This is what 4 week old larvae look like

D

deb

Guest
Not being able to get hold of white worms or any other small live food for weaning, these babies have to munch on frozen blood worms. And they're starting to grow real fast. Suddenly we've noticed little feet on their spindly legs....

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and look at them feeding...


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and another view of their insides!

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and here's a wild type


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I'm FINALLY giving up the shrimp hatcheries! What will I do with the extra hour in my day???
 
Wish I could send you some Ricky! They seem to be thriving so we have far more than we expected!!
 
Hey Deb, check out Trademe, there are live worm cultures avaliable on there.
 
Thanks Ang but the babies are now 8 weeks old and they would laugh in my face if I offered them anything smaller than a bloodworm. Must post a more recent photo- they are gorgeous with 4 legs now (most of them) and different shades of wildtype along with lots of leucistics. 35 of the wee darlings still thriving. Fortunately the local pet shop says they will help sell for us.

Anyone from NZ notice that the kid's TV programme 'What Now' voted for axolotls as the world's most weird pet?
 
My kids told me that. Hehe they were rapt that we have them.... How old were your babies when you started giving them the bloodworms?

Mine are 5 weeks old, but haven't grown much, they are only a 1/3 bigger than when they started.

I have got some micro worms on the way for them, and have been collecting baby mosquito larvae, to try and get them onto something more solid than brine shrimp.

If that doesn't work out, I will try some white worms.

Also, what temperature are yours kept at?
 
I started them on bloodworms when they were 4 weeks old. We were at the end of a container of dried BBS eggs and I had just broken one of our homebuilt hatcheries. Seemed like a good time to try to branch out into 'convenience' food! Initially they struggled with individual worms (like a massive red hose down their throats)but they grew very quickly became adept at eating the new food. I could see if any of them had not eaten by the lack of red colour in their bellies and so I'd add some microworms to the tank (grew them from a petshop culture). I think I may have tried chopping up the bloodworms initially just to make them shorter. I couldn't get hold of any white worms which would have been the ideal transitional food I believe.

Tank temp has been around 18 degrees but I notice it is up to 20 lately. We had 3 small tanks up until yesterday when we combined into 2 medium sized tanks with sponge filters. Of the 35 survivors (haven't had a death in about 3 weeks) there are about 6 really small ones - less than half the size of the biggest. We keep expecting them to die but they keep on keeping on.

What is your setup of tanks for your babies?
 
Thanks for that,

our older babies are in a 3 1/3 foot tank, with a corner filter, which has oyster grit, carbon and filter wool, temp is around 17 degrees, and I am feeding BBS and introducing mosquito larvae, while I wait for the micro worms to arrive.

I have upped the amount of BBS we are hatching, and they get 3 shrimpery containers a day. they are eating well, as they are always on the bottom with full bright pink bellies.

Maybe they are just slow developers?
 
Yaay!! I have finally noticed wee legs and feet on our babies!!

They aren't slow, just typical babies developing in their own time lol....
 
And now my 9 week olds are trying to bite one another's legs and feet off! After all the effort of getting them to this stage I feel like jumping in the little tank and wrestling them apart when I see them attacking one another. Must keep them uncluttered with plenty of places to hide.
 
Oh no, I will keep that in mind!
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Typical kids aye? Fight like cats and dogs lol
 
You have truly awesome babies there

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I was born in lil old Greymouth Ang
 
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