Pregnant Skunk?

[Grins]

I am only guessing here as this normally out in the open shrimp is being a bit skittish the past few days. But this is starting to look like eggs? Seeing that this one is named Terrance, perhaps I need to rename it. Oh, and don't ask me what the black is on Philip. If I had to guess perhaps a sting from when he was trying to steal food from the anemone as the next morning was the first time I noticed the discoloring and he is always visible in the tank. Oh I know what the hind legs look like when tucked up against their body at rest but this doesn't look like those.

 

[Reefscape]

That is eggs developing there...will eventually make nice food for the fish and clean up crew

The black markings could be a few things really, a sting like you suggested or simply got scared and caught on a rock or something...

Niko

 

[Grins]

Philip is fearless. Unlike Butters my embarrassingly neurotic tang.

 

[fsn77]

If the eggs are viable / fertilized, they will quickly become a greenish color. If you are lucky enough to see the young hatch and be released, it's actually very cool. The one time I witnessed it with our skunk cleaners, there were what seemed like 100s of young. Our skunk cleaners, until just recently when we lost one of them, would mate what seemed like monthly. I'm sure our corals loved it.

They are hermaphroditic, but cannot fertilize their own eggs. As I understand it, at the time of molting, the molting shrimp is able to accept a sperm packet from another shrimp, which it can then use immediately or within a period of time to fertilize eggs. The fertilized eggs turn a shade of green, and once they hatch, the "mother" shrimp will release the hatchlings near the water's surface once the tank goes dark. The hatchlings are not strong swimmers and it's unlikely that any will survive in a reef tank due to predation by fish, corals, and even the adult skunk cleaners themselves. I've seen a website or two that talked about raising the hatchlings in a separate tank, but it does require having an adequate food supply for them.

 

[Catpicklesdog]

I watched mine hatch and it was an amazing sight. We'd just had a power cut and when the lights went back on my tank looked like it had a snow storm inside. My fish loved it!!!!

 

[Grins]

AhHa! Greenish color you say? Well Philip has this strange bright green mass in the same area of his body. I figured he was just stealing too many formula II flakes. These two are constantly pawing at one another. Phillip is ALWAYS straddling Terrance's back and pawing at him. Oh and there have been 2 molts this week. One the last week.

 

[salty420]

ha cool!

 

[Grins]

Know what is even cooler? The look on my 18 year old's face when I told him both his shrimp were probably hermphrodites and knocked up...lol

 

[Grins]

UPDATE: Looks like both Terrance and Philip are knocked up and Philip's eggs are fertile. If Terrance would come out of hiding I'd better be able to tell if his were as well.

Oh and at least 3 peppermints are pregnant as well. I guess I know what they have been doing instead of eating aiptasias.

 

[clown-lover]

Sing it with me... "The LOVE SHACK baby..."