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Feeding new axies

K

karen

Guest
Just have new babies, we have hatched some brine shrimp but we are wondering if we are feeding them enough or too much. How do we know if we are doing the right thing. They are so cute!!! By the way dad (Nuts - Golden) and mum (Gator - Black) are doing really well, so are Aunties Sunny (Golden) and Angel (Albino)!!
 
D

deb

Guest
How many larvae do you have Karen and how much brine shrimp are you hatching? (half a tsp or 1/4 tsp of eggs?)
 
K

karen

Guest
We have 13 Larvae out and about at the moment and about 7 or 8 still twitching in their eggs. As for the Brine shrimp we were told to hatch the whole packet and started that last week.

We also read that you have to separate the larvae. When do you do this, how many can live together and for how long?
 
J

jennifer

Guest
Brine shrimp eggs hatch in about two days. From that point on, baby brine shrimp (bbs) lose nutritional value and begin to die. One hatched batch is only good for about 2-3 days, so the ones you started last week are either not hatching, or are too old to use. As the larvae don't eat for the first couple of days, it works well to start the bbs hatch the same day the axies hatch.

Like fish, you feed larvae as much as they will eat at one sitting. You have to very carefully remove all uneaten bbs, as they die in fresh water and contaminate the tank/container. Feed them at least once per day, twice is better.

I've raised axies in small groups, like 4-10 per container. If they are well fed, separated by size/age, and kept at a low density, cannibalism is rare.
 
D

deb

Guest
Make sure you have a turkey baster Karen and use it to remove all uneaten BBS from the containers with the larvae. I sometimes sucked up the uneaten food about an hour after feeding and occasionally I left it overnight. Seems to glump together in lots of little whitish clouds - easy to suck up. I like Jennifer's idea of keeping larvae in small containers - maybe 2 containers of 10 each? We started with 2 and now have 3 bigger containers with airstones and a sponge filter because the larvae are nearly 5 weeks old.
 
K

karen

Guest
Thanks guys, we will have to get more brine shrimp tomorrow (no shops open in Atherton on a Sunday)so far all is good, the rest have hatched and we have separated them according to the day that they hatched. we will keep our fingers crossed for now
 
M

mary

Guest
We had our brine shrimpery ontop of a small benchtop over- kept on low- the shrimp were hatching within 24hrs.
 
J

jolly

Guest
<font color="119911">I used a lamp light or water heater. Or both, so that the BBS were attracted to the light and easier to get. They hatch sooner then 24hrs when using a water heater. I used a kitty litter container and filled it with salt water. Not the best setup but it did the job.</font>
 
A

ang

Guest
I keep our shrimpery by the fire at night, on the mantlepiece, and if it is sunny during the day, I put it in the sun on the window sill, they do really great!
 
A

anna

Guest
Jolly is right, they will hatch a lot fast if they have a heater. I didnt use a heater with my brine shrimp, because I couldnt fit it in the container!

I instead had two containers. Brine shrimp should have an air pump, but once they hatch this can be taken out. I would wait for one container of brine shrimp to hatch, then switch the air pump to a new container and start some more. Seems to be working well.

I use a very small tube to suck out the brine shrimp mess. This works well, but like deb said, can take around half an hour! And also.. I usually get a small mouth full of water when I suck the tube.... nice!
 
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