Descapulated BBS Eggs - Hatching v. Non-Hatching

[xSarahmo]

My axie's eggs are going to hatch in a couple days.. Last year I fed the babies baby brine shrimp, I want to try the decapsulated brine shrimp eggs this time!

There seems to be two options out there, hatching and non-hatching.

From what I saw during my quick google search, is hatching will be basically the same steps and time as regular brine shrimp eggs, the plus is you don't have to worry about the eggs getting to your baby axies.

As for the non-hatching I couldn't find much in relation to time, some said you can just drop them in the tank for fish right away, but not for fry, I assume because they expand when wet. So how long should they hydrate in water before feeding to baby axies? And this can be done in plain freshwater, no salt needed?

I saw someone had a post which said "make sure you get the hatching over non-hatching" but it didn't say why. Any thoughts about this? I'm leaning towards non-hatching if it is less time for them to sit in water to be ready for the babies... I also won't have to set up a hatchery and air pump system.

Thanks!

 

[rachel1]

My understanding was the none of the decapsulated eggs are hatching. I may be misinformed, but I was pretty sure that removing the "eggshell" kills the baby brine shrimp. Advantages are the same nutritional value without the hassle of hatching. The downside is they don't move, and Axolotl larvae respond to movement of prey items for the first couple weeks. So I don't think you would have very good luck getting your larvae to eat them. The other downside is they do not stay suspended in the water column as long as live baby brine, so the babies will not have as much time to snap at them before they stop "moving". They don't expand, they just sink before young fry notice them, and foul the water.

 

[auntiejude]

Hatchling only respond to movement when feeding, so you need to hatch the BBS in order to feed them - non-hatching eggs don't work. Decapsulation doesn't kill the napauli unless the eggs are dried after decapsulating, if they are suspended in strong brine they remain dormant until warmed in saline the same as sea water.

 

[rachel1]

Yup, I was wrong. They do have decapsulated hatching eggs. The only difference is not having to separate the hatchlings from the shells. I imagine that missed shells would be more of an issue in tiny, delicate fry where it might be able to cause impaction, and less of an issue with the larger Axolotl hatchlings.

 

[LSuzuki]

You can decapsulate them yourself, also. (That is what I do.)

It greatly speeds morning feeding, since unhatched decapsulated eggs drop to the bottom of the hatchery (instead of floating). I remove the aeration, then change the water in the babies' containers. By the time I'm done, the unhatched eggs have dropped to the bottom, so all I have to do is pour the water through a filter to get the hatched ones.

 

[etnies]

Guys,

Having a bit of a panic, I bought decapsulated eggs in a brine shrimp hatcher from NT Labs,

have it all setup left them to "hatch" for 24hours but I cant tell if they are done or not.. I have a tank full of baby axies now and i dunno if they're being fed..

Ive been reading though alot of posts on rearing axies and some said you can see "brown" in the axies stomach after they eat brine shrimp is this true? I can see brown in some of the larger axies after i put in the first batch.

Im going to get live food from a pet shop tomorrow just in case.

also just a FYI i didnt plan on havin axie babies, didnt even know if i had male/female.

Any help would be great

 

[auntiejude]

For me the NT labs eggs are the most reliable brand. Once you have strained the BBS from their hatchery and rinsed them you should see the whole mass as orange rather than brown, and the baby axies should have orange bellies when they have fed, like this picture.