Caudata.org: Newts and Salamanders Portal

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Did you know that registered users see fewer ads? Register today!

Help moving Axolotl eggs

Alyce

New member
Joined
Aug 10, 2013
Messages
50
Reaction score
2
Location
OH
One of my three laid eggs and I need to move the eggs to another tank. This is my first time, I have no idea who the parents are, I didn't think they were old enough to breed. I guess they are since they are about nine months. After I move the eggs, I will attempt to sex them.

Anyway, I plan to prepare the egg tank as follows. Bare bottom, air stone on opposite end of where the eggs will be placed and water just high enough to cover the eggs.

As for moving the eggs. Can I just carefully move the plants by hand? Should I try to put the plants in a container with water to move them over? I know I shouldn't touch the eggs with my hands if at all possible.

All of the eggs are white. Does this mean all the babies will be albino or leucistic? That would narrow down who the parents are. I also have a wild type. Any help info would be appreciated.
 

auntiejude

New member
Joined
Apr 18, 2013
Messages
3,685
Reaction score
58
Location
England
Eggs are pretty robust, you can handle them quite easily with you bare hands, but it's easier just to move the plants they are attached to.
You don't need an airstone in with the eggs, in fact I have found that larvae are stressed by the current created by an airstone when they hatch and don't use one until the juvies are at least 3" long. You can have the water as deep as you like for eggs.

White eggs means the mother is albino, the babies could be anything depending on the father, and you will start to see colour changes in the growing embryos in the 2nd week.

You need to decide ASAP how many eggs you are keeping, and freeze the rest to euthanise them before they start developing (i.e. before day 5 when they start to develop pain receptors).
 

Alyce

New member
Joined
Aug 10, 2013
Messages
50
Reaction score
2
Location
OH
Thank you for the info! I moved them a few hours ago and it was pretty easy. I'll take the air stone out, I had read it was a good idea for mild aeration.

I sexed the adults today. The mom is a golden albino. The boys are a leucistic and wild type. I was assuming the father is leucistic because all the eggs are white but maybe not if their color doesn't show until the second week. These eggs were laid three days ago.

I'm a lot less freaked out now. Currently considering moving the female so she doesn't lay eggs again soon. She's probably only six months old and I want her body to recover, be healthy and finish growing.
 

auntiejude

New member
Joined
Apr 18, 2013
Messages
3,685
Reaction score
58
Location
England
If the eggs are white the mum is albino, but the father can be anything, so you won't know who the dad is just yet. White eggs don't give an indication of baby colour until the last minute - the embryos will remain white for at least the first week. My albino's eggs didn't show much colour at all, and then some of them were born white and developed colour over the next 2 days, the only give-away was their eyes.

Are you sure your female is only 6 months old? She shouldn't be able to breed at 6 months - how big is she, how long have you had her and how big was she when you got her? I'd say she was probably older, they don't usually breed before a year old.

How many eggs are you going to keep?
 

RobustDinosaur

New member
Joined
Jul 29, 2018
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Location
England
This has been really useful, But my female axolotl (who is part Andersoni) had white eggs, yet she is a wild type and the male is a light spotted copper. Any info on that please? Thank you :happy:
 
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    There are no messages in the chat. Be the first one to say Hi!
    Top