Cleaner Shrimp holding eggs!!!

[Grebex11]

So in my 10g tank I have 1 cleaner and 1 peppermint shrimp. The cleaner has been in the tank for maybe 6 weeks. I noticed today it is carrying eggs! Is there anyway these eggs could be fertile? Do they carry eggs that aren't fertile? What should I do if anything?? Maybe it got knocked up before I bought it??

[Ohiomom]

They do carry unfertile eggs..mine always did each and every time after it molted..I would assume they are unfertilized and even if they weren't the chance of any of them surviving would be minimal..hth.

[scubasteve06]

What does it look like when a cleaner is holding eggs? My cleaner molts every 2 weeks or so and I guess I haven't taken the time to look at it that close after it molted to see if it was or not. Are shrimp hermaphrodites or all they just male or female...?

[Grebex11]

They are hermaphrodites. The eggs are held underneath the shrimp along the belly in between the "legs" that it has that it uses to swim through the water. Even if they were fertile I would have no way of feeding the hatched shrimp...

[Toddrtrex]

What does it look like when a cleaner is holding eggs? My cleaner molts every 2 weeks or so and I guess I haven't taken the time to look at it that close after it molted to see if it was or not. Are shrimp hermaphrodites or all they just male or female...?

Here are some pictures of mine.

Early on,

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/toddrtrex/33/Shrimp3.jpg

Just before releasing them,

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/toddrtrex/33/Shrimp6.jpg

Some of the released ones -- the fish in the tank loved them.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/toddrtrex/33/Shrimp7.jpg

All the little dots are them,

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/toddrtrex/33/Shrimp10.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/toddrtrex/33/Shrimp8.jpg

[PaxRoma]

those are amazing pictures