Breeding Journal, Species: Hymenocera picta

General
Species:  Hymenocera picta
Social Structure:  1 pair
Size of Individuals: 
Age of Individuals: 
Date added to Tank: 

Broodstock Tank Details
Size of Tank:  10gal
Substrate Details:  aragonite 
Filtration Details:  hang on filter
Water Changes: 
Water Temperature: 
Lighting: 
Lighting Cycle:  12/12
Other Tank Inhabitants:  none

Broodstock Feeding Details
Food Types:  chocolate chip starfish Protoreaster nodosus
Feeding Schedule: 

Spawning Details
Date of First Spawn:  unk
Spawn Time of Day:  ink
Dates of Consecutive Spawns: 
Courtship Details: 
Egg Size: 
Egg Color: 
Egg Count: 

Hatch Details
Hatch Date:  7/28/14 10/11/14
Hatch Time of Day:  ink
# Days after Spawn: 
Larvae Description:  yellow in color  2 millimeters 


Larval Tank Details
Temperature:  79-81F
Size of Larval Tank:  12gal
Substrate Details:  bare bottom
Other Tank Decor:  none
Filtration Details:  bio-beads, protein skimmer, bag of ferric oxide for PO4 removal
Lighting:  florescent spot light
Lighting Cycle:  12/12
Water Changes:  20-30% every 4 to 5 days

Larval Feeding Details
Food Types:  parvo copepods
Feeding Schedule:  fed daily unless copepod numbers look high. 

Metamorphosis/Settlement
Date of Settlement Start:  9/18/14  second batch 11/24/14
Days after Hatch:  52dph second batch 44dph
Date of Settlement End:  unk second batch still have larvae
Description of Fry:  eyes and legs pink in coloration body white and semi-transparent 

Grow-Out Tank Details
Temperature:  80-81F
Size of Grow-Out Tank:  20gal
Substrate Details:  bare bottom
Other Tank Decor:  various sized pvc cut into short pieces and some halved most 11/2" pac
Filtration Details:  same as larvae
Lighting:  same as larvae
Lighting Cycle:  same as larvae
Water Changes:  usually 1 time per week
Size at Transfer:  just over 1/2cm
Age at Transfer:  as they settled starting at 52dph

Grow-Out Feeding Details
Food Types:  asterina starfish
Feeding Schedule:  tank fed several times a week, unknown amount eaten on daily basis. recently collecting around 40 stars every 4-6 days from coral tank and added to the grow out tank

Additional Information
(No Pictures or Videos in the Section Please)
Miscellaneous Information: 



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.

shrimp larvae

Attached Image(s)

shrimp 

Attached Image(s)

Awesome pics!

+1, great pics.

Yeah - do you have photos of the broodstock?  

Sorry I don't have photos of the brood stock.  I got the larvae from a retail store 2 1/2hrs away.  I can email him to see if he will send me a few pics of them.  

It'll be important to know which form of Harlequin shrimp you have, I noted you named them as H. picta...seeing that among all the H. elegans reports, it clicked that there might be more than one type of Harlequin shrimp.  A cursory look on my end revealed that H. elegans may be the accepted name, with H. picta being treated at times synonymous but by others as representative of a different population with different coloration.  I learned something new today because of this post...I'd love to see more!

It'll be important to know which form of Harlequin shrimp you have, I noted you named them as H. picta...seeing that among all the H. elegans reports, it clicked that there might be more than one type of Harlequin shrimp.  A cursory look on my end revealed that H. elegans may be the accepted name, with H. picta being treated at times synonymous but by others as representative of a different population with different coloration.  I learned something new today because of this post...I'd love to see more!

From my literature search I found that elegans and picta have been used synonymous. Some references suggest that the differences between the two are based on color differences. I also found a reference that stated picta is more common in the trade due to location of elegans and collection of the shrimp for the aquarium trade (I will look back and post my references). I have various color forms from blue to the rusty brown spots in both clutches I have been able to raise.  22 shrimp from the first batch and currently 30 shrimp from the recent batch.  Truthfully I am not sure which species I have, I just went by default of which one is more common in the trade.  Sorry for the confusion.

I found my reference in a pdf Fiedler 1994 Larval Stages Harlequin Shrimp.
It says there are two color forms of picta. The red/maroon from the Hawaiian Islands and blue brown from the Western Indo-Pacific and Red Sea. The paper also states that shrimp from the Eastern Pacific (Panama and Costa Rica) two color forms are separate species blue being elegans and red being picta. There is no morphological basis for the separation , except color.

here are a few pics of 11 dph larvae.  There are few obvious observed differences with the larvae minus size. 
https://www.dropbox.com/s...0_1138-8-14ed.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s...0_1168-8-14ed.JPG?dl=0

10dph larvae
http://vimeo.com/102873981

http://vimeo.com/116019605
video of second batch of shrimp raised

first batch at 152dph
http://vimeo.com/116310198
<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/116310198" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/116310198">152dph H. picta 12-27-14 Ed</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user8199346">orlando</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

Wow! Thanks for sharing your recent success on the species. I have found this thread to be most informative and an exciting read. Many thanks

Hi Dave, I don't have the mating pair of the shrimp I raised.  I was contacted by a retailer that has the pair in a tank by themselves.  The tank is approx. 76 liters with a basic hang on filter and protein skimmer.  I was told he feeds the pair a chocolate chip starfish (Protoreaster nodosus) approx. once a week.  
A kreisel would be an ideal tank for raising the larvae but I don't have one on hand.  I used black round tanks instead with a 1/2" bulk head at the center bottom of the tank.  The bulkhead has a mesh 75mic. screen with an air ring around it.  The idea behind the air ring is to create a circular upward current to help keep the larvae suspended and keep the larvae from being sucked onto the screen.
I'll post a few pics soon.

I wasn't able to find pics on my pc but here is  video of the brt with me removing surface scum for a different project.https://vimeo.com/102564615
 

Thank you again for your time and I continue to applaude the work your doing

Regards,
Dave