Hatchlings not growing?

[officerPuckles]

Hey guys! I am worried on the development and growth of my hatchlings. They are about a month old (hatched) and I feel like they haven't grown barely at all (if any) At least its not noticeable to me.
I've been feeding them hatched brine shrimp every 24 hours, and i've been losing about 1-2 a day (pretty good I think, saying as how I have about 100+ still and only have about 20 sold so far)
I've been giving them 1/2 water changes every day.
Do I need to up their feed? Should it be more often than 24 hours?
I haven't noticed any front legs coming in under the magnifying glass.

Is this the proper growth rate for hatchlings?

Here's a picture I took today with my thumb for scale.

 

[HodgeaPodge]

This site has a good description of larval development: Axolotls - Rearing from Egg to Adult

As for your axolotls... are you sure there are no legs? If you look underneath them you can see better. Try putting them in a clear container to check.

When you feed them, check back in about 20 minutes. Do all of them have full pink bellies or are there brine shrimp left over?

You want their bellies to look like this...

If they don't all look nice and full you'll want to up the food load.

 

[rachel1]

It really depends on temperatures and how frequently you feed them. Mine are around an inch now with well developed front legs and visible toes at 3weeks post hatching. They have constant access to live foods. I would think they would grow faster with more frequent feelings, 2-3x per day. They look a bit thin to me.

 

[rachel1]

Here are some of mine one week post hatching. On a quarter for size reference.

 

[rachel1]

Here are my three week olds, again on a quarter. You can see the arms on the wild at the far left- they don't have much pigment yet. They're hidden by the gills most of the time. I think mine grow faster than average, but yours seem very small to me.

 

[AguamigosTexas]

I have wondered about this as well, so thank you for asking. The growth rate on our own hatchlings is so varied. Right now I have two tiny GFP albinos who could be a meal for their wild type siblings! And some batches we have start off smaller than average and grow slowly, while the next year the new hatches get "pumpkin bellies" each and every feed and really take off, despite having all the same conditions.

A friend of mine tried moving hers to a slightly warmer area of the house (which kept their water 70-72) and reported improved growth rate. I hope you find the trick that works for your little ones.

 

[officerPuckles]

They usually have full and colored bellies after feeding, and I have tried putting frozen blood worm shavings in with the BBS when I feed them at hopes they consume those too and get bigger.
I will definitely try moving them into a warmer place, it is Spring here so the house is warming up as is, I will open the windows and let more light and warmth in there. The only problem with that is I don't want the adult tanks getting too warm, and I cannot move the baby tubs into another part of the house because I have two dogs and I don't want them getting into them.

I have noticed they all have different growth rates, I think the biggest guy I can see is about a full inch, but none of their heads look as thick as the images you guys have posted. I will hunt on looking for their legs!

 

[officerPuckles]

Mine are about the size of a Penny (american) for reference. But definitely skinny and not fat and happy. I will try upping their food intake!

 

[officerPuckles]

Here they are today after breakfast.

And this is the guy who seems to be the longest,

 

[Pedro Oliveira]

your artemia look like the frozen ones, im wrong?
Try to offer them live food, you will see them growing from day to day!
All the best, keep posting updates!

 

[officerPuckles]

your artemia look like the frozen ones, im wrong?
Try to offer them live food, you will see them growing from day to day!
All the best, keep posting updates!

I am feeding them Live Brine Shrimp that I am hatching, and yesterday when I fed them the live shrimp I also mixed in shavings of frozen shrimp and bloodworms to see if they would chomp on those too.

 

[rachel1]

I mix in little bloodworm bits also- they end up snapping them up accidentally, then realize it's food. If you have access to live blackworms, adding in chopped blackworms should help kickstart good growth. You can chop the blackworms pretty small and they will still move. I leave appropriately sized daphnia and blackworms pieces in with my babies 24/7. I feel the constant prey movement stimulates them to eat more frequently and grow quickly.

 

[officerPuckles]

I leave appropriately sized daphnia and blackworms pieces in with my babies 24/7. I feel the constant prey movement stimulates them to eat more frequently and grow quickly.

Can I just put Daphnia eggs into the water the axolotls are in and they will grow? That seems much easier than cultivated brine shrimp every day