They are active throughout the day and can be seen grazing on biofilm, aquarium décor or the sides of the tank, hunting detritus among the gravel, and sometimes even mating.

Periodically, a shrimp will shed its exoskeleton, leaving an empty white ghost of itself caught in the plants or drifting around the tank.

On the upper section of the female's body, on the "shoulder", the developing eggs on the ovaries may be seen in more transparent individuals.

Breeding only requires a sexed pair of shrimp, stable water parameters, and a food source.

Eggs may be observed developing in the female's ovaries as a green or yellow triangular "saddle" marking on her back.

When she is ready to lay the eggs, which occurs after molting, she releases pheromones into the water to signal her availability to males.

As the eggs near the end stages of growth, tiny dark eye spots of the developing shrimp within can be observed.

As most of these shrimp are half transparent, the color of N. davidi nearly always is a result of "blood" ("flesh", muscles etc.)

Some colors may result from a specific mixture of the chromatophores; xanthophores (yellow/orange), erythrophores (red/orange), iridophores (blue), leucophores (white), and melanophores (black/brown).