I need help

Cheylee · Feb 23, 2011

I'm still trying to find live food to feed to my baby Axolotls when they hatch but i can't seem to find anything. Does anyone one know of a good and reliable food that i could feed them? I don't really have anywhere close to me that would see small live feeder food for them so i'm looking on the internet. All the sites that i find look really iffy and not secure.

I want to get food for them but i don't know what would be my best option.

animalloversfb · Feb 23, 2011

You can use daphnia or baby brine shrimp. I purchased decapsulated baby bring shrimp eggs from ebay from a well-respected seller(they're the only ones on there selling hatchable brine shrimp eggs in bottles). They are doing great and are so much easier than the shelled ones. A poster on here sells daphnia culture - but I've found unless you have a good amount of space to set them up in, its pretty difficult to maintain with the level of harvest you need for more than a few larvae.

Cheylee · Feb 23, 2011

How easy are baby brine shrimp to keep alive? My biggest concern is running out of food.

animalloversfb · Feb 23, 2011

They stay alive very short term 1-2 days, but they're very easy to culture. The decapsulated are hatching within 24 hours. I typically pour off a batch into an extra container to feed and then start another batch at the same time. I am hatching mine in a mason jar with holes in the lid for air tubing and set it on a heating pad(on low) and keep the lights on in the bathroom. Even if I make a small amount, I find I am constantly having extras.

I have the daphnia in a small aquarium, but really depleated the culture in just a couple days, so its taking awhile to bounce back. If you had space for a few 10 gallon tanks, daphnia would probably work great.

Cheylee · Feb 23, 2011

So, you dan't have to add anything too specific to the water do you? I know that they need unchlotinated water and salt right?

Also, what are you feeding them?

animalloversfb · Feb 23, 2011

The brine shrimp just need the water and salt + airstone for circulation. Then I strain them out into freshwater and feed the larvae.

Do you mean what do I feed the Daphnia? I got a microfex culture + daphnia, so the microfex produce food for the daphnia and only need a VERY tiny piece of algae wafer every so often. The microfex are doing wonderfully, but I've got to wait until more of the daphnia mature to continue harvesting from them.

Cheylee · Feb 23, 2011

I meant the brine shrimp. Do they not need food seemings how they only live a few days?

animalloversfb · Feb 23, 2011

Nope, they don't need any food. Another benefit of the decapsulated is that they are even more nutritious as they don't use as much energy breaking out of their shell. I've been told they live a day longer than the regular type, but I'm not sure if that's true. They will stay alive for a couple days if kept circulating.

Cheylee · Feb 23, 2011

Ok. Thank you very much for you're help. I will go see if i can fnd those brine shrimp. Hopefully they will get here soon because my babies are growing fast.

Once again, Thank you for the help.:wacko:

animalloversfb · Feb 23, 2011

This is what I ordered: EZ HATCH 95% DECAPSULATED BRINE SHRIMP EGGS PREM GRADE - eBay (item 150557775501 end time Mar-07-11 09:08:06 PST)

The seller is awesome - I actually had some issues initially(ended up probably being my fault for a contaminated jar), and they are very fast to respond and help. The shipping got them here next day, so hopefully it will fairly fast for you as well.

Cheylee · Feb 23, 2011

Ok. Thank you very much. I feel heppy that i might have actually found a good food source. :wacko:

animalloversfb · Feb 23, 2011

Good luck! And here's a very happy orange belly as proof

Cheylee · Feb 23, 2011

He is very cute. I have one last question for you. What kind of salt do you reccommend and how much?

animalloversfb · Feb 24, 2011

I use the aquarium salt and add probably a little over a tablespoon in a 1 L mason jar. That's actually probably a little too much(the variety I bought likes lower salinity), but I couldn't find a measurement on how to get the exact numbers. They seem to be doing well with it, so I just eye ball it haha! Maybe someone else can provide a more exact measurement for you, but they don't seem to be picky to hatch at least.

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