Daphnia or Brine Shrimp?

Hey, so today I got my Axolotl spawn in the post, and they are exactly 7 days old and already wriggling about in the spawn. From what I can see all are fertile and living, I had the filter on when I introduced them, but some got stuck (still alive though) and I immediately turned it off!

Now I need food.

So, I was thinking baby Daphnia, because they eat any bacteria growing in the tank and are readily available for the larvae. They're also rated excellent by alot of Axolotl experts.

But then there's hatchling Brine Shrimp. These pollute the water when dead but are pretty easy for the 'lotls to catch, and they just need to be incubated for 24 hours to hatch.

Which one do I get?

Also is this a good food change plan?

Hatchlings: Daphnia
Leg bud stage: A mixture of adult daphnia and Bloodworm (axolotls won't be separated as the tank is large enough to avoid cannibalism. I only have 20 'lotls in a 60cm long tank)
All legs: I will only have 2 left by then as the rest will be given away but they will be fed on small salamander pellets, earthworms, bloodworm and maybe Daphnia still.

If you have the capacity to culture enough daphnia i would advise using them exclusively, due to the fact that they reduce the need for water changes when compared to bbs. I would however keep some bbs eggs handy in case your daphnia supply / culture dries up. Baby axolotls consume loads of live food and a break in supply can be fatal, it is always a good idea to have more than one source of food. If you are thinking of buying your daphnia from a pet shop you may regret it, as this works out to be very expensive and they often run out.

If you have a constant supply of daphnia go with those but keep a supply of BBS ready. Daphnia cultures are famous for crashing after a couple weeks/months. I use BBS with no problems just have to clean out the larvae water every night or so. With BBS I need no back up food source just hatch them every 10-24 hrs.

A bigger brood of Axolotls can go through hundreds/thousands of BBS and daphnia per feeding. Providing larger numbers of BBS seems easier than providing hundreds/thousands of daphnia.

Neotenic_Jaymes said:

Providing larger numbers of BBS seems easier than providing hundreds/thousands of daphnia.

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100% correct, even twenty axolotls will consume more daphnia than most people can culture.

I agree with all of the above. Having used both with my hatchlings, once you get down the rhythm of bbs they are far easier to deal with than daphnia and if you are raising more than 100 hatchlings, you can run through a dpahnia colony pretty quickly. I vote bbs.

xxianxx said:

100% correct, even twenty axolotls will consume more daphnia than most people can culture.

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Thank you all for the kind replies. I have a deformed one in my spawn and I know they won't make it, so i'm down to 19 eggs, and most will die, by then i'll be down to at most 10 or 15 axies.

I am going to buying baby daphnia once every week when they hatch, so that the colony does not run out. I may mix their diet with brine shrimp also, but I highly doubt I will I have no idea how to clean the water though

Cocoapanda10 said:

Thank you all for the kind replies. I have a deformed one in my spawn and I know they won't make it, so i'm down to 19 eggs, and most will die, by then i'll be down to at most 10 or 15 axies.

I am going to buying baby daphnia once every week when they hatch, so that the colony does not run out. I may mix their diet with brine shrimp also, but I highly doubt I will I have no idea how to clean the water though

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The water isn't cleaned it is changed. Eggs do not require water changes , just keep an eye on the water level and top up with dechlorinated water to replace evaporation loss. When the eggs hatch use a turkey baster to remove the debris from the bottom of the tank, use a jug to remove most of the water and replace it with
dechlorinated water which has been allowed to stand in the same room as the tank to reach the same temperature. Daily water changes are essential for hatchlings if you are not using a cycled tank or pond tank set up, failure to keep the water clean will kill the babies. Axolotls are easy to raise but easy to kill, do your research and you should be ok. Also keep an eye on the temperature, its hot in the UK at the moment, keep the tank out of direct sunlight in a cool part of your house preferably with a through draft.

xxianxx said:

The water isn't cleaned it is changed. Eggs do not require water changes , just keep an eye on the water level and top up with dechlorinated water to replace evaporation loss. When the eggs hatch use a turkey baster to remove the debris from the bottom of the tank, use a jug to remove most of the water and replace it with
dechlorinated water which has been allowed to stand in the same room as the tank to reach the same temperature. Daily water changes are essential for hatchlings if you are not using a cycled tank or pond tank set up, failure to keep the water clean will kill the babies. Axolotls are easy to raise but easy to kill, do your research and you should be ok. Also keep an eye on the temperature, its hot in the UK at the moment, keep the tank out of direct sunlight in a cool part of your house preferably with a through draft.

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Yep, i'm managing to maintain it at 22 celsius right now, and the tank is near my door, and my door is open, so it is in the shade and the water is quite cool, especially with the ice packs i've put in. I'm thinking of adding dechlorinated water ice cubes.

Cocoapanda10 said:

Thank you all for the kind replies. I have a deformed one in my spawn and I know they won't make it, so i'm down to 19 eggs, and most will die, by then i'll be down to at most 10 or 15 axies.

I am going to buying baby daphnia once every week when they hatch, so that the colony does not run out. I may mix their diet with brine shrimp also, but I highly doubt I will I have no idea how to clean the water though

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You can filter all the dead stuff by pouring your babies through a fish net and dunking them a few times in aged water and replace them in a clean container with established water