula Two flake (crushed between my fingers) and last night I tried some Golden Pearls 300-500uM and although a couple were chowing on them, I think they are a bit too bulky yet.  So this morning I gave them some of the 200-300uM instead since I didn't have any nhbbs ready.

Looking good. Love the pic of the wild eye stalks.

Still have larvae from the last hatch which are at day 12 today.  Some days I don't have as many artemia available as I would like and I have to rely more heavily on flake and golden pearls, but so far it has seemed alright since there are still quite a few cruising around.
 
This morning I had a whopping big hatch.  It looked like a bazillion at first (estimated, of course).  I decided this time to put them in a BRT (17 gallon) since there were so many and because I really need to stop culturing these things on my kitchen counter top.  I had planned to very carefully, very gracefully move the larvae from the 2.5 gallon bucket I had siphoned them into over to the BRT but it went more like THWACK-THUMP-SPLASH-WHOOSH-@&*^$&#! as I knocked the bucket on the rim of the BRT, dropped it into the tub, some of the water splashed over the top of the bucket into the BRT and onto the floor, and then the bucket dumped over in a tidal wave of broodstock water, peppermint larvae, and curses into the BRT.  So...not off to the best start.  I added some nhbbs but not as many as I would have liked (I don't think I did a great job decapping this last time--perhaps went too long--and only like half of the brine seem to hatch lately.  I will have to decap a new batch tonight).  They have a heater and an airstone this time instead of the room temp and rigid airline tubing that I am using for the older batch.

Still have some of the older batch cruising around.  Last night I put one under the microscope and got this picture:

Based on Luis A M's thread on the stages of the peppermint shrimp (on reefcentral) I think they are in Z8...today they may be Z9 if they molted last night.  I will probably check again tonight.
 
I still have lots and lots of the younger batch that is in the heated BRT that are at day 11 and I think Z5 although I haven't really looked at them too closely.

 
The BRT probably only has about 9 gallons of water, but now that they are old enough and I don't have to keep the density of bbs quite so high, I can add more water.
 

Day 26 for the older batch and looking in the bowl this morning, it looks like I have at least a couple that are Z10 (based on A1 and A2 being nearly the same length, I haven't looked at them under the microscope).  I definitely saw some molts floating around also, so it looks like there was a change in stages last night.  They can swim surprisingly well which has made it difficult to capture one to put under the microscope.  A turkey baster doesn't work anymore and neither did a small measuring cup.  I didn't try too long at the time though.  I may just leave them be.  I have been doing 1 gallon water changes (out of about 3 gallons total) every other day for the last several days.  They mainly get bbs (unfortunately, not older ones, still nhbbs or just a few days old brine) and Golden Pearls (which they really seem to like).
 
The younger batch is on day 15 and looking good as far as I can tell.  I did the first bottom siphon/true water change this weekend.  Took one gallon out and put one back in.  They get the same fare as the older ones, but I don't feed GP quite as often (so I can be lazier about the water changes).  They are cruising around in about 12 gallons of water at this point, and there are still a whole bunch alive.

Update on these guys.  I have two batches going, one at day 25 (as of today) and one at day 36 (as of today).  I've been watching the older ones in the fish bowl orb closely since they *should* be settling any day now.  However, last week I had turned the air up slightly and some ended up damaging their spear legs.  I turned it back down, but I am guessing that settlement may be delayed until they get those spear legs back.  I checked the BRT last night after I got home and much to my surprise I found at least three of these:


 
Sorry the pics aren't the best, but the angle, the reflection from the light, and the fact that I used my phone to take the pics made it rather difficult to get a good shot!
The younger batch has settled shrimp already! I saw them on day 24, so the night of day 23 they molted to shrimp.  Crazy!  It's possible that the older has some settled shrimp; the sides of the fish bowl are pretty gunked up with algae so I can't really see much in there.  I did see a molt this morning, so I am hoping at least one in that bowl settled last night.
 

Today I found about ten or so (maybe more are there) settled shrimp in the older batch and snapped a few quick pics through the glass:




Then, in the BRT with the younger ones, I saw a shrimp cruising in the water column so I quick scooped him up for some pics:

It looks like all the larva have finally settled.  I collected about 30 from the fish bowl orb and moved them to a large mesh breeder basket that hangs in another tank so I can finally take that bowl off my kitchen counter top...


 
I haven't collected any larvae in a long time and I am beginning to suspect that I keep seeing the same, single shrimp...I plan to purchase another group of four, put one in with the current adult I have and the other three in another tank.

Four more adult shrimp purchased and added to the broodstock tank.  Also gave this tank a nice size water changes.  I haven't seen of the the shrimp since I added them...but I am hoping that they are doing fine.  None of them had eggs so I probably won't put in/start up the larval snagger until a week or so after I see a molt floating around in the tank.
 
The juveniles seem to be doing well.  Some are shockingly large.  I can't believe how quickly they grow!  Most of them are still in with the Lysmata debelius pair...I may try to snag some out just in case the fire shrimp pair decides to turn murderous and kill all the juveniles.

This weekend I saw that one of the "baby" pepps was holding eggs!  They aren't even 60 DPS yet!  I will try to snag it and get some pics of it.  It's a small clutch of eggs, but still pretty impressive considering its young age.
 
I also had to do a tank swap/transfer that the adult "broodstock" are in (the previous cube developed a slow leak so I replaced it with a new cube this weekend) and there are still four alive in there and two of those four had eggs (one had a HUGE batch of eggs) so I will definitely be keeping the snagger running in there to catch the larvae

nice... that's crazy how young they are reproductively mature!

This isn't the one that I originally spotted, but I found this one while moving some to a new growout set up.