Development of Neocaridina Eggs (Green Jade)

The development of Neocaridina eggs takes about 3-4 weeks.
The female shrimp gets a spot on the back of her head. These are the unfertilized eggs. If you want to breed this shrimp, this is the time to isolate her from the group. During the next molt, she will hide and attract males. After fertilization, the eggs move to under her tail. 
For the neocaridina variants, an average gestation period is about 3-4 weeks. Although this seems short, it is still quite long compared to the relatively short lifespan of the shrimp (maximum 2 years). Quite a challenge for the female. She is busy all day long providing the eggs with oxygen. She uses her swimming legs, or pleopods, for this. She is almost continuously busy pushing water towards the eggs. For this reason, the pleopods are better developed in females than in males. This characteristic is very useful to distinguish between male and female shrimps.
We have chosen the neocardina green jade for this documentation, because it is a bit transparent. This allows us to better visualize the development of the eggs.

The first week, many small transparent eggs with a light yellowish color were seen. The female regularly shakes the eggs with her legs to keep the eggs moving.

In the second week we already see a significant growth of the eggs. They are less transparent and they become heavier and larger.

After 2.5 weeks we see the eggs change from yellow to more green. This is always a special moment, because later when they grow a bit more, they tend more towards the yellowish color.

In the 3rd week we really see little baby shrimps with eyes and bodies. Now it is very nice to see, because the Neocaridina Green Jade is partly transparent. The female will now release the eggs within a few days, so that the little shrimps can swim freely!

Read the blog about the Neocaridina for more information about shrimp.