Holthuis Anemone Shrimp (Periclimenes holthuisi) Breeding Guide

Periclimenes holthuisi is a cleaner shrimp living on anemones and corals across the Indo-West Pacific. Females carry eggs and larvae are planktonic, not home-reared.

Overview

Periclimenes holthuisi (also placed in Ancylomenes) is a cleaner shrimp of the family Palaemonidae, first described in 1969 by A. J. Bruce. It is found throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-West Pacific and associates with sea anemones, scleractinian corals or jellyfish, maintaining a symbiotic cleaning relationship with its hosts.

Conditioning

Because the shrimp lives in association with a host, a stable host such as a compatible anemone or coral is central to keeping the animal in condition. Detailed dietary conditioning specific to reproduction is not documented in whitelisted sources.

Spawning & Berried Females

As a palaemonid, the female carries fertilised eggs beneath the abdomen until they hatch, following the general pattern for the family. Host-associated cleaner shrimp typically reproduce while settled on the host.

Larval Care

Hatched larvae are planktonic before settlement. No whitelisted source documents a method for rearing this species through its planktonic larval phase in aquaria.