Question: Twisted larva :S

[Minniechild]

So, New Year's present for me this year was a bunch of eggs from Molly (who is VERY much like Molly Weasley), and approx. 50/60 have hatched over the past two weeks. Of these, most are doing quite well, and a few (approx 5) have had sacs to the chest/abdominal area and died within 24 hours of hatching (Tended to be the last third to leave the eggs).
The third group which I'm particularly concerned with have been under a week from hatching (two thirds fall into the age bracket), and suddenly twisted into an s- shape and died. So far there have been five whom this has happened to. Water is between 18 and 20 degrees (the chiller is battling against out hottest ever day here), and is changed at least 50-75% (thanks to the water sucked up by the turkey baster when shifting them into clean water) from the parents' tank twice a day (Depending on the food, either before a feed or after for bbs. The container they are in are 25x 25cm square with between 2 to 3cm of water depending on the water change (Between 700mL-1L), tied to two bottles so that it floats safely in the tank. They have been fed on bbs for the past week and a half, although I introduced chopped up blackworms over the past 36 hours (to much glee especially from the earliest hatchers), two feedings a day, approx. 12 hours apart.

In Molly's winter lay (her first), all of the ones who I kept eventually died off in similar circumstances without putting on more that 1/3 of their body weight/mass from birth, but considering these ones are actually growing, I'm thinking something is different this time around.

Any thoughts/solutions would be VERY gratefully appreciated!

 

[FX1C]

Is the water you are using for the babies from the parents tank? If so what are those waters parameters? I don't think you need to use cycled water for juvies just dechlorinated aged tap water seems to be the usual... Also, do you know the temp in the tuppaware containers? it won't stay chilled for long in this heat. (Sorry if I misunderstood what you meant - I'm in sydney too & had to drive to gosford today - was 47.5degC there & I'm still recovering 8 hours later! Crazy Hot!)

Sorry to hear that your little ones are having issues - hopefully once this heat goes away things will get better!



<3 >o_o< <3

 

[Minniechild]

Parameters are:
pH: 7.5,
Ammonia: < .025ppm,
Nitrite 0ppm,
nitrate <5ppm, temperature 19C.
Just ran the test and was rather like: What. The. Heck?! The tank's been "settled" for over a month and a bit now (problems with getting enough aeration in the establishment), but I wasn't expecting parameters THAT good.
Okay, moving on...
I'm using the parents' water (and sticking to it after those readings!) primarily because our tap water runs through our roof. Today it was hot enough to burn in the cold tap, so no way was I using it on my precious babies. The other reason is the babies are in "Axie-boat-als" in the parents tank- the containers were tied to bottles (Hooray for Christmas and excess soft drink consumption!), and then placed on top of the water surface, meaning the temperature is the same or very close to that of the adults' tank. The outside room was quite hot today (condensation EVERYWHERE!!), but that shouldn't have been a problem.
Also, there's a small amount of Java Moss in with the babies. Quite a few have decided to set up camp and are staying there. But the one who went twisted this afternoon (Whom I was hoping there might be a solution for) passed away some time in the past few hours.

 

[xxianxx]

Not all newly hatched larvae are viable, you should expect a die off in the first couple of weeks. If you have covered temp, water quality and feeding adequately there is not a lot you can do other than to wait for them to stop dying.

 

[Minniechild]

Thanks- It was more I was hoping there might be a cause I had missed, or even better a way to save them and/or prevent it in the future beyond ensuring Molly doesn't overdo herself. Whilst she has laid three times in the past six months, (Found 20 eggs in the tank yesterday) they have all been relatively small batches of less than 100 eggs each time, so whilst I am monitoring her and trying to ensure that the environment of the tank is as stable as humanly possible (these past two times I think I shifted the lights 15 minutes which coincided with a change in the weather...), I definitely don't want her laying again before Midwinter Solstice even if she is impressively rotund and adorkable.

 

[FX1C]

Just a little note:
When I said to use dechlorinated aged tap water - I meant aged 24-48hrs.
I keep 60L (3x20L buckets with lids) that way the temperature is stable - unlike the temp straight from tap on a hot day. Not normally recommended to use tap water unless its had time to settle/age even if just for an hour.

Good luck with the babies - it sounds like you've got it under control
Thank goodness the heat's gone today!



<3 >o_o< <3

 

[Minniechild]

Agreed about the heat! Sadly storing enough dechlorinated water for a change on the adults' tank (6ft-er, so over 50L) isn't really an option, so I've resorted to a combination of Prime (Which I would use anyway because the pipes around here are ridiculously old), waiting for the weather to cooperate and careful balancing to minimise the impact. So far, it's been working, but I'd love to be able to set up a way to age it as well, though I don't see that happening anytime soon :/
Thanks for the help (from both me and the little monsters!)!

 

[FX1C]

Be careful with prime - I was using it when I first started my tanks & had a lot of problems - it inhibits the good bacteria from accessing the ammonia because the prime binds the ammonia changing it to less harmful ammonium. I'm about to set up a 6' x 2.5' x 2' & will be buying 4 new buckets to age an extra 80L - I'm starting to feel like a rice field worker carrying a 20L bucket in each arm - contemplating a carrying stick across my shoulders lol
I buy the $10 20L painters buckets at bunnings & they stack 4 high & take up less room.



<3 >o_o< <3

 

[Minniechild]

I've been using Prime since I started out (so about two and a half years now), and I've found it far more of a help than a hindrance (but that's me and my situation). I am very aware about it converting, and I've used it in the past in moderation to manage ammonia spikes. In my setups, it hasn't stopped my tanks cycling and with it being able to knock out the heavy metals, I'd much rather use it than just a basic (and around here overpriced!) dechlorinator