Question: Eggs : Filter Or No Filter...

Hey All

Just Wanting to know the experiences with not using a filter with eggs and smaller axies.
I will be probably holding onto them for a few months.

They will be housed in a tub (50L) filled 75-80%.
Filled with floating plants, (Exio Terra, like the ones in my big tank.)
Java Moss (getting big bag from a friend)
spare log hides.

With anywhere between 5-20 eggs I'm expecting not all of them to make it.
But I want to be sure 50L is enough for the eggs to hatch and grow to approx 10-13cm in, doing water changes every couple of days.

Tub will be stored in my garage, which thanks to good old Mother Nature is sitting at 14 degrees C.

So i guess, with enough water changes, I should be safe without a filter.
Maybe a air driven filter? or a waterfall on the side of the tub....
Im really excited, either way.

Aaron

Personally, I prefer sponge filters for axolotl eggs and the first few weeks after hatching.

For species that are a little more finicky about live foods, I skip the filter all together and just use an air stone set to very low flow with a valve.

For "still water" species, any flow can be stressful to the larvae, so lots of java moss disrupts the worst of the flow, but still provides the aeration required for the high density of larvae.

For "stream" species" I use less plants and more flow on the air stone. In some cases I use two air stones.

Any way you do it, larvae REQUIRE frequent water changes with aged, treated water to prevent the chemistry from going bad due to the amount of food required of these little guys.

In my opinion, fouling of the water due to not removing uneaten foods is the number one cause of larvae death. This is why daphnia are such a favorite. Live ones do not foul the water.
I would skip the logs and such, as they just make tank cleaning and water chemistry balance a pain. The java moss provides oplenty of hides on its own.

Sorry I forgot to mention they were axie eggs.

I will be running 2 air stones.
I have my brine shrimp eggs in the mail, and the new air pump for both hatcheries with it.
I intend to seperate the young once they are out growing the 50L, into similar sized tubs, in smaller numbers.

Hey Aaron

Hope all is well, Chelsea's axies laid eggs a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to do some thing that would not be time consuming so I came up with this. All our eggs hatched & only a couple didn't make it. They are now feeding. I came up with an idea. A tank within a tank. What we did was buy a 5 litre container (tupperware) drilled some hole in the sides & it floats on top of the water in the tank. We have a tank barrier, so in a couple of weeks we can move them back into the tank.

Hey long time no see...

I saw the pics but thought the little guys could slither through the holes, not to mention the extra bio load.

I guess I'd like the get this set up, so I can just copy what I have done to the other tubs once they grow.
Can't wait.
My order of goodies should be here monday or tuesday.
Eggs sometime soon after that.

Hope I get lucky and get some cool colour types

Hiya
Just to add my personal approach,

I had 26 eggs which I split into 4 groups.
I kept them in small tupperware tubs and changed the water 100% every couple of days.

Once hatched I changed the water daily.
I still have them in larger tubs now as it's easier for me to feed them and keep an eye on them.

Mel

What an ingenious idea Paul. I like your tank in a tank approach. Magic points!

Cheers.

Hey Aaron

The holes are small enough that it lets water in/out of the main tank and that Chelsea's babies can't get out. It seems to be working extremely well & the little guys are loving their feeds of live black worms too.

The parents are albino & wild types, we seem to have a good mix, just a few more wild types.

Thanks Ray, I thought it was pretty good too coming from me.....

I am now back doing a daily 10% water change to the main tank just to ensure our levels stay good and thats working well too.

I will post some more pics later this week - it is amazing how quickly they grow.

Good luck Aaron

One tip for anyone looking at using the tank with in a tank method please ensure you file the holes after drilling through the plastic.

YAY, the eggs are here.

I hope my two females dont get jealous
They are doing the egg thing and just sitting there, so I guess thats a good sign.
Its amazing to see the lil ones wriggling around, very cute.

Paul, I didnt want to risk i, with the hungry females and the guppies
But it is a wonderful idea.

I shall have pictures up probably tomorrow (home from work sick, again)

Aaron

Hey all

So while the system has been down (Ohh my goodness I have been having some issues)

Didnt get my brineshrimp til today due to technicalities with Australia Post (grr)

But 1 of the larvae has left its egg, and is straight, all the others are still curled like they are in their eggs,
Brine shrimp was started at about 11am today.

Good to see the forum back

Good idea Paul!!!

I was wondering, could it be used with different sized axies until they grow up???