Lots and lots of eggs

[glorywillow143]

So, I had suspected that one of the two axies I got earlier this year was a male about a month or two ago, as his cloaca started to enlarge. Well, that was confirmed over night, as I now have a total of 355 eggs that I have been able to pluck out of the tank (not to mention more that probably went down the drain when I cleaned out the tank after plucking them out). I had to clean the tank after removing them, as she laid them on/around the filter and the egg jelly sucked up into the filter and clogged it >.< . I'm not opposed to raising some of the larvae, as I am facinated by their developement, and I've raised guppy babies before. What's the best food to feed them when they hatch? I've looked around and opinions seem to vary on this topic, although the most popular seems to be daphnia or brine shrimp babies. What's the easiest way to feed these hungry little mouths? I do know I need to cull some of the babies, but as cruel as it sounds, I may just end up 'recycling' some by feeding them back to mom and dad (why waste perfectly good protein?). Is there any reason I wouldn't want to have mom and dad take care of the waste portion of babies?

 

[auntiejude]

Feeding excess babies to mum and dad is quite a common practice with some breeders, but many hobbyists find it a little odd if not mean. If you're OK with it, do it, there's no reason not to other than personal squeamishness.

Brineshrimp are easy to hatch, and will keep your babies going for a good month or so. They are also the cheapest option (at least here in the UK). After that they can move onto daphnia, bloodworms, white worms etc until they are big enough for earthworms.

 

[smurfrider]

When mine were itty bitty I fed them brine shrimp twice a day. The breeder I got them from used microworms, but those are not readily available here.

As for what to do with eggs, I have no experience.......yet.

 

[xxianxx]

Dont try and raise too many. You have to be able to sell/rehome all that you produce. Choose a figure and stick to that, you can sell / give away your surplus eggs. If you try to raise them all it will be a lot of work. I tend to sell my extra eggs and use surplus larvae as feeders for older axolotls and newts.

 

[SuburbanGirl]

I raised mine from an egg, and he seems to be doing well. The brine shrimp were easy once I figured out a good system, and made sure I stuck with it every day. 2 cultures, that's the secret!