Ghost shrimp green eggs?

Question

I bought four ghost shrimp about a month ago, and noticed that one had an odd green lump in his head. I thought nothing of it, and that shrimp seems to have grown the fastest, but now the lump has grown giant. It seems to consist of green eggs, and is INSIDE the body of the shrimp near the head. DOes anyone know what those are, and if they and harmful, what to do about it?

Answer 1

She may probably have babies, but to be shure do some research, ask your local pet store or a vet.

Answer 2

A normal mature female ghost shrimp has this "saddle" right behind her head kind of on her back before where her tail joints start--that's her ovaries. When she molts her old shell, the male passes her a sperm pack. Any mature eggs will pass down the egg tube, get fertilized by the sperm and as her new shell hardens she'll tuck the eggs under her tail. Her swimmerets (kind of little legs under her tail) will fan the eggs to keep them aerated and to keep fungus and other bad things away. She will carry them around under her tail for 3-4 weeks until they are ready to hatch. They won't all hatch at the same time so for a while she'll find a safe place (heavy plant cover) and let the eggs hatch one by one. The newly hatched shrimp will look like sort of like mosquito larvae, clear so they're hard to see and they will float around. They have very small, weak swimmerets but they can't move fast and are easily eaten (sometimes by the adult ghost shrimp), swept into the filter, etc. If they find sufficient food in the tank, they will eat and grow, molt a few times until after about 2 weeks they molt into a very small imitation of their parents--at which point they will scurry into hiding places, continue to eat, molt, grow until they are big enough and fast enough to survive in the open. The mom will probably have molted and be carrying around more eggs right after hatching her other brood.

Answer 3

You're seeing the internal organs. Their eggs are salmon/pink colored.