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First time hatching eggs - Help! :uhoh:

Deraulle

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So I received a batch of about 20-30 Eggs today due to a friend not being able to take care of them (I'm a sucker, I know) They were laid just over a week ago and I am already in love. I can see their gill filaments already and some of them even have visible eyes!

I've put them in a tank with a hang-on filter with a sponge covered-intake. The substrate is sand and i've put all of the eggs in a large floating breeding container to keep them safe from being knocked around from the air pump too much. I've also put a heater in there as I heard this can speed up the development. I've set it at 19 Degrees C. Is this an alright temperature?

I've placed orders for a Live Daphnia Culture, Microworms and Baby Brine Shrimp Eggs (And have a back-up supply of water boatmen just incase!) that should be arriving in the next few days. I'm aware that they usually won't eat for the first 24 hours or so ;)

Am I doing everything alright? I've done quite a bit of reading up before I decided to get them but just wanted to know if anyone has good tips for me or if there's anything else I should know?

Also, One thing I noticed when I put them in their tank was that they all started "twitching" quite a bit. Could that be due to the increase in temperature or something else?
 

Deraulle

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Here are some photos of the little ones - So tricky to get them in focus!

From what I can see they're Leuicistics & Wildtypes :)
 

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Neil C

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Everything you are doing sounds fine so don't panic. From what I remember of water boatmen they will be too large for your babies and don't the live on the water's surface? Baby brine shrimp and baby Daphnia will be much better.

When the axolotls hatch it is best to keep them in a bare bottomed tank for ease of cleaning.

The babies twitching in their eggs is just what they do as they grow and begin to move around in eggs, nothing to worry about.

Good luck.

Regards Neil
 

Axolotl4life

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Everything sounds pretty good but just a couple of things you might want to look into. I was told sand can be very harmful to axolotl larvae. It essentially would act the same as a piece of gravel would to an adult axolotl. I've also read sand can build up over time even within adult axolotls. That is why I avoid sand altogether. But there are many people who manage to get by with it, so its up to you.

You also mentioned a sponge covered intake for your back pack filter. I'd ditch that too. Depending on the sponge, the little babies can lodge themselves in the holes and be unable to free themselves. I learned this lesson the hard way.

What I am currently doing with my eggs (30ish) is a pretty simple set up. A 1/2 gallon acrylic tank with an air-stone. I'm on my fifth brood of eggs so far and all have turned out very well. You don't need anything fancy, simple plastic Tupperware will do the trick.

What type are your babies if you know at this point?
 

Deraulle

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Thats really interesting to know about the sand! Thanks for that! :D and the water boatmen. Makes so much sense - D'oh!

Sorry I was quite unclear about the sponge - It's a very fine sponge called a "fry cover" which sits over the intake pipe so they don't get sucked up.

What I might end up doing after your advice though is keep them in their current tank until they hatch then transfer them into a divided tupperware container with an airstone and simply remove & replace the water daily. Might be easier than removing all the sand and worrying about the filter!

And I'm not 100% sure on types so far. From what I can see there are definitely some wild types, some leuicistics and possibly some melanoids :) I'm very excited to see!

Thanks again for all your help - Don't know what I'd do without the lovely people on this forum!
 

Kaysie

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It'll be much easier to move them before they're swimming all over the place.
 

Deraulle

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Oh really Kaysie? I was incredibly worried about damaging their eggs. I'm heading out tomorrow to get some plastic containers. Do you know of the best method to transfer them?
 

SuperSteve

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I used a pair of plastic forceps to gently prise them away from the plants/rocks/sand and into a tub at the same temperature. Was a bit nervous about damaging them at first but all mine are growing beautifully and are protected by layers of jelly.
 

Kaysie

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Eggs are much tougher than you think they are. I pick them off by hand (better control than forceps). If you have them laid on fake foliage, put the leaf between two fingers and just run it between your fingers. Eggs will fall off, and you don't really squeeze the egg any.
 

mizzerman

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I raise mine in little plastic containers from the dollar store (BPA free) I do 100% water change every day and feed them every day (from day 2-day40 or so) with brine shrimp. I have three alternating brine shrimp hatcheries running so I have fresh hatched brine shrimp every day. Once they are almost two months old they get switched to chopped frozen blood worms. then onto black worms, maggots and newt and salamander sinking pellets. The water changes are done by pouring the water out while retaining the larvae in the container (always pour into another container not the sink as I lost one axolotl that way that jumped out) The small containers are great as they keep a high concentration of brine shrimp or artemia close to the babies which don't move alot when really young.

I agree the eggs are very hardy and I also use my finger nails/fingers to pluck them off the plants. Once you have done it once you will feel more comfortable.
 

Deraulle

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Thanks for the advice everyone! :D I transferred them all into a shallow plastic container and had a quick look this morning and I have hatchlings! So exciting! I've been fascinated watching them wriggle out of their little eggs. I noticed one still in his/her egg that is quite different than the others - it has very noticeable gold rings around both it's eyes (iridophores?) so I'm interested to see how that little one turns out!
 

layna

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At what age should they be getting their back legs or is it all just purely "when it happens" ?

My axies babies are VERY different in sizes haha
 
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