pistol shrimp babies???

[elan]

i think i have many more pistol shrimp that originally thought.. tonight, as i was staring at my tank, i think i saw a large pod (about 1/4 inch) attack another smaller pod... the large one did look a little like a pistol, but he crawled out of his hold and back into the hole so quick, i could not get a really good look.....
I know i have two larger pistols in my tank.. about an inch in length, and i feed them every so often..
Has anyone out there experienced their "unwanted" pistol shrimp have babies???
I am seriously considering QTing all my live rock and getting rid of these vermin...

 

[mistylab]

you said you feed the larger pistols every once in a while, why don't you grab a fine mesh net and try to catch the babies with some bait? Put an irrisistable food in the net and try to catch them.
Sorry if this doesn't work, I have never had this problem before

 

[elan]

the pistol shrimp are onto my game... i have tried almost everything.. the only thing left is to pour bleech into my tank... i am sure i will get rid of them then...lol.......
I actually dont mind a few in my tank... got used to the crackel and pop sounds.... just missing the snap
but, i am wondering if they reproduce to a level that overrun the tank... if this is the case, i will kill my Live rock with a fresh water rince in order to get these buggers... but i dont really want to do that...

 

[ajroc31]

Why would you want to get rid of them in the first place. Pistol shrimp are not pests, and any offspring should be a welcome addition, you could always sell them. I have hundreds of baby cleaner shrimp in my 120 gal. and they usually are eaten or die beofre growing up, so u should feel like a proud papa and feed the offspring. Not many people can say that they had anything reproduce in their tank.

 

[elan]

i dont enjoy the clicking noise... and dozens of them in my tank ??? wholy machine gun noises..

 

[lesa]

You can ship some to me

 

[leboeuf]

hey ajroc31, are you sure you have cleaner shrimp babies? I don't think that's posible, or ever been done in captivity before. Maybe a SHARK will put there two cents in......get em boys (girls)!

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by LeBoeuf
get em boys (girls)!
I'm pretty sure ajroc31 was saying that although 100's are hatched they are all eaten....
The only thing I would disagree with is the 100's. I would say it's probably 1000's.

 

[ajroc31]

100% sure. My cleaners have eggs on them right now, actually I dont remember the last time I saw them not carring hundreds of little green eggs attached to their swiming legs. Only problem none of them make to adulthood. Its cool to look at, at night. Hundreds tiny little white lights running around.

 

[ajroc31]

If you do really want to get rid of them, try a mandrin goby. If it doesnt work, you still have an awesome fish.

 

[elan]

i am afraid i added too many shrimp to my tank which ate my pod population.. therefore, i will have to wait till i get a good refuge setup in order to maintain his diet.

 

[cells]

Originally posted by LeBoeuf
hey ajroc31, are you sure you have cleaner shrimp babies? I don't think that's posible, or ever been done in captivity before. Maybe a SHARK will put there two cents in......get em boys (girls)!
I saw my cleaner shrimp spawn 2 times (ya, have to seat there and wait an wait and wait....). And hundreds of little shrimps came wriggling all over the tank. But ya, the damsels chomp them up in less than 3 mins... My glass shrimps spawn like once every 2 weeks too.

 

[leboeuf]

this is just my observation, but when I was cycling my tank and had NO inhabitants there were hundreds of little shrimp and pods cruzing around for weeks. I also have three peppermint and three cleaners who have eggs under their tail's. I would be will to bet that the shrimp with glowing eyes at night are not cleaner or peppermint babies. I am always open to new ideas. Bang your thoughts?

 

[ajroc31]

If by babies you mean anything past the stage of larvae, I do not have any. If you mean larvae, yes I do have them. They spawn constantly, but nothing happens. None of them reach stage where it is safe for them to come out.

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by LeBoeuf
I would be will to bet that the shrimp with glowing eyes at night are not cleaner or peppermint babies. I am always open to new ideas. Bang your thoughts?
Mysid Shrimp.

 

[zafirablanca]

I have three pistol shrimp in my tank. They were hitchikers on my LR. They are about 4 inches long. They have spawned, but no babies survived (I do not have any fish in this tank yet!). The pistols are extrodinarily shy, and rarely come into view, even for feeding.
If yours are about an inch in length, they sound to be more like the pretty mantis shrimp hitchikers that I got on the same rock. The mantis will click more often than the pistols. The pistols only snap when someone is bothering them (and it is LOUD!) I have four of these small mantis, although they seem to steer clear of eachother. I am relatively sure that these guys have not spawned. They will come out to be fed.
I have millions of pods. I have some amphipods that sound alot like the 1/4" ones that you are describing. They do seem to spar with eachother.
I hope that this info helps. I would try to get a hold of a good ID book if I were you. Try to get some info about fauna from the region that your rock came from, or purchased inverts came from. For instance, mine is Carribean (not Figi).
I wouldn't jump to any conclusions yet. You are probably seeing a really beneficial amount of aquarium life that is naturally supposed to be there. But without any ID, its hard to assume they are bad guys or anything else for that matter.
Did you purchase your shrimp?
-Christine

 

[elan]

i am positive these guys are pistols... i have seen them completely out and hear their clicking noice 20+ feet away from the tank... i did not purchase these guys, but for now, there is nothing i am going to do but keep feeding these guys to minimize them having to kill anything else in my tank for food...
it just seems like they came from knowwhere, and there is more and more every time i sit and stare at the tank for a length of time....
oh well... i am just glad they are not mantis.