Peppermint Shrimp Reproduction and How Changes in the Environment Affect Shrimp

Why did we choose the shrimp? It’s different They’re like pets You can touch them without them running away (unlike those of you who chose fish) We didn’t know much about them and we wanted to learn more

Background Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata Wurdemanni) Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthrapoda Subphylum: Crustacea Class: Malacostraca Order: Decapoda Family: Hippolytidae Genus: Lysmata Species: Lysmata Wurdemanni

Background -Are born as males -However they molt 4 times and have the ability to become a female after a molt -Hermaphrodite -Tank cleaners -Eat dead organisms and parasites off of other organisms -Moslty found in Atlantic Coast of U.S. -Nocturnal

Research Questions Can L. wurdemanni be trained? Will dipping their tentacles into fresh water prevent them from finding a source of food nearby? Will 6 L. wurdemanni reproduce in a 50 gallon tank? What can we change/add/remove from the tank to make a better place for reproduction and life? How often do the L. wurdemanni lay eggs? Will we be able to monitor who is laying eggs?

Research Questions Can L. wurdemanni be trained?

Research Questions Will dipping their tentacles into fresh water prevent them from finding a source of food nearby?

Research Questions Will 6 L. wurdemanni reproduce in a 50 gallon tank?

Research Questions What can we change/add/remove from the tank to make a better place for reproduction and life?

Research Questions How often do the L. wurdemanni lay eggs? Will we be able to monitor who is laying eggs?

Background Research April Kirkendoll How to Raise & Train Your Peppermint Shrimp Second Edition 2008 Porter Betts Behavior and Breeding of Peppermint Shrimp 2014 Saltwater Aquarium The Basics Boston Reefers -- Learning from others who have peppermint shrimp

Hypothesis By blinding, controlling the diet of, and training the L. wurdemanni we will be able to change their baseline behavior of reproduction, finding food, and behavior around humans.

Research Plan Invert Tank → Tank 7 Our goal was to watch how peppermint shrimp behaved and ultimatley raise their larvae if they ever reproduced Daily Tests: Ph, Temperature, Salinity

New Arrival (10/30/14)

Staying Together (10/30/14)

They Love to Hide (10/30/14)

Being Fed Video

Cleaning the Tank (11/30/14)

Becoming Familiar With Human Interactions (11/30/14)

Maturing (11/30/14)

The New Tank 7 (1/30/15)

Hiding in New Tank (1/23/15)

Marking its Territory (1/30/15)

Climbing on Hands (3/26/15)

Speed Test Video

Research Questions Can L. wurdemanni be trained? Yes, but it takes a lot of time and constant attention. -Shrimp slowly became more comfortable -Responded well to human hands -Trust -Our hands would have to be within 5 inches of them -Respond fondly to food

Research Questions Will dipping their tentacles into fresh water prevent them from finding a source of food nearby? Unkown -We did not run this test because when we did research we heard from other reefers that this is potentially very dangerous and can cause cells to explode ( -We didn’t want to take the risk

Research Questions Will 6 L. wurdemanni reproduce in a 50 gallon tank? Yes, however ours did not -We were not able to spot eggs -Do not know why they wouldn’t reproduce -Last week a shrimp in the frag tank was spotted with eggs

Research Questions What can we change/add/remove from the tank to make a better place for reproduction and life? Manipulation of environment made them uncomfortable. -Love to hide -Moved rocks to make them more visible -Changing homes -Did not induce reproduction -Older vs. Newer Shrimp

Research Questions How often do the L. wurdemanni lay eggs? Will we be able to monitor who is laying eggs? We were able to spot eggs, and we were not able to single out 1 shrimp from the other -Can tell difference between large and small -Begin to look the same as they mature

Were we right? By blinding, controlling the diet of, and training the L. wurdemanni we will be able to change their baseline behavior of reproduction, finding food, and behavior around humans. We were right in terms of training the shrimp. We were wrong in the terms that we could encourage reproduction.

Conclusion Sadly, our plan was never ready for action because our shrimp never reproduced If we had more time: We would wait for them to reproduce and try to raise the larvae using April Kirkendoll’s book

Bibliography 101-Saltwater-Aquarium. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Oct information/peppermint-shrimp.php Betts, Porter. Feature Article: Behavior And Breeding Of Peppermint Shrimp. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. Web. 2 Oct Boston Reefers. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Oct shrimp Fishlore. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Oct Kirkendoll, April. How to Raise & Train Your Peppermint Shrimp Second Edition. 2nd ed. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. Marshall, Michael. Zoologger: Shrimp plays chicken with its sex change. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. Saltwater Fish. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Oct anemone / 3 Reef. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Oct Whitby, Paul. "Pests, Parasites And Things That Go Munch In The Night, Part 1." Reef keeping Magazine: n. pag. Print.