G. Chiragra with eggs

[SmashingBaby]

Hello all knowers,
I have a G chiragra that's been in a tank for at least 6 months. She's been acting weird lately and the other day I come home to find a batch of eggs in the tube. Green. My questions are:

Do mantis shrimps have delayed implantation where they lay the eggs before molt because sperm is attached to the exoskeleton?(she hasn't molted since I've had her which is about 2 months.)

And how do you suggest I get the eggs out? I don't want them to die and foul my tank.

I'll only do that AFTER I get a picture of her clutching the eggs. Too bad she hasn't been coming out at all lately.

Cheers,
Justin
UCSC

 

[Gonodactylus]

G. chiragra can store sperm for at least three or four months, possibly longer. They cannot store them across a molt. The entire sperm storage plumbing is shead when they molt.

I'm not sure what you mean by delayed implantation. Eggs are fertilized as they move down the oviduct and out the gonopore. At this point, they are mixed with a material that forms a pliable matrix. Before this material sets, the egg mass is formed into a ball which is carried using the mouth appendages (maxillipeds). The egg mass can be put down when required. Fertilized eggs will form an eyespot in about 10-12 days and hatch in three weeks. Non-fertilized eggs are usually eaten within a few days. There probably is no urgency in removing the eggs since the female will do this one way or another.

Roy