Breeding the Caribbean Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata boggessi)

Lysmata boggessi is a western Atlantic shrimp showing protandric simultaneous hermaphroditism; pairs spawn readily but the planktonic larvae demand dedicated rearing.

Overview

Lysmata boggessi is a shrimp of shallow western Atlantic waters, recognised as distinct from L. wurdemanni in 2006 by Rhyne and Lin. It is described as the most reliable natural predator of Aiptasia anemones, and reproductively it follows the protandric simultaneous hermaphrodite pattern typical of the genus.

Sexing

Research places this species among the Lysmata that exhibit protandric simultaneous hermaphroditism and social monogamy. Practically, this means mature individuals function as both sexes, so any two adults can pair without a need to distinguish males from females.

Conditioning

As a tropical western Atlantic species, it is kept under standard reef conditions (about 24–26 °C, pH 8.1–8.4) and conditioned with steady feeding. Settled pairs in good condition spawn repeatedly, in line with other Lysmata.

Spawning & Berried Females

Following the genus pattern, the egg-carrying partner mates immediately after moulting and broods the fertilised eggs on its pleopods until hatching. Spawning recurs on a regular cycle rather than seasonally.

Larval Care

Larvae are planktonic; studies of starvation resistance in early zoeal stages of ornamental Lysmata indicate that prompt access to suitable live food strongly affects survival. Early larvae take rotifers and Artemia with co-cultured phytoplankton, progressing to enriched Artemia as they develop.

Common Challenges

The planktonic phase makes larval survival the main hurdle, and a display reef cannot rear the larvae. Because boggessi was long confused with wurdemanni, trade identification can be inconsistent, which matters when sourcing breeding stock.