Advice for Baby Lotl?

[HadesPotato]

Hello! I recently got my first axolotl, who is about 3.5-4" long. Today I went to my LPS to get him some frozen bloodworms and came home with a suuuper tiny baby. Of course I'm going to keep them apart until they are similar in size (which will be a while) but I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on how to care for such a little babe. I haven't been able to measure her yet, but she currently only has her front legs, though I believe she is starting to get little back nubs. The pet store had her on gravel and had live brine shrimp in with her, but of course I now have her on a bare bottom tank. I bought live brine shrimp with her, as we watched her hunt them down in the store, but I was wondering if this is a complete diet for the little gal? Furthermore, I was wondering if she had any "special" requirements (besides being very sensitive to water parameters, I assume). For example, her water is currently at about 66F, is this good or does she need slightly warmer water than a larger lotl? Thanks! Here are some pictures

 

[RusieckiR]

Daphnia is a good food source for babies but go to Axolotl.org's rearing page too learn more.

 

[HadesPotato]

Unfortunately my local fish store (which is 45 minutes away) does not carry live daphnia.

 

[GalLuvsAxolotls]

I would start a brine shrimp hatchery. That is what I feed my axolotls that size. Is there anywhere near you that sells brine shrimp eggs or can you get eggs expedited to you? I use the San Francisco Bay hatchery, where you screw a soda bottle into the base.

I have to say... I am surprised they sold you an axolotl that size. Mortality is high for an axolotl that size due to changes in water parameters, care and feeding with a new owner... For that reason, I will not sell axolotls that small.

Your axolotl is on the verge of being able to eat 'dead' food, like frozen daphnia. I would give it a shot.

 

[HadesPotato]

I was also incredibly surprised that they were selling them, and it was definitely a mistake on their part that I believe they realized. Unfortunately, when they were trying to bag the little booger for me, another employee walked up to the first and asked why he was having a difficulty catching one, since there were "so many" in the tank. This came as a surprise to me and the employee catching the lotl, because we had only seen one in the tank. Turns out they had left a fiddler crab in the tank when the baby lotls came in, and he wasn't removed until that morning. So we assumed the worst. I suppose there must be a local breeder supplying the store, seems like a terrible idea to ship such delicate creatures.

I am trying my best to keep an eye on the parameters as frequently as possible, and I will certainly look into that. She ate three small adult brine shrimp this morning, though I'm not sure exactly how much she should be consuming per day. She had a gigantic poop last night so I'm taking that as a good sign. Thank you so much for your advice!