About to get axolotl eggs, help please.

[Kristen0888]

I am about to get axolotl eggs, 30 of them. And I've done my research and pretty much looked at every site I could find. Now I want personal experience from people about how to best care for them, what to feed them, and what I will need for my tank(s)/containers for them right after they are hatched. Please and thank you!:happy:

 

[Alkylhalide]

Mine just started hatching last night! Its exciting/scary for me!

I have been following the advice that people on caudata have been giving me but if somebody else has more advice I will gladly take it as well!

So I was told to keep the eggs in a small tuperware container, with a airstone in it and just leave them be until they hatch, just keeping an eye on temps(Between 17-20C) the lower the temp the slower they will develope so the more time to have to prepare. I left mine at about 62F(Which is just "room temp" for me) and they started hatching day 17(Only two as of now out of 35)

As soon as they start hatching, I am just carefully moving them to another small tuperware container, in which I will leave all 35 in there till they start to grow and I will seperate them by size.
It is just a small tuperware container that I add a small amount of water that way they have a better shot at eating the food you put in it I have a total of 8 of them ready to plop babies once they start to grow. No airstone + 100% daily water changes after they hatch. You can put an airstone(somebody correct me if I'm wrong!) But It is hard to split a airpump 8+ ways! and regardless you still need to do the water changes so I would just leave it be for a while.

For feeding, I was told to wait for the first baby to hatch, and start my baby brine shrimp, since the babies will be eating their yolk for the first 24-48hours that gives you time to start up some live food for them!

There is an awesome thread here about how to grow and harvest BBS, I'm following it and hopefully my babies will have some BBS soon!(this is the part im the most terrified about!)

Just enough water for them all the swim around is all they need at first, because you want to make sure they are eating all they can fit in their bellies and sometimes they can just lose the food if there is to much "extra space" you know what I mean? so just shallow dishes or tubs is fine! I just went to the dollarstore and bought a few

 

[xxianxx]

Just read up the threads on this site, loads of good advice, just make sure you can provide enough live food, if you are using baby brine shrimp remember to do daily (or twice daily cleans), if you miss a clean they die off and that sucks!

 

[Alkylhalide]

Just read up the threads on this site, loads of good advice, just make sure you can provide enough live food, if you are using baby brine shrimp remember to do daily (or twice daily cleans), if you miss a clean they die off and that sucks!

How do you know if you should change the water twice daily? I will be doing at least once but Is there a way to know? like do you see a lot of leftover food type of deal? I dont want to use BBS but unfurtunately I cant find daphnia around here. or at least I havent yet! Is there any other live food that I can feed them?

 

[Kaysie]

Get a test kit, liquid reagent: ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Test your water, and it'll tell you how often you need to change it.

You'll need tiny, live food. BBS are the most reliable, but daphnia are excellent too. You'll have to order either one to get enough to have enough on hand. If you use daphnia, you'll have to have enough to feed, while your colony is growing.

 

[Kristen0888]

Question. I see on ebay you can buy a 1lt bag of newly hatched brine shrimp, have any thoughts on this? Would this be bad for my axolotls? How long do they need to be on baby brine shrimp?

 

[michael]

That's crazy.
Purchasing baby brine shrimp at that high price is a bad idea. If you want to do baby brine shrimp you pretty much have to hatch it yourself. I like to get my eggs from brineshrimpdirect.com It is important to get eggs (cysts) that have been stored properly.

 

[Kaysie]

BBS lose their nutritional value quickly. They should be fed to axies within 24 hours of hatching. That's why most people hatch their own. It's not difficult, just a little time-consuming.

 

[xxianxx]

As above but you can feed the bbs yeast to keep them alive if you dont want to run two hatcheries at a time. Go easy on the yeast though, very small amounts are required.

 

[thadious]

do you put any structure in the large container that you put the eggs in or do you leave it bare. i am getting some eggs in soon, and i read a lot of posts but this is my one and only question

 

[xxianxx]

do you put any structure in the large container that you put the eggs in or do you leave it bare. i am getting some eggs in soon, and i read a lot of posts but this is my one and only question

I would leave it bare, there is no need for anything to be in the egg tub other than water and an airstone if you want one.

 

[thadious]

Thank you very much

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