Thought I had two girls, now I've got eggs everywhere...

[diggityDawg]

the parents are both wild, right?
thats pretty cool some albino. has it been hard feeding that many mouths?

I don't know the origins of the parents. I got the pair just last year from a local guy who was moving and couldn't keep them. He got them at a local pet shop. I'm pretty sure they're GFP axolotls, but I don't know enough to be sure.

Not hard feeding them all yet. I just fill a dropper with baby brine shrimp from one tub, and drip it into the tub with the axolotl babies. I don't really see them eat though... I'm getting a dubia culture soon (thanks Michael) and that should make it more obvious that they're eating them...

 

[diggityDawg]

So cute! I like the little wiggly one in the first pic 3 of mine hatched overnight - SO exciting! But I only have 20 - I couldn't imagine 60-90 hungry mouths! Good luck

Thanks! At about the 2-3 week point I plan on bringing a great majority of them to a local pet shop. I'll probably keep back 10 or so...

Aww.. CUTE!
Must say, your photos are really good! Very clear for such tiny things.
Good luck with them!

Thanks! New camera (Canon T1i), I love it. I just set it to Macro and it does a great job of capturing the little details...

 

[diggityDawg]

Well, it's been a couple weeks and most are still doing well. I got a daphnia culture from Michael - THANKS Michael, they're great, HIGHLY recommended, by the way - so stopped feeding brine shrimp. I think they're eating the daphnia, but hard to tell because I don't actually see them eat them, and some of the larger ones are still swimming around the tank at the end of the way. Just hoping they all eat what they need, but hard to guarantee that... I change out about 30% of the water every day using a cup. I think I'll split them into smaller groups and containers this weekend. I think they enjoy having the plastic plant in the tank as many of them hide in the leaves.

So yesterday I noticed my female was laying eggs again! She's only laid about 15-20, but if it's anything like last time, she'll start slow and then lay a ton in a couple days. I need to get a separator for the tank to keep my adults apart...

Anyways, it's been a blast with these little guys. I can't wait to see what they turn into as they grow! It sure looks like I might have some babies with a lot of different genetic traits (albino, leucistic, etc), but we'll see as they grow.

Just wanted to update everyone, thanks for the support!

Eddie

 

[Kaysie]

Both adults are definitely GFP, and look melanoid, rather than wildtype.

To check if the babies are melanoid (100% will be if both parents are melanoid), look for a shiny eye-ring with a small flashlight. Even the albinos will be melanoid.

It's stressful for females to breed too often. It might be time to invest in a divider to keep them separated.

 

[diggityDawg]

Thanks Kaysie, I'll check the babies tonight to see if they show that eye-ring. Definitely on my list of things-to-do this weekend is to get a tank divider.

 

[diggityDawg]

No, no eye-ring that I could see, but my eyes aren't what they used to be, and these babies are REALLY little... I'll have to take a photo and zoom way in, but I don't think they have the eye-ring... Unfortunately my daphnia culture crashed - all of the worms seemed to have died and the daphnia are nearly gone too. So it's back to BBS until I can figure out how to get more daphnia...