Why are my cherry shrimps carrying different colored eggs (green and orange)?

[I812B4U]

Hi all,

I was wondering if any of you have come across this. I noticed today that out of my several pregnant cherries shrimp, one of it carried green eggs while others carrying orange eggs. Is there any explaination to this? Can anyone enlighten me? I got no camera to show this. Sorry!

[aquanatix]

Hi,posted this question awhile ago.
As pointed out by many of the members here,the different colour of eggs just show the different stages of incubation.
Correct me if i'm wrong,but the colour changes go from orange,to greenish to a somewhat opaque colour where you can actually see eyes of the shrimplets.
All in all,basically if your cherries are pregnant it can't really be a bad thing?
Just do what everyone else here does,keep your fingers cross and then wait out the incubation of about a month!Then wait couple more weeks till you see shrimplets in your tank!
Do keep us updated again

[crystal]

I don't think the colour of eggs change at different stages. I observed they are about the same colour throughout. I also observed that some of my shrimplets appears very pale bluish though I never keep any blue shrimp. Hence I suspect some of my cherry parents may have cross-bred with blue shrimp and have the blue genes in them. Somebody may want to experiment by seperating a cherry with yellow eggs and one with green eggs and observe whether there is any major differences in the shrimplets, I suspect the green eggs will grow up very pale in colour. Just my guess...

[aquanatix]

Not so...same female's eggs changed colour at different stages of incubation.
Well,at least from what i observed in my tank?
The pale blue could be more of a grey then blue as i've got several like these.
The blue trait in the blue shrimps doesn't carry forward so it's unlikely your shrimps cross bred with them. Do check out my other post regarding blue shrimps to clarify!

[Quixotic]

From what I have read, I thought that some eggs change from green to orange/yellow instead of the other way round? No experience in them, but just offering some different point of view from what I have read.

Read with an open mind, and don't assume these are conclusive.

Some eggs will change from green to orange/yellow, but some will carry green ones throughout. It is said that the female that carry the green eggs throughout are not as red, compared to the ones that carry orange/yellow eggs.

What does it all mean? I don't know, but apparently, there seems to be consensus that the colours of the eggs of the cherry shrimps are variable. The green eggs are very much viable and will hatch into shrimplets.

It is also speculated that some of the cherry shrimps are cross breeds with other Neocaridina sp. Remember, cherry shrimps are line bred of N. heteropoda. So it is possible that somewhere along the line, someone could have mixed some other Neocaridina sp. in the same tank with with cherry shrimps. It is also noted with interest that the wild N. heteropoda actually carry green eggs.

I am not sure what to make of these, but personally, I will not be too bothered, and just enjoy the shrimplets/shrimps.

[aquanatix]

Oh well,since shrimps breed readily when in proper tank conditions i usually take it as a good sigh that everything in my tank is A ok!
For the colour wise,really need to observe my shrimps more!
Green or orange/yellow,it's all good!
Somehow,my pregnant females also moult during pregnancy stages.I've seen empty shells with eggs on them.Wonder if the eggs stuck on it actually dies?

[luenny]

Ok, before I start, I must say this is from what I experience personally but I am not an expert in shrimp genetics or breeding.

Ok, color wise, I have experience cherry shrimps with different color eggs before. I even experience the juv growing up to be different color before (some are green, some brownish, some red color). I don't really know why but to me it does not look like the egg changes color from yellow to green or green to yellow. It just stays that way and produces shrimps. I cannot confirm which color eggs produce which color shrimps because I did not seperate them.

As for empty shells with eggs. The eggs stuck on the shell are still alive. I did an experiement once when the shrimp moulted with eggs stuck on it. I took out the shell and remove the eggs and put the eggs in another container with the water from the same tank and making sure the water is fresh. After a few days, they hatch. I only manage to do this with cherry shrimps. CRS eggs for some reason does not hatch when I try.

Again, this is from what I experience. Not saying that this is the whole truth and nothing but the truth, just that these things do happen.

- Luenny

[I812B4U]

So this means that my berried cherries shrimps are not sick right? Thank you all for the generous information.

[aquanatix]

So the eggs on moulted skin do survive!
Always wondered where they all went!
Will need to do seperation like wat you did luenny the next time i see the skin floatin around my tank.