Are these eggs?? Please help!!

I'm so sorry to spring yet another trauma on your guys, but I've been away since Sunday evening, and come home to find what appear to be eggs all over the plastic plants!

They're very small, like a little brownish seed in a clear bubble. Are these eggs, or something else? Some are brown all over, some seem to be sort of half white, half brown.

My male axolotl only recently became obviously male, if you see what I mean, and I wasn't actually planning to breed my axies, so I have no idea what to do!

Should I be taking some kind of action.. ? If so, am I too late? I have a vague recollection of someone saying that dark colour in eggs is not a good sign.

Many, many thanks as always,

blue froggy.

Tjhey sound like eggs to me.. remove them from the tank and put in a tank on there own. Change the water each day and keep them with an air stone.

This isnt much info but im sure other people like Mary will jump in and help.

Where abouts are you located Blue froggy?

Thanks Kim, I'm in Lancashire myself.

Like I said, I wasn't planning to breed my axies so I don't actuallly *have* another tank! Do you think they'd be okay until tomorrow, when I could pick one up, since all the pet shops are closed at this time of day ?

Bluefroggy, try putting the eggs in a plastic tub for now and don't forget air stone and water changes. Keep an eye out for white hairy fungus..if possible put in several containers to reduce losses.
If it helps I am in Manchester and work in Blackburn & Preston.
They take 12-14 days to hatch so you will need to start thinking about food for the young ones. Check out www.caudata.org/axolotl for John's FAQS and info pages. Best of luck with them.

Thanks for your help!

So when I put the eggs in separate containers, do I need to transfer them on the plants they're currently attached to, or will they be okay on their own?

I don't have an airstone, but I have an airating filter, would that do the job? (If not I can try to pick up an airstone tomorrow, but in this case should I leave the eggs in the tank until I can set this up, or should I transfer them to a container anyway?)

If I see white stuff on the eggs, do I remove those ones?

How many eggs would you advise keeping together in one container? And (finally!) will the eggs be okay in plastic containers until they hatch, or am I going to have to buy many new tanks? (I don't know if my wallet could handle it!!)

I'm sorry if any of these questions are silly, and thanks again!

Ok Bf best thing to do is take it slowly and do what you can. Assuming you want as many to hatch and survive as you can manage.

If they are attached to plant then your other axies should leave them alone for a day assuming that they are well fed.

Ok take the plants with eggs attached and put into a container with an airstone. Try and work out how many eggs you have. The tirck is to ensure they are all have access to sufficient aerated water.

When they are due to hatch you might want to separate out more. You will lose some to cannabalism, starvation and infections etc. more containers = more chance of survivors.

Ok if any of the eggs get white and fluffy they have a fungus and will die. Trick is to get rid asap before other eggs get it too. If any of the eggs are a cloudy grey they are probably dead too. Get rid of them.

Number of containers depends on how many eggs you have. Try 1 litre ice cream tubs etc. Air hose, tees and air stones cost coppers. Try about 20-40 eggs per container, if you can't find enought tubs.

Penultimately don't go bankrupt...lol
Finally don't forget to read manin site, indiana uni site and FAQs.

PS
Keep asking questions and most of all do what s right for yourself.

One additional question for bluefroggy... as you weren't planning to breed them, do you really want to raise them at all? It takes a lot of time, some money, and commitment. If you are unsure, I would suggest the radical option of throwing the eggs away. Better to throw them away now than to see them die later.

**Anticipating a hailstorm of protest, Jen ducks and runs for cover.**

Also, if you don't want a "repeat performance", you may want to consider separating your adults. Or finding another home for one of them.

That's a totally valid point, Jennifer, but I'm far too much of a wuss to throw them out.

I think I'll do my best to raise them, and presuming I manage it okay, I'll keep my fingers crossed that other people around me will want axolotls in the near future!

Maybe local aquariums might be interested? I'm not sure how likely that is though, since they probably have their own suppliers. Just a thought!

One last advice : When moving the eggs into the other tank, try to move them while still in water (for example by sucking them with a small plastic tube) and avoid direct contact with your hands as they could possibly get some unwanted micro-organisms off your skin and get sick.

Do what you think is best Laura.

If you decide you cant look after them ask around here on in the adverts and see if anyone in england will have them... you might even get Mik to take a few off your hands.. i would rather they go to someone than get flushed.

If you give and bunch of eggs to a few people there is more chance of getting rid of them to good homes.

Just something you might want to think about before flushing them!.. I would hate to see the down the plug hole.

Keep us posted!

(Message edited by jigglypuff on September 01, 2004)

Bluefroggy --

If you're still on the fence as to whether you can invest the time/money/space for hundreds of axolotl larvae, you can always just leave the eggs in with the adults, who will then eat them.

It sounds yucky, but it's an option.

Hello again!

First of all I just wanted to say a big thanks to you guys for all your help, especially Mikki who went through the slow process of getting me to understand the airstone business.

I've collected all the eggs today, separated them into different containers and set up my airstones. I think I can already see them changing shape. I'm going to do my best to raise as many of the babies as I can, since like I said, I don't think I could manage to flush them.

That said, presuming any number of the eggs do survive and grow (I'm no expert!) I wont be able to house more than one, possibly two of them, so I'm trying to make plans for what to do next.

Firstly, what would you consider to be the minimum size an axolotl should be before it can be sold/rehomed ? I realise they're very vulnerable when small, and I don't want to hurry this process too much.

Secondly, what is the ettiquette when it comes to organising a sale of axolotls? Would it be realistic to hope that local aquariums, hobbyists etc would buy them from me, or since I'm by no means a proffessional breeder, should I expect to just give them away?

If selling is an option, what would you consider to be a reasonable price for an axolotl of that size/age?

I hope I'm not creating the wrong impression of myself here - I'm not particularly in it for the money, and of course I'd rather give them away to good homes than sell them to bad ones. Just trying to get the facts, though, so I'm best prepared.

Thanks, folks!

bluefroggy.

Young axies in shops tend to be between 40 - 75mm. Bigger the better is best if they are to survive but you need to balance that against your pocket.

You can advertise on here, there is a section, or you can cart a couple round to local aquarium type pet shops. Most will buy a few from you. Remember they will want to sell on at healthy profit so won't offer much. Recently I have seen wildtypes at 10 quid and albino & leucistic at 30 quid. I would expect that they would try to buy from you at 1/5th or less than that.

If you have a couple of golden albinos in that bunch I would be interested (haven't got a golden :-( ) and your not so far away I couldn't collect. Try a post card and piccy in vets practices. But ask around friends and family when you know you have some viable survivors.

Mikki, I believe there are a couple of golden albinos at a shop in Burnley, or there were a while back. Want details?

I am soooooo sorry!

The second post on this thread said that I would probably help! I've been away so I'm just reading this for the first time!!!!

I'm a little late, so I don't think that I can help as much as what I would have liked to.

HOWEVER!!! just for anyone who does flush eggs or even babies down the toilet in somthing - I can compleetly understand why you are doing this, because I have actyually gotten rid of eggs that I didnt want - BUT DONT PUT THEM IN THE WATER SYSTEM!!!! If you dont understand why, read "strange but true" it's in axolotl help. If you do get rid of them, put them on/in dry land so they do actually die, rather than hatch in our waterways.

Froggy, yeah wouldn't mind. Always worth a look. I might be able to sneak them in while wifey isn't looking...lol

Okie doke,

It's 'Waterlife and Pets,' 73 Curzon Street in Burnley.

The phone number is 01282 426542.

Happy hunting!

OOoo Mik... dont forget! Babies!!!!!

LOL I won't Kim. Anyway I popped into the shop for a look and they had two goldens left and a wildtype. Plus for the newty people in here there was a huge bunch of Pleurodales watls.

All looked in very good condition and the axies were an excellent size for being hatched in June (3 months! and the two goldens measure 180mm and 165mm). It just shows the difference a good diet can make to the young. The goldens were priced at 10.95 and the wildtype at 9.95, very fair I thought.

So now I have two goldens sitting in a tub of their own while I observe and quarantine them. Hmmm, when the mrs notices I'm going to be in trouble, again! I'll give them a few days to settle down and take a few piccys.

One is now called Cobweb and I need to think of a name for the other.

And the current count is 9 axies
2 leucistic, Arwen & Tweak
2 wildtype, Sirius & Ariel
2 melanoid, Psylocke & Gizmo
2 golden, Cobweb & ???
1 albino (melanoid), Moonpie
Nice range of phenotypes & genotypes for my breeding plans..lol

awwww Mik!! you got them!! I'm so glad but wifey is certanly not going to be happy!