Help! Crisis!

[axolotlsarecool]

I just posted about my eggs, well I look now and it seems that most have hatched! However, they seem a week premature! Are they even alive?? They have very small gills and are just sitting on the bottom. I also cannot see any internal organs. They are tiny, and sort of look like those in axolotl.org's embryo series photo page. I guess my question is if my babies are even alive. By the way, I have no food source, I just started my brine shrimp today, thankfuly the still have to absorb their yolk. However, I really need to know if they are alive!

 

[axolotlsarecool]

I lowered the water level, and they DO look like those on axolotl.com, except there is no pigment in the gills(which are so small!). Is this normal?

 

[axolotlsarecool]

And there seems to be a shell of sorts that they left behind. Is this alright? And how long before they need food? (sorry for all they questions! I am a newbie to this and it was so unexpected!!)

 

[Kabernas]

I'm afraid I have minimal knowledge of what to do. They may eat the "shell" of their eggs for food for a while, then probably they'll eat each other if you don't separate them and get them food asap. I really don't know... some people feed beef heart strips to adults, maybe you could puree some and feed a little to them until you can get proper food organized.
Hope it works out!
Prayers!

 

[axolotlsarecool]

well i found out its 24-48 hours before food. Thats good, since not all of the eggs have even hatched yet. I know that I don't have to separate them yet. I think I may try blackworms as an alternate food source for now, then switch to my brine shrimp culture.

 

[Skilly]

Its okay if they came out of their eggs early. They will be tiny, but do not worry too much. When they first hatch, they will just lay around for awhile as if still in the egg. They won't need food for for a while, especially if they are a bit premature. I think it took mine 3 days till they started to kind of eat.

If you haven't already, move your little babies that have hatched to a different container than the eggs (if there are still some to hatch).

If all of them have hatched, then remove the egg sacks by sucking them up with a turkey baster.

If you keep the water temp around 20-23 C then they will develop nicely.

 

[Skilly]

Also, newly hatched axolotls will not eat anything that does not move.... they hunt/eat only by eyesight. Blackworms will be too large for them to eat even if they are chopped up.

Live baby brine shrimp are the best thing for them to eat or small baby daphnia.

Just get your shrimp going and you will be just fine. Don't worry about them eating each other either... this only happens if there is a large size difference or (with new information from research) they are unrelated.

Don't panic They will be just fine till you get some baby brine shrimp hatched.

 

[axolotlsarecool]

okay. can do. I will wait for the brine shrimp.