Fertile eggs will be bright green. If they are not fertile, they will not become cleaner shrimp larvae. The eggs will be released into the water column, where they will most likely be eaten up by the tanks inhabitants or will go through the filter. The egg itself is very nutritious
It'll take two cleaner shrimp to make fertilized eggs. While both shrimp have both sexes (male & female), only the other shrimp could fertilize the eggs (also vice versa). If you have only one shrimp in the tank, there's no chance that the eggs will ever be fertilized again (second bathc). If there are two shrimp (both same species) present in the same tank, there is a chance that the eggs may be fertilized. The fertilized eggs will be bright green.
Anyway, The fry are extremely difficult to raise in the home aquarium. The fry are extremely delicate and with a few bumps against the glass or rock, they can be dead. If you're still interested, look at
This article in FAMA, which I found quite interesting.
This article may also help. In that last article, it states:
Egg Production Frequency
It took me sometime observing the egg production cycles before I could determine the gestation period. A day before the shrimp is ready to lay the eggs onto the pleopods (Swimming legs) they can be seen as a green area through the carapace (Thorax body shell). This is best viewed from the sides, above the 2nd and 3rd pair of walking legs. When lying the eggs, the shrimp bends its abdomen and uropods (tail flukes) downwards and excretes them from the thorax to the inter-spaces of the pleopods. Once completed anything from 500-1200 bright green eggs can be seen. As the eggs grow this vivid colour fades, turning to a dull cream/light brown a few days prior to hatching. On the day of hatching two things are obvious. First the clutch is so large it seems ready to fall from the shrimp and secondly the developing larvae eye can be seen as black dots. The gestation period may vary with temperature or salinity but at 25 degrees and a specific gravity of 1.022-1.023 hatching always occurred on the 15th day after being laid. This will occur between ½ -1 hr after the aquarium lights go out. The egg-baring shrimp swims inverted releasing hundreds on tiny larvae into the water column. The sight is quite spectacular and one of the great highlights of the hobby. To view the event it is best to use a low powered torch though as turn the aquarium lights back on merely delays the process. If hatching occurs in the main display tank the torch can also be used to concentrate all the larvae in one area for collection. This is because in their larval stage they exhibit positive phototropism, to the layperson they simply move towards a light source. This is function that orients them to the seas surface during the day were they feed on various phyto and zooplankton. Remember the larvae are vary delicate at this stage so don’t use a net to catch them, siphoning is much better.
If the shrimp has been kept in a separate breeding tank it is a good idea to carefully remove the parent shrimp after hatching to avoid predation.
Breeding Tank
The system I used as a breeding tank can only be described as prehistoric. An 18"x12"x10’’ all glass aquarium, a hood holding an 18 watt Fluorescent tube and a simple undergravel filter run by an air pump. The output of the pump was turned right down to stop physical damage to the delicate larvae. On the uplift pipes I added capsules containing carbon media for added filtration. The water temperature was 25°C and the salinity maintained at a specific gravity of 1.0225. Due to the limited filtration capability of the system low percentage water changes were done everyday.
The short description of my setup clearly shows that such breeding endeavors needn’t be restricted to large organizations with the latest filtration technology, indeed simple is often best! The average hobbyist can achieve excellent results with a little effort and it is within this area, potential for captive breeding of tropical marine organisms has the greatest chance of expansion.
They need to be in pairs to keep producing eggs.
Actually, single shrimp could produce eggs quite often, although the eggs will be brown and unfertile.
I personally wouldn't spend the time and money trying to raise cleaner shrimp. Think of it this way...free food
Take Care,
Graham
