ghost shrimp

[elmj]

the ghost shrimp in my tank has a bright green substance in his head. anyone knows what it its? it's definately not food as i haven't fed anything green in colour and it has been there for 2 days. also the other shrimps in my tank do not have it! is it a tumor of some kind?

also this same shrimp is pregnant. anyone has any tips on how to raise them?

 

[Firsttanks]

I think the bright green indicates that it is gravid (preggers), check it out in the dark I believe it will be glowing green

 

[Tim Bo]

I'm not quite sure about the head containing a green substance, but eggs are usually kept under the 'abdomen' by their swimming legs/pleopods. Keeping the fry alive is difficult. I found a couple links about it:
http://www.shrimpcrabsandcrayfish.co.uk/Shrimp.htm?GhostShrimp.htm~mainFrame
http://fish.orbust.net/ghostshrimp.html

 

[rdmpe]

Maybe it ate some algae

 

[elmj]

Firsttanks: its a sign she is pregnant? but when i bought her she was already pregnant and she didn't have that green substance in her head. another of my shrimp had that same green substance in its head but was not pregnant....

rdmpe : i seriously doubt its algae because the food in my shrimps head whatever it is will normally clear after a few hours.

 

[mogurnda]

The "head" is kind of vague, because the thorax and head are fused in shrimp, but I bet the region you're referring to contains the ovaries as well as the gut. I will do a little looking, but my memory is that they are a bit behind and to the side of the gut. Dunno about ghost shrimp, but the ovaries are dark in my marine shrimp. They will be making eggs if the guys are well fed.

 

[elmj]

mogurnda: you mean that that green substance is actually the ghost shrimp's ovaries? my gosh. that means that when it's clear she's not pregnant and when it's green it is? oh no. and she is still carrying a batch of babies! so does that mean i will get another batch after this? wow....

 

[mogurnda]

*If* they are the ovaries, then she's making eggs. If there's another shrimp of the right sex in the tank, then they will get fertilized and stuck to her abdomen. Some shrimp are hemaphroditic and anyone will do, others have separate males and females. In either case, the eggs are fertilized on the way out, so the green doesn't exactly mean "pregnant." As far as babies, some shrimp have planktonic larvae, which will probably not survive in a tank, others have direct development, where the odds are a little better. I don't know enough about ghost shrimp biology to say for sure.