C. Orientalis larvae help! (Newbie)

[elizabeth]

Hello. I just joined, and was wondering if someone could help me answer some questions about my new larvae?

1. I recently (4 days ago) got newly hatched C. Orientalis larvae. I've tried feeding them frozen (chopped to bits) bloodworms and the "pellet mesh" method described on this website. Neither seem to be working. The larvae themselves don't swim around much. They dart off you try to poke them or catch them, but otherwise they just lay on the bottom. They wont go after their food. I'm a little nervous that they might not eat at all. They only places that have aquarium food around for many miles is Petco and PetPouri (I bought the parents there). And they don't seem to have any live cultures of anything. Any suggestions?

2. Also, how long does it take for them to reach metamorphosis?

 

[jennifer]

Welcome. They often don't eat for the first few days, so they may be doing OK, just not ready to feed yet. Keep trying.

Do you have any ponds nearby (ones that would not be getting chemical runoff)? If you get a brine shrimp net, you can probably seine out some micro-organisms to feed them.

Also, check the pet shops for brine shrimp eggs and a hatchery. You may have better luck if you call up your local mom&pop type fish shops. If you live in a metro area big enough for a Petco, chances are good that you have some specialty shops too - get busy with the Yellow Pages.

It takes about 3 months for them to reach metamorphosis.

Good luck!

 

[elizabeth]

No I live in a city, they're aren't any bodies of water close by, save the ocean. Though, my friend lives about 20 mins away and has a slow moving creek behind her house. Its pretty tiny too. I could try sifting through there. Its pretty clean.

Ok, thanks.