It's hard to tell the size of the eggs from this picture, still. To me it still looks like a big blob. JK is most qualified to judge if the eggs are small or not since he is right there with the shrimp.
There are very few shrimp that have small eggs and produce larvae that reproduce in freshwater. Most larvae that survive in freshwater hatch from eggs that are at least medium size (like Macrobrachium lanchesteri) or prettly large (like Palaemonetes paludosus). The only shrimp with really small eggs and larval survival in freshwater that come to mind are some Paratya sp. and Atyaephyra desmaresti. They are both dwarf shrimp species despite the "atya" part in the name of Paratya. There might be more, but they are just not known to the hobby and/or science yet.
I was under the impression that all of the Indian Caridina produced eggs large enough to be raised without a planktonic stage. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
JK wrote:
I was under the impression that all of the Indian Caridina produced eggs large enough to be raised without a planktonic stage. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
That's not correct. There are many indian Caridina (and Macrobrachium) species that have larval stages. That's why you can actually get "by-catches" with the non-larvae-producing shrimp you receive from India that produce tiny eggs and lots of larvae that require saltwater.
Indeed! Keep us up to date. It would be really super to be able to add another fresh water breeding species to the hobby! Best of luck with your project!