Cleaner shrimp with eggs but no mate!

[iamwhatiam52]

There is only one cleaner shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) in my tank but it is carrying eggs.

The only other similar shrimp in the tank is a fire shrimp (Lysmata debelius).

Can they have eggs without a mate, or is it fooling around with the fire shrimp?

 

[TheH]

I heard that they can lay unfertilized eggs from my LFS.

 

[sedor]

+1 I heard that as well.

 

[greenbean36191]

Once they reach maturity they will continually produce eggs whether they have a mate or not. They cannot self-fertilize though, so the eggs are not viable.

 

[iamwhatiam52]

Thanks for the info.
So much for my theory of immaculate conception.

 

[Dauthus]

Thanks for the info.
So much for my theory of immaculate conception.

The term you are looking for is Parthenogenesis. Some species of shark have this ability, although it's normally very rare.

 

[Piscez]

Is there a way to indentify gender?

 

[tibob32]

If it's laying eggs, its female, otherwise, I doubt you can

 

[greenbean36191]

Well they're simultaneous hermaphrodites, so even without eggs you know that it's male AND female if it's mature.