Egg Yolk

[Danni]

Hi

A family friend of ours came over the other day. He said that he used to have baby Axolotls and fed them on boiled egg yolk like what many people use to feed Betta fry and they grew very fast and well.

I was wondering if anyone else has heard of or has tried this?? If it worked, surely more people would do this?

Thanks
Danni

 

[melfly]

The thing with baby axolotls is that they tend to only eat things that move.

Its a while before they'll take anything dead. They can however be tricked by putting a air line in on a weak flow so dead food looks like its moving.

I'm not sure of the nutritional value vs live bbs or daphnia.

Mel

 

[Danni]

Hi

Well, I tried it, got some egg yolk, put it in a bottle with de-chlorinated water, shook it up and poured some into the tank with some of my axies (trial group). They seem to like it! (well, I didn't feed them anything else yesterday or today and their bellies look full)...if they continue to grow I would suggest it (as well as, not instead of, live food), the only problem being having to change the water often, but the same problem occurs with bbs, as they die in the non-salt water.

Thought you may like to know,
Danni

 

[jclee]

Do be careful to clean excess yolk particles immediately. That stuff can make for some serious bacteria clumps if it's left in a tank, and it breaks down to such hard particulates that love sticking into crevices and corners, that it's very difficult to get it all out.

 

[Danni]

Yes, I am definitely doing that, don't worry!! They seem to be "getting used" to the egg. They eat it really well now! I them in a plastic tank with rounded edges and no seams, so it is easier to get it really clean (much easier than my big-axies tank). It is holidays here so I have plenty of time to try this sort of thing.

With the bacteria thing, do you think it would be OK to leave some hard-boiled egg in the fridge to give them the next day or would it just get bacteria in it? I thought it would be OK as the fridge is cold, it is only one day and the container is sealed...

Thanks
Danni

 

[HappySkittles]

i used to breed betta and i gave the fry hard boiled egg
if you keep the egg in the shell or wrap the rest of the yolk up tightly it will ok but after a day i'd toss it

i would make the egg, eat half of it (eat all the white) and save the other half (yolk) for the fish haha

 

[sek]

This is really interesting, I have never heard of egg yolk being used for young axolotls or fish before. Very interesting! This will come in handy for future eggs and my tetra fry.

Thanks for posting this Danni. As for the left over egg, do you feed them in a seperate container to what they're housed in so you can clean it easily?

 

[HappySkittles]

when i fed my betta fry i just fed in their raising tank
i turned the sponge filter off after a little bit so the stuff would sink to the bottom then i used a turkey baster to clean the tank

i used smaller tanks so it was easy

i was very surprised to see them eat it. they didnt really want to eat the fry food i got them but the egg they LOVED

i bet my rats would like it if i had something i needed to make eggs for. they would get the left overs since fry of any kind dont really need too much. you only need a little bit. just squish it up in your fingers or mix it with a little bit of water so you dont get huge clumps

 

[Danni]

Hi

Yes, I do eat the white part of the egg

I definitely won't keep the egg for more than a day after I boil it.

I have been shaking it up in a bottle and using a syringe to put it in the water, so only very small bits can get in - very easy for me also.

Yes, I have been taking them out of their tank to feed them and then putting them back in their proper tank afterwards, also helps to prevent bacteria if the egg got stuck in the corners of their tank, as someone suggested might be a problem.

They are still doing great, and I can see the yolk in their stomachs, I think I may change all of them onto it eventually as they seem to like it better than the ones which I am feeding daphnia, which is weird...

I have seen no negatives so far and would definitely suggest this (if it continues to work as well) as it is easy, they like it, and it is cheap.

Danni

 

[tmorgan]

This is very (as everyone else has put it) INTERESTING!!! I am curious to see how this goes and I am going to keep watching this post! *cue creepy music*

 

[Danni]

Hi

Well, it is still going well, and to my eyes, they seem to be (a slight bit) BIGGER than the ones I have on daphnia at the moment.

To be honest I am thinking of converting them all to egg yolk, except a few as a control group.

Thanks
Danni

 

[Jennewt]

This is an interesting thread. I'm a bit surprised at how well your larvae are eating this non-moving food. But given that they are eating it, I'm NOT surprised that they are growing faster on it. Egg yolk is a rich source of both protein and fat, while daphnia have comparatively less fat. And egg yolk is a good source of vitamins, so there would be no deficit there.

 

[melfly]

I'm surprised they're eating it well too.

What age were they when you first started feeding them the egg yolk?

Mel

 

[Danni]

Hi

Uh, the five I started on it first (Didn't want to put all on as I thought it wouldn't work too well) Were about a week after hatching. Because I was curious, I later added one that hatched after the others (that went in maybe four days post hatching). They are all growing at a similar rate, except the golden ones are a few mm shorter than the ones with spots.

The ones with spots are about an inch? (They hatched two weeks ago at 10mm)

So, to that question, I really think that it would be possible to put them on egg yolk straight from hatching as long as you made sure the egg was shaken up really well to get small pieces.

Thanks
Danni

 

[melfly]

Thanks Danni
I've got a couple of week old hatchlings i may try this with...

I shall let you know how they get on.

Mel

 

[Danni]

Hi

Great Just remember to make sure the egg is completely hard-boiled and the yolk is completely separated from the white!

Thanks
Danni

 

[Danni]

Hi

Just an update. The Axies are all fine, but I have had to separate the gold ones from the "spotted" as the spotted ones are much larger and they often chase/nip at the smaller goldens (Maybe because they are similar to the colour of the egg yolk?).

Anyway, so one of my golden ones had shorter gills on one side and I think they may have got nipped by one of the "spotted"s so I now have them separated over two ice-cream containers for the moment.

Thanks for being interested!
Danni

 

[melfly]

Good idea
I generally have to do a few splits as they're growing. There are always some dramatic size differences.

I tried mine on boiled egg yolk but they didn't seem interested. I even tried my small juvie and they weren't interested either!

Mel

 

[Danni]

Wow, Thats so weird! I wonder why that is?? Thats annoying that it won't work for you.

I might try giving Leuka (Juvie) some, I never thought of doing that before.

Actually, what are the parents of yours? Wild, golden, leucistic?

I might upload some pics tonight of the egg yolk in mine's stomachs....

 

[Danni]

Photos!

Hi

Here are some pictures of one of them. Sorry, the yolk is hard to see in the pictures as it is very pale yellow/almost white in their stomachs...Much easier to see in real life.

Thanks
Danni