Eggs not hatching, and larvae stopped wriggling

[kristie]

This is my first time hatching axolotl eggs, I have about 14 axolotl eggs that are 15 days old! I have seen them wriggling and moving within their eggs but am worried that something has gone wrong. They look fully developed, and one even looks like it tried to come out of the shell, and got stuck on the way out. Upon closer inspection of this particular one, I can see that his head looks like it tried to break through the membrane shell and was unable to. The larvae in general are not moving around as much as they used to, but they look fully developed.... Does it ever happen that larvae get stuck in the egg, unable to hatch out even at full development? They have eyes and gills, and like I said I have seen them wiggle in their shells , but now they twitch slightly every so often , but I haven't seen them actually move in a couple days. Should I be worried?



This is my first time with axolotl eggs and I would appreciate any help I can get!

 

[AxolotlChris]

Hello,

Axolotls take 2-3 weeks to hatch, they will come out of the eggs in their own time. If all but a couple hatch, you do have the option of breaking the shell on the few stragglers so they can feed with the others.

Are you using dechlorinated water?

What is the water temperature?

Have you got a source of live food for when they hatch?

 

[auntiejude]

I find that stirring the eggs gently with my hand helps hatching.

 

[kristie]

Thank you for thw help! I have brine shrimp ready for when they hatch, the water is dechlorinated and is about 68 degrees.

The one who looked stuck in his egg actually ended up hatching the next day! The rest are yet to come, but i am feeeling a little more at ease.

Thanks so much for the tips!!!!!

 

[kristie]

Ok so now i have 2 that have hatched. One hatched late at night on the 18th and the other hatched the next morning (january 19). I still have 12 more eggs that have not yet hatched. It has been 2 days since the first one hatched, and almost 24 hours since the last one hatched, and none of the others are hatching... how long do i wait before I should consider helping them out of their egg? And how does one do that exactly?

 

[LSuzuki]

To "help" them out, you need to find a way to break the membrane around them. Some people advocate gently squeezing the eggs. What I am doing with my current batch is using a feeding tongs to poke through the membrane. I don't have a way that I feel is "best (for me)" yet - I am still experimenting.

One way that seems to help some of them hatch on their own ... scoop them out of their container and pour them back in.

As to when - development rates can vary. How developed do the ones in the eggs look? Don't help them out if they don't look as developed as the ones that hatched.

Something interesting ... This is just my observation, and may not be generally true. They seem to wiggle less a couple of days before hatching. But when it is really hatching time, the wiggling they do seems very much more focused, like "I'm trying to swim but something is in the way" rather than twitching.

Good luck! It is so much fun to see them grow!

 

[kristie]

Thank you so much!! There are some that definitely look as developed as the 2 that hatched but I'll give them another day or 2 and see if they don't just hatch on their own i am excited to have more! They are so cute!

 

[kristie]

My larvae seem to be eating, growing and doing well but in the last 2 days i have had a larva who appeared to have curled/ shriveled gills (hard to tell exactly what was wrong, but the gills looked shorter. These guys were only about 5 days old, so still very small) anyways, i separated him into another container to watch him because i thought perhaps he was getting bitten by Another larva. Within 24 hours his tail had shriveled into an awkward. Twisted s shape, his body was contorted and shriveled and he was dead. The same thing happened thr next day to another larva.... Does anyone know what causes this? I had heard that normally when larvae die they become bloated and float to the top, but that wasnt the case here. He shriveled up. Could this be from a fungus? The other larvae are fine so i dont think its the water quality. I use aged water to remove the chlorine and thenqater temperature is about 60 degrees. I do regular water changes ans feedings with baby brine shrimp