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The red cherry shrimp Neocaridina davidi is a popular freshwater ornamental species traded worldwide for aquarium keeping. Its aquaculture generally relies on commercially available feeds. This study evaluated the effect of three commercial diets (A, B and C) on its female reproductive performance and offspring quality. Relative realized fecundity and egg size did not differ among treatments. However, egg carotenoid content was 40% and 52% lower in eggs from brooders fed B and C, respectively, than in those from brooders fed A, which had the highest carotenoid content. This suggests that dietary carotenoids directly affected egg carotenoid content. They also appeared to influence embryo survival, as relative actual fecundity was 59% and 47% lower for B and C compared to A, although this difference was not statistically significant. Although juvenile I weight was similar for all diets, the amount of lipid droplets in the perigastric organ region in juveniles I from brooders fed B, was about 20% lower than in the others. Offspring survival to the food restriction test was similar for all diets. However, the weight of 32‐day‐old juveniles was lower when brooders were fed C which had the lowest n‐3 PUFAs content, but the highest content of linoleic acid.

Maternal colouration based on carotenoids has been proposed to negatively affect offspring quality in several taxa, since females might trade off their limited carotenoid resources between body colouration and eggs. This study investigated in the ornamental “red cherry” shrimp (Neocaridina davidi) the relationship between maternal colouration and female reproductive performance, as well as offspring quality. Females selected displayed a broad array of body colour, from less coloured to intensely red coloured and were paired with transparent males. The first two spawning events of each female were studied and compared. The number of newly hatched juveniles was associated to maternal weight, but not to maternal colouration. Offspring quality was measured in terms of survival at the end of the 90‐day growth period, weight and length increment for 0–30 days and 30–60 days periods, and protein, lipid and glycogen contents in 30‐day‐old offspring. Yet, neither of these variables was associated to maternal colouration. These results indicate that there is no trade‐off between maternal colouration and offspring quality in this species. Furthermore, no association was found between maternal and offspring colouration, evaluated at a similar age. However, body colouration in 180‐day old females was significantly higher than in 90‐day‐old females, indicating that female colouration is strongly influenced by age.

The ‘Red Cherry shrimp’, Neocaridina davidi is a small freshwater caridean shrimp living, originally, in various kinds of inland water bodies around Asian countries. This shrimp has reached several countries for ornamental use; however, basic information on the biology of the species is still scarce in the literature. Its early post embryonic development morphology has not yet been described. This paper focused on the production and the development of early post-hatching stages of N. davidi, its male secondary sexual features, observation of the gonads and the presence of females with embryos. The larval development of N. davidi was almost suppressed as noted by the presence of relatively large-sized eggs, first stage hatching as a decapodid; and the tail fans were present only from the 2nd post-hatching stage. A biological important consequence of the presence of this Red Cherry shrimp species in the Neotropics is its potential release into nature, which could cause its rapid dispersion affecting populations of other indigenous caridean freshwater shrimps. Fil: Pantaleão, João A F.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; Brasil Fil: Gregati, Rafael A.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; Brasil. Universidade Estadual do Centro‐Oeste; Brasil Fil: da Costa, Rogério C.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; Brasil Fil: Lopez, Laura Susana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; Argentina Fil: Negreiros Fransozo, María Lucía. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; Brasil