Eggs?

[LeShrimp]

I'm pretty sure this is just the internal organs of the shrimp but how can I tell when there are eggs develolping in the ovaries of the female shrimp?
http://i47.tinypic.com/15318qc.jpg

[KenCotigirl]

Half or more of my shrimp look like that. Organs, eggs no idea. With Mustafa saying the experts are not sure lets go with eggs. I have some shrimp with a white area instead of a dark area. If I can I will add picture.

[LeShrimp]

Half or more of my shrimp look like that. Organs, eggs no idea. With Mustafa saying the experts are not sure lets go with eggs. I have some shrimp with a white area instead of a dark area. If I can I will add picture.

Me two but ALOT of my shrimp have these dark spots

[LeShrimp]

Actually, I think one reason that you cannot see the dark spot on some is because they have a thicker exoskeleton

[KenCotigirl]

Here is a picture of a shrimp with a dark area and one with a white area.

[eightoeight]

Very interesting that they have two different colored insides. I noticed that in Mustafa's white and yellow opae ula as well.

It's so hard to sex opae ula, or tell if they are saddled. I think a lot of the time it's wishful thinking, for me at least.

[Mustafa]

Once you get used to seeing the actual "saddle" (i.e. eggs in the ovaries), you can distinguish pretty easily between just the dark organs and the eggs in the ovaries. The yellow and white color mutations make this easier to see (if you pay attention, you can actually see the individual eggs in my pictures in the other threads), but it's pretty clear in the above picture, too. The first shrimp just has whitish organs...the second shrimp has the same, but the dark area in the back part of the "head" are eggs sitting on top of the whitish organs. So, the second shrimp would look exactly like the first shrimp if it wasn't for the visible eggs. If you disturb the shrimp they lose their coloration and the dark "saddle" becomes even more visible.

Scientists aren't necessarily shrimp breeders , so they may claim (in this case wrongly) that you cannot see the eggs in the ovaries.

[KenCotigirl]

Very interesting Mustafa. That would explain why half the shrimp are dark and the other half are white, males and non gravid females. To add credence to this juvenile shrimp have white organs and berried shrimp also have white organs. Have you noticed this?

[Rob in Puyallup]

All this may have something to do with what they've been eating. I feed mine a varied diet (sorry ), of different colors. Sometimes the "patch on the back" is dark, sometimes lighter. All (or at least the majority) of my opae have this "saddle" looking thing.

It seems the eggs are produced elsewhere, further down.

[Mustafa]

Very interesting Mustafa. That would explain why half the shrimp are dark and the other half are white, males and non gravid females. To add credence to this juvenile shrimp have white organs and berried shrimp also have white organs. Have you noticed this?

That's about right, except that the "white" spongy material can also be black or brownish. That's what confuses the hell out of scientists, too, especially since they never see wild caught shrimp (which is what they work with) with eggs in their ovaries.

[Mustafa]

All this may have something to do with what they've been eating. I feed mine a varied diet (sorry ), of different colors. Sometimes the "patch on the back" is dark, sometimes lighter. All (or at least the majority) of my opae have this "saddle" looking thing.

It seems the eggs are produced elsewhere, further down.

It has nothing to do with what they are eating, and the eggs aren't produced further down..they are produced exactly where the the ovary was pointed out earlier in this thread. You're probably just not good enough at telling where the ovary is at this point. Just give it some time and you should get the hang of it.

[Rob in Puyallup]

I guess that some of the opae in this photo are due to berry soon, then?

[Rob in Puyallup]

And the pale shrimp in this picture, the one with the wide hips... Is she carrying transparent eggs?

[KenCotigirl]

The group picture is a definitely maybe. The wide hip one looks like a post larvae release female. Carrying the eggs after molting I believe stretches her but some how I think you knew that.

[Rob in Puyallup]

The wide hip one looks like a post larvae release female. Carrying the eggs after molting I believe stretches her but some how I think you knew that.

I suspected that carrying young would do that, Ken. But these eyes of mine are seeing something there, could be it's her exoskeleton showing through, I guess.

Thanks.