Transporting Hatchlings?

[JenW]

I currently have 7 day old eggs. I just remembered I am going out of town next weekend & am afraid they may hatch while I'm gone. They will be 13 days when I leave & 16 days when I return. The temp in the tank is a constant 20* C. I know they have their egg sacs & are ok for up to 48 hrs without feeding. What if they hatch early & I'm gone for 3 days? I don't have anyone to care for hatchlings or deal with the brine shrimp. Should I just pack up all of their stuff & take them along? How would eggs/hatchlings do on a 3hr car trip? Any advice is appreciated!

 

[LSuzuki]

My guess it that if they haven't hatched before you leave, you are safe to leave them. The real question is, if they hatch early, do you have some way to provide live food for them while away?

I know cooler temperatures slow development, but I recall reading that eggs can't tolerate as cold temperatures as adult axolotls. You can probably search this site and find what a lower limit on temperature is for eggs, and cool them down so they don't hatch before you leave.

 

[JM29]

Hatchlings spent their 2 or 3 first days without eating ; they feed on their yolk sac.
Usually, young larvae don't do well with transport while eggs do fine. If you choose to transport the eggs, there is a risk you go with eggs and return with hatchlings.
Anyways, you could start brine shrimp just before leaving so that you get shrimps available when you come back 3 days later.
For the temperature, I had successful hatching by 12°C, but avoid every thermic shock.

 

[JenW]

I have 50g of brine shrimp eggs in the refrigerator. Did a test run the other day to make sure they would hatch & they did in less than 24hrs. My husband will be home but I didn't want him to have to deal with starting up the hatchery. I guess I will just leave him with a link to hatching brine shrimp on this site so he knows exactly what to do if the babies hatch while I'm gone. I assume if the shrimp are started at the first sign of hatching they will be ready once the egg sac is gone. I'm probably over reacting but this is my first time hatching babies & I want to do it right! Thank you for your replies!