Is my Clearner shrimp having babies?

[krazydy]

Hi, I noticed this morning something diffrent in my cleaner shrimp. All of a sudden my cleaner shrimp has tonf of green egg looking balls in her bottom section. I've had that shrimp in my tank for about 3 months now and added 1 month ago a smaller cleaner shrimp. if it is having babies, what are the chances they will survive in a small 12G nanocube?

[bkv1997]

It is possible if you don't have other fish that will see the babies as food and you keep sponges over all the filters.

I won't claim to be an expert on this topic, but you should readup on this for further information. I have provided a link for you to do some reading. Please let me know what you find out and how things turn out for you.

ShrimpReproFAQs

Thanks
Brandon

[Fishboy42]

From your description it sounds as if they are breeding--a sign of good health and a healthy tank! The larvae of shrimp have long larval durations and specific food and environmental requirements, so it is unlikely that they will survive in a normal aquarium. Peppermint shrimp are relatively easy to raise (larval periods of only a month or so), but the cleaners (skunks, fire shrimp, banded coral shrimp, etc) have larval stages of several months or more, so they are a challenge to raise. The babies will make good food for your fish and corals when they are released though (probably in the middle of the night a week or so after you notice them under the tail). Hope this helps!

Matt

[Saltydogg]

I had the same thing happen with my cleaner shrimp and it was indeed eggs. Since I first noticed them, there have been two nights where I've saw something floating around my tank after the lights were turned off. When I turned the lights back on there was a ton of tiny transparent baby shrimp tyring to hang on for dear life. My fish loved them and the ones that weren't eaten were sucked up by the filter of my 12g Nano-cube. The pump on those tanks isn't very strong, but apparently its strong enough to suck all of the little guys up. If you end up using the sponge over the filter like bkv1997 suggested, let me know if it works because I'd like to do the same on my Nano-cube. Good luck!

[JellyMan]

Indeed baby shrimp sign of a good eco system great job keep us posted!!