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!

Must haves for hatching eggs?

Tori

New member
Joined
Nov 12, 2021
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Location
Virginia USA
I've been doing research for the past year and am finally preparing and getting supplies before purchasing any eggs. What are your MUST HAVE's for this process? Is there anything you would've changed or done differently? Also would love to see your set ups!
 

SereinsOmen

New member
Joined
Dec 15, 2022
Messages
9
Reaction score
3
Location
Florida
I hope this isn't too late but I figured I would share my set up! I am new to this as well but I'm heading into my babies third week and out of 49 eggs, I only had one that died in the egg and one that died a couple days after hatching. I started by setting up a large 3gal pet keeper as soon as the eggs were hatched. I put a sponge filter in with all fresh water, some water conditioner, and betta beads for fresh, clean bacteria not contaminated by any tanks. As soon as 90% of the eggs hatched, I helped out the last few which is how I found the one dead in the egg but the rest were alright. I gave them a day or two before moving them into a coffee filter to drain off their water and adding them to the fresh tank. (As a note, take out the betta beads because they are a PAIN to remove after the babies are in the tank. But also feel free to shove a few into the sponge filter). Some of the babies began floating shortly after they hatched, so I immediately transferred them and gave them some fresh brine shrimp they ate. I had a brine shrimp hatchery going days before I started and froze my early hatches of those (I have found that in emergency situations, if your brine shrimp haven't hatched enough, you can use your fresh frozen cubes as long as your filter has your water moving. It moves the dead shrimp towards it and your babies are more likely to go after it. But that is only in emergency situations). I now feed my babies twice a day, especially when a few begin to float and leave the brine shrimp in there all day. I clean once a day but not after a feeding, usually before. I find they do pick at the dead ones all day and they are less likely to start floating. However, have a scrub brush for your sponge filter because it will get disgusting really fast. For the water changes, I cup their water through a coffee strainer into a clean bucket. I do enough to have a suitable amount of water to net the babies and put them in. I then continue putting water into the bucket that way until I have 50% - 30% of the water left in their tank, depending on how nasty it is. I empty that out, wipe down the tank, and fill it up to the same spot before pouring babies and water back in. I then usually add some more food and just check on them here and there. If I see a lot of waste or any piling-up brine shrimp that is getting nasty, I do siphon it up with a turkey baster. I now run two brine shrimp hatcheries (and I do rinse off all the brine shrimp) and if I harvest too much, I leave them in the coffee filter and balance it in the hatchery so they stay alive and fresh longer for me to feed them later. I am working on creating another tank to raise some of the brine shrimp to keep them alive longer and grow some to begin my own culture of brine shrimp as well. From there, for me, I am just working on getting the space, dividers, and tanks to set them up once they finish growing their front legs and get bigger size differences. Attached I have a picture of my original set up. It's pretty basic but it has worked remarkably well.
 

Attachments

  • Tank set up.jpg
    Tank set up.jpg
    770.1 KB · Views: 83
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