Rock Mantis Shrimp (Gonodactylus chiragra): Breeding Notes

Gonodactylus chiragra is a small smasher mantis that shelters in rock cavities and often arrives as a live-rock hitchhiker. It is not home-bred; eggs are kept in the cavity and larvae are planktonic.

Overview

Gonodactylus chiragra is a smasher-type stomatopod of the western Indo-Pacific shallows. It grows to a maximum of about 105 mm and occupies natural or mollusk-made rocky cavities rather than digging its own burrow. It hunts by day for snails, hermit crabs and clams and often seals its shelter entrance with sand and rock at night.

Sexing

Coloration differs between sexes: males range from brown to dark green, while females range from grey-green to white. The cavity is used for mating and for keeping eggs safe.

Spawning & Eggs/Larvae

Eggs are kept within the rocky shelter. In stomatopods generally, eggs are held in the cavity or carried by the female until they hatch, after which the larvae may spend up to three months in the plankton before settling. Stomatopods breed repeatedly over their lifespan.

Common Challenges

The planktonic larval stage and the aggressive, predatory nature of even this small species make captive reproduction impractical and undesirable for reef keepers.