I just picked up some Jade Shrimp (pretty cool, bred to be green, not dyed) and the employee (whom I'm quite acquainted with) threw in a pregnant one! Woohoo, right?
Anyway, the question is, she is nesting and looking ready to pop...once she lays the eggs, do they need to be inseminated or are they already and she just takes care of them until hatch?
No fish in the tank, just shrimp and snails, so it should be a nice little crop.
Thanks!
Here is some text from the wikipedia page of Neocaridina Davidi which is your shrimp. (bold format from me)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neocaridina_davidi
About breeding:
N. davidi shrimp reach sexual maturity when they are around 4–6 months old. Breeding only requires a sexed pair of shrimp, stable water parameters, and a food source.[10] Eggs may be observed developing in the female's ovaries as a green or yellow triangular "saddle" marking on her back. When she is ready to lay the eggs, which occurs after molting, she releases pheromones into the water to signal her availability to males. The male shrimp in the tank will often become agitated, swimming very actively about as they search for the source of the pheromones. After a brief mating process, during which the male deposits sperm onto the female's body, the female lays her eggs and affixes them to her swimmerettes. The eggs are not fertilized within the female; they are fertilized as they pass from the ovaries to the outside of the body. Therefore, it is certain that any shrimp carrying eggs has mated. A female carrying eggs under her abdomen is said to be "berried".[citation needed]
Some report that young female shrimp carrying their first clutch of eggs tend to drop some or all of the eggs, possibly due to inexperience or small size.[11] If a berried shrimp is stressed by predators or poor water conditions she may also abandon the eggs.[12]
So if the eggs are already under her "tail", fertilization already happened. The eggs still take some time to hatch. Be aware that a female shrimp that feels scared, vulnerable or inexperienced might drop the eggs. Being transported from petshop to home and entering a new aquarium can be stressful for shrimps and it's very possible that those first eggs can be abandonned. (it happened like this for me in the past) Bright lights, fast movements and loud sounds can also scare shrimps.
Many things matter with shrimp, safety and lots of cover and warmer water will help with breeding. Also plants and food and clean water. I advise you to google as much as you can about them. :)
PS: never put aquarium salt or anything containing copper (including medication or snail killers) in the shrimp tank
Hope that answered your question
