Pregnant Skunk Shrimp

[jgoal55]

Does this even happen? I noticed a dark coloration in my cleaner shrimps belly and upon closer examination they looked like hundreds of tiny little eggs (balls).

Do they sometimes develop eggs and not have them fertilized (like cichlids)?

Thanks,
Jorge

 

[kwl1763]

I've never seen it unless yhou have two or more. With 2 or more they are pregnant all the time. How long have you had it? They can hold them quite a while.

 

[cameron]

Yes. Mine has been pregnant once so far, but the little babies apparently got ate up.

 

[kwl1763]

So I've always kept multiple but found this interesting and did a bit more digging and while not "usual" it appears to be not uncommon. More here:

 

[jmaneyapanda]

SNOB ALERT!!!! Just to clarify, they aren't "pregnant", they carry their eggs externally in their swimmerette fins. Most shrimp are hermaphroditic (I belive), so they will produce eggs, sometimes even when they are kept singly. It is not nececssarily easy to cultivate the offspring- ask aquazoa. You need very specialized environments and food sources. Whether they hatch or not in our tanks is debatable, but even if they did, they would be quick food for almost everything.

 

[cameron]

I think they change sexes back and forth, but I could be wrong on that as well.

 

[jgoal55]

thanks for the responses guys.....there are in fact two cleaners in the tank, one much smaller than the other. The bigger one is the one that looks like she is holding but contrary to what jmaneyapanda said they are not being held externally in their swimmerette fins. It definitely looks like what I am seeing is inside her abdominal area (just above all the little tiny shrimp legs).

I guess she isn't holding if this is the case, but then what I am I seeing inside of her? Also, she has been a lot more aggressive when it comes to eating lately????

Oh yeah, btw, I don't have any fish in the tank at all right now so had they been eggs and had they hatched could they have lived???? I guess the hermits would eat them up pretty quick......

 

[schwaggs]

If what you are seeing is dark in color, it may be the shimps last meal. Their bodies are translucent and you can see their internal organs through their bodies. The eggs are held under the tail section and are greenish from what I have seen on my pair.