So...my axolotls bred and laid eggs unexpextedly. We've had them for several years and they never bred until now, so I'm completely green here.
So far 8 of them have hatched. I've split them up into their own little cups, so that they all have a fighting chance and don't have to compete for food (or try to eat each other). 5 of them look like contenders, but 3 of them are in permanent crescents and just spin in circles instead of swimming around. I don't know of if I should give them a chance to develop more and see if they straighten out, or if I should write them off as malformed and end their little lives? Is that a common deformation?
I'm also not sure if any of them are eating yet. I originally got brine shrimp because I didn't have access to daphnia and they hatched sooner than I expected, but the shrimp weren't small enough so I had to end up overnighting daphnia- which they didn't get until 3 days after they hatched (they've been hatched for about 5 days now). I put too many daphnia in with them for me to count so I dunno if they're taking them yet. I haven't witnessed any of them eating.
They seem pretty sedentary for the most part. I only ever see them darting around when I move one of the cups..is it normal for them to not constantly swim around? I know with the adults they honestly don't do much unless they're feeding, so I didn't know if it was the same with babies.
So far 8 of them have hatched. I've split them up into their own little cups, so that they all have a fighting chance and don't have to compete for food (or try to eat each other). 5 of them look like contenders, but 3 of them are in permanent crescents and just spin in circles instead of swimming around. I don't know of if I should give them a chance to develop more and see if they straighten out, or if I should write them off as malformed and end their little lives? Is that a common deformation?
I'm also not sure if any of them are eating yet. I originally got brine shrimp because I didn't have access to daphnia and they hatched sooner than I expected, but the shrimp weren't small enough so I had to end up overnighting daphnia- which they didn't get until 3 days after they hatched (they've been hatched for about 5 days now). I put too many daphnia in with them for me to count so I dunno if they're taking them yet. I haven't witnessed any of them eating.
They seem pretty sedentary for the most part. I only ever see them darting around when I move one of the cups..is it normal for them to not constantly swim around? I know with the adults they honestly don't do much unless they're feeding, so I didn't know if it was the same with babies.