cleaner shrimp babies

[B.rian]

so i know that these are impossible to raise, or at least are a PITA at the very best. i have noticed that my cleaner shrimp has been fat lately and molting rather frequently. i can actually see the eggs in her/his/its lower part. i have also noticed that i can see little shrimp hiding among my xenia. they are probably 1 cm in length. so are the shrimp i am seeing now part of a previous session, or part of the current batch of eggs? i don't know why only some of the eggs would hatch. does anyone have any insight into this? i am actually suprised that the other fish haven't found them and eaten them yet. i have fairy wrasse, blenny, and tang that would love a live meal.

 

[Chris L]

are you sure what your seeing isnt co-pods? i have three cleaners that seem to always have a underside full of eggs, but i have never seen anything actually live.try to get a picture if possible .

 

[B.rian]

no i have seen copepods and amphipods etc. before. these actually look like really tiny shrimp. the have legs up in the front of the body and a rear section that extends back with nothing under it. they are semi transparent. actually they hanging out with an amphipod i think. the only reason i even noticed them is because they are in the only area of my tank with the least amount of flow, hidden in the corner with my xenia rock. i could never have found them out in the open. i just put some phyto feast in the tank. don't actually know if that will help, but i guess it can't hurt. i can't get a picture of them, they are too small. i will try again tomorrow with my girlfriends camera. maybe i can get a decent picture with hers, it has a setting for marine shots.

 

[~Flighty~]

They are most likely adult mysids. They are saltwater shrimp that only get around 1/3 of an inch long. They are related to, but not the same as the FW mysis that PE packages frozen. They are in most tanks just like the pods and hang out mostly near the substrate.