Why would they all die like this?

[JoeDailey]

So my 150+ babies were doing just fine except they weren't growing fast enough. I read up and realized I might not of been feeding them enough (vinegar eels once every one or two days). So I started feeding them once or twice a day and now they are looking really bad. many are dead, some look like they are dying and the others are very comatose. I replaced the water again yesterday but they look even worse. I am so lost and angry I don't know what to do. Any ideas? Also the tank(5 gallon) smells awful.

 

[sde]

My guess is the water is bad. Do you know the perimeters? do you do regular water changes? If i am not mistaken, you need to do regular water changes with larvae, not just every once in a while. Every few days maybe. Do vinegar eels actually come out of vinegar?

 

[EmbryH]

Were you removing the uneaten food from the water? Honestly, I'd pull them all from the tank and put them into plastic tubs filled with water from an adult's tank (I assume you have adult axies, though) until you can figure out what's going on. Separate them by health.

I've never heard of someone using vinegar worms for feeding. Perhaps they aren't properly nutritious for the age of your babies now. How old are they?

 

[auntiejude]

Vinegar eels are not complete nutrition for newly hatched larvae - they lack certain nutirents and minerals. Baby brine shrimp are best for them.

This could be the whole problem, but you should also look into water quality and infections.

But it's not uncommon for a large number of larvae from one batch to die without obvious cause, it's just nature's way of thinning the herd - a simple problem means only the strongest survive, thus ensuring the best animal make it to adulthood.

 

[JoeDailey]

Alright guys, I did a water change and they seem to be recovering. I am usually doing water changes every day or two but i think I overfed them and the amount of (dead) vinegar eels promoted a bloom of bacteria. As to why they are not growing, I'm very positive that they are in too cramped of a tank and I am getting a larger one tomorrow.

 

[auntiejude]

As to why they are not growing, I'm very positive that they are in too cramped of a tank and I am getting a larger one tomorrow.

No, they are not growing because they are not getting the nutrition they need.
Feed them baby brineshrimp or bloodworms, they will do much better.

 

[Alkylhalide]

I have mine in tubs and do one partial and one full water change per day and feed at least once per day. Regardless of what food you feed them you need to keep up with changing the water before or right after the food starts to die. The water fouls quickly and if not cleaned will kill off babies very quickly. I am never willing to chance it so I do water changes often with the babies.

I would also highly suggest daphnia or baby brine shrimp for them. I got 100grams of brine shrimp eggs in the mail yesterday for 12$ which will last forever(i only have 17 babies)