Larvae dying

Do they show any signs of sickness before they die? What temperature is the water?-maybe they are getting too hot. What food are you offering? What age/stage are they i.e do they have legs etc?

I had a problem with my batch of larvae i had last year when i had a lot die in the early stages (before leg development), but then the death stopped even though i had changed nothing in the way i was setting things up. I thought i must have been doing something wrong and felt so gulity but im pretty sure there was nothing i could have done as i was following all the advice given for rasing larvae.

I hope they survive for you :eek:
 
What are you feeding them?
 
They got loads of Daphnia in with them, big and small, the water currently reads 18C and they are out of direct sunlight and have elodea to hide amongst. They all seem to be dying when they get to the stage where they might start to get legs, about 10-12 days old:(
 
It seems similar to what happened to mine.
Perhaps you could try offering brine hatchlings or microworms as well as your daphinia?
 
Where would I get microworms, I haven't seen them anywhere?

all my local shops only seem to have big brine shrimp, not babies... could this be due to the good weather?
 
No, that's just how you get them in shops. I had the same problem so stuck with daphnia, which meant that some of my hatchlings died of starvation. :(

For newly hatched artemia, you have to grow your own. Look here:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/microfoods.shtml

Microworms are not really nutritious; they are like MacDonalds - not much in the way of healthy food but satisfying, quick and easy. They are really just best in a pinch.

By the time you have raised artemia (heck, probably by the time you have read this post), your larvae might be able to handle daphnia. The thing I like about daphnia is that it is generally readily available at aquarics shops. Downside is, obviously, that not all new hatchlings can take them.
 
I kept my larvae in shallow water with their food supply, it makes it a little easier for them to find food...that is if the die off is down to them not being able to catch the food.
 
They are only in about 2 inches of water and it's full of daphnia, some are really tiny ones, surely they must be able to eat them!
 
Hi Alison, I doubt it's the food. Some Axolotls do just die - esp as this age.

But if it's on a large scale; i.e. one morning you've lost several - then it could be a bacterial infection. I've had this a couple of times - always from pet shop daphnia, so now I only use the stuff I catach/culture.

If it is a bacterial infection (only indicator will be large numbers dying) do a full water change.

If it's just one or two every few days, I wouldn't worry too much. Just keep an eye on them.
 
I would consider setting up a brine shrimp hatchery (you get kits from aquarium shops or make your own) this will take two days to be ready but if daphinia are the cause of your problems you may save some of your larvae.

I found the kits much easier to use as they came with a net to catch the hatchlings with and my attempt at a homemade one was a disaster!
 
I've heard the brine shrimp are easier - I've always struggled - but with homemade ones. I might invest in one next year. Can you recommend a good one Niki?

Alison. If you have space try seperating a few - in new water - I keep mine in a couple of tubs, just incase I get a problem with one.
 
They were in 2 seperate tubs, I now have younger ones which hatched at the end of last week so I shall keep and eye on them, but the others where in different tubs and the larger ones died first then a day or two later the next size died, both times was when they reached between 1.5cm and 2 cm. These are all from the same litter/clutch/batch whatever the termonology:eek:

I also have the eggs you sent Phil, they haven't hatched yet, so all is not lost:D
 
'Sera Artemia Kit' is the one i used but im sure there is other makes with the same kit.




 
I have the same problem. I have 1-2 dead every morning. I do a complete water change every few days, and I look at them after feeding to see who hasn't eaten enough. :(
 
Take a few of them and move them to a separate container with clean water. Try keeping some of them in totally clean containers, transferring them every day or two.

Daphnia is perfect, there is no need to introduce other foods. You certainly don't need microworms, as they are too small for any but the smallest larvae.

This article might help with troubleshooting:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/why_larvae_die.shtml
 
Thanks Jen, that made very interesting reading.

I shall try a complete water change every few days and see how they go

Many thanks
Alison
 
one more thing (sorry), could it be an oxygen level problem?, they have elodea in the tubs with them but no airstone
 
Great article Jen!

I don't have any air stone in with mine, but I do try and put in a good amount of plants in. This gives shade and helps keep water quality; daphnia also help keep water clean (before they're eaten :)
 
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