Help meeeee (eggs).

[inkozana]

My Sammy has had her second clutch of eggs, the first one had been dubbed as fertilized but the eggs didn't grow and developed fungus so I threw them out. This clutch is about 20 times bigger, which I suppose makes it normal size because the dud clutch only had about 10 eggs.

The eggs are black and the cushioning is much stronger on these than on the last.
Please help me out, I know what to do when they hatch.. but how do I know if they WILL hatch?

 

[elessarspatriot]

well from what information i have gathered on here if you take the eggs out and put them in a separate tank (or reasonable sized container) it will take about 18 days for them to hatch, you'll be able to see them twitching after about 10-15 days.

If you want them to hatch sooner you could put a heater in with them and make the water about 20-22 degrees and this will speed up the growing time.

Obviously don't throw them out until you are certain they are dead or alive. However it does sound like they are fertilized, Congratulations and good luck :happy:

 

[elessarspatriot]

oh and some people say to aerate the water gently just to keep it well oxygenated

 

[Jennewt]

You could also try keeping some of the eggs in the same tank with the adults by putting them in some kind of "breeder" container like they sell for fish. Or you could rig up something similar with netting. This way the eggs will be in the same healthy water as the adults, but protected from being eaten.

 

[inkozana]

Okay that is a good idea I had them resting in a tub that was sitting on the surface of the tank so the water would be the same temperature. I do have a breeder bucket but it's not as big as the tub... however I'll put some in there, keep some inside the tank and some in the tub. Phew.

 

[blueberlin]

I successfully raised my larvae in net baskets as shown in the picture below. I do not like the plastic nursery baskets because I find that they do not let in much fresh water, the slits are large enough for new hatchlings to slip through, they bang against the side of the tank, and they are small. To use the net baskets, I turned the seams outward so that they would not collect as much muck, and I would rinse out the nets in water once a month.

Hope that helps.

-Eva

 

[inkozana]

That thing is pretty neat, I might go a get one from my petstore tomorrow. Thanks for the help.

 

[blueberlin]

I forgot to mention that I put an apple snail in each basket as cleaning lady. It worked out very well. As the larvae grew, I got more baskets and separated them to four larvae (and one snail) per basket and then, in time, to two. I found the baskets adequate for two larvae until the axolotls were a good three inches long.

The only disadvantage I found was that live bloodworms and tubifex would wriggle through the net and enter the main aquarium, where they would get down into the sand. Daphnia and white mosquito larvae can't, though, and these are what I fed the larvae.

Good luck to you,

-Eva