2 Babies 0 BBS

[Painisme]

Out of the 14 eggs I had 2 hatched the rest look dead(fungus)they are so TINY!!I love them already. Slight problem though is these BBS won't hatch....Its been 34 hours....Plan b is to buy frozen bbs and aerate the hell out of them so that they look like tasty alive bbs. Any thoughts?I don't have a plan C. I am afraid for there little axolotl lives.

 

[melfly]

Did you not do a test run??

How did you set the brine shrimp up?

If you haven't already remove all the dead ones.

I would get hold of another lot of brine shrimp eggs.
If you can get hold of some live daphnia you can put that in. Hopefully there will be some daphnia small enough for the larvae to eat.

Mel

 

[Jennewt]

If the BBS aren't hatched in 34 hours, they won't hatch ever. The shelf life for the BS eggs can be fairly short, depending on how they are stored. A company called Brine Shrimp Direct sells nice fresh product (google them).

In the meantime, you can certainly try the frozen. You may be able to use an eyedropper to gently move them around. You don't want to aerate the hell out of them, as this will likely tumble the little larvae around too.

If you can find live blackworms locally, these can be chopped finely and work great. If you need help in how to find a pet shop with blackworms, let me know. They are out there, but it may take some hunting and driving to get them.

 

[Painisme]

OK update, !!!!! I hope im not driving anyone crazy yet. THe brine shrimp luckily hatched while I was at work, I didnt realize how small they are I almost thought they werent hatched. While I was trying to feed the babies which I put in little plastic 20 oz water bottle cut offs The mom laid about 20 more eggs & I got to see it, it was like the discovery channel. However the babies I have (24 hours old now) did not seem to eat any of the BBS and getting them(BBS) out of the water to keep it clean is quite a hassle I definitely tumbled the babies around more than I should have to get them in clean water again.Does anyone have a fairly logical/less dramatic process that works. I'm getting frazzled here.

 

[melfly]

It is fairly time consuming. And you've realised that with two. This is why we always say dont try to raise too many. Ok so heres how i do it. I have two tubs. One empty so when i need to change their water i put new water it the empty tub then put the axie in the new tub and throw the old water away. You will notice them eating when they have orange bellies. Or you'll notice them jumping. Keep tryin them with food. Dont worry about em being tumbled around too much, they are not as delicate as you may think. Mel

 

[Painisme]

Hey Mel thanks, how do you get the babies out of the original water?I keep pouring out most of the old water and then pouring them in the second container but its still dirty so how do you move the babies?Is it safe to use a net??that would simplify things.I now have 67 more eggs =) I may get my 10 after all.I have homes for 9 and the petstore I shop at says if im sucessfull they will set up a tank in the shop for axolotls. (their reptile/amphibian supplier does not carry them)

 

[melfly]

I sometimes use a third bowl which i start pouring dirty water in and when ones about pour over take it to the clean one. If one goes over the edge, which they are known to do, they are only in the third bowl. Also while they're really really small i've used a turkey baister to move them around. But you have to be really careful not to injure them. They are very annoying when tiny to do water changes lol. I dont use a net coz they tend to get stuck and i just find it difficult.. Mel
edit- another tip, i have plants in with my babies if you have some kind of elodea or something this helps when pouring out old water. The plant kind of filters the water stopping the babies from pouring over the edge. Hope this makes sense if not i'll try to clarify. I struggle to explain things clearly sometimes lol.

 

[callina]

Hi,

I use a tea strainer for moving the babies and it works fine.

-Tina-

 

[melfly]

Hi,

I use a tea strainer for moving the babies and it works fine.

-Tina-

Oooo good idea!
Thanks for that!
Mel