Photo: They are hatching!!!!!!

[MereB]

They are hatching! 4 days earlier than I expected but you get that I suppose. Naturally they HAD to pick the first run of REALLY how weather we've had in a few weeks to make their debut. The mercury has hit 36 (26th) 38 Yesterday and 40 today. Tomorrow isn't looking much cooler either. Oh and that's CELSIUS!
BBS is brewing and should be ready for tomorrow morning right on the 24 hour mark.
So far I have about 8 babies out and having separated the eggs from the excess greenarie I have 162 eggs and babies in total

The twins have hatched but I think it was a little early for one of them. It's not as well developed as it's twin and it's tail is curled so not sure how long it will last But we will see how it goes

OK a few pics. there are going to be some real STUNNERS in this batch
1. Twin one, the one that's not looking so good but still alive and swimming
2. Twin 2. Much more developed also alive.

So far the twins look very similar. Same color with same tiny dark dots all over them. Not unlike their big brother Fish at that age really.
3. One of the others that was close to the edge.
4. Trying to get a shot of one of the pretty ones that didn't want to co-operate
5 & 6. This one will be a real beauty when it's all grown up I suspect.
7. The setup. The babies will drop down through the slits in the blue divider as the hatch making it easier to see who has hatched and to remove the empty egg sacks.

There are HEAPS more to come. Lots of different colors. Some look white with black marks, there are some very gold ones and quite a few wilds. The run the full gamete of shades from white to very dark. Plenty of Albino and non so looking forward to seeing what we get.

Is it possible to get a melanoid from a golden albino/wild cross? Both have the shiny gene.

OK will post some pics of fat orange bellies as soon as the BBS is ready and they start eating.

 

[ax]

Great photos!

 

[pawprint08]

hey, what are those separating cage things you have called? i think i might like to have some of those.

 

[mytimemic]

Very cool pictures.

 

[carsona246]

I love baby axie pictures, congratulations! I also really like the hatchery setup, is that diy?

 

[MereB]

They are all out now! So i've removed all the old egg jelly and taken out the blue plates so I can get to them :happy: I think I've lost about 10 so far. Some died soon after hatching and 2 or 3 were malformed so were never going to make it I can't say I mind losing a few of the 162 :lol: The only one's I'm really worried about losing are the twins.

The twins are both doing very well today and despite all being fed a couple of times today no-one is eating yet most of them hatched late last night and this morning so it's to be expected I guess :happy: maybe tomorrow morning will be different.

hey, what are those separating cage things you have called? i think i might like to have some of those.

Any aquarium store or good pet shop that sells fish should carry something along the same lines as them but over here we call them in tank isolation nets Some manufacturers also call them Breeder nets. The ones I got have the plastic plate that goes in them (and another that you can use to divide the top portion of it into 2 sections. They are technically for livebearing fish. You put the mummy fish in the top part and as she has the babies they sink to the bottom through the slots in the blue plate and safely out of mums way so she can't eat them.

Make sure you get the fine mesh ones if you want to put brand new babie axies in them or they will swim straight through the holes but the holes also need to be large enough for the BBS to pass through easily for feeding times

Marina Fine Mesh Fish Net Breeder

You can also buy what the call a guppy breeder or a multibreeder. They are solid plastic and float around the tank freely but this time the babies fall through the slots into the tank rather than into the base although you can buy ones that they go into the base of as well if you look hard enough.

I like the net ones as it means they have the entire volume of the tank as their water eliminating the need for daily water changes and to feed them I simple pick up the net out of the tank and place it in a smaller plastic tub of tank water and put the BBS right in there with them and when they are done pick it up again and place it back into the tank. almost all the BBS that was uneaten remains in the tub and you're good to go for the next feed. The system worked beautifully with Fish so I'm hoping it will be just as effective this time around.

 

[animalloversfb]

That is a really awesome idea. I might just have to try that!

 

[The Banana]

Congrats!
So cute, great photos!
I like your set-up, may have to try that one day if I ever breed the axies (which I probably will, they sound a lot easier than Bettas.. which I spawn).

I have a breeder net, I use it as a eating place for Banana, and he likes to sit in it.

 

[MereB]

The nets are working really well :happy:
I've had to separate them out into 5 nets now that they are getting bigger but I suspect I will be up to 8 or 9 shortly. They are sorted by size and color with all the wilds together. I read yesterday that Wilds tend to be the most aggressive and are more aggressive toward non wilds than they are to other wild types.
The twins were both doing really well until last week when my oldest son decided he wanted to look inside their little white ceramic feeding bowl that was sitting on top of the parent tank and accidentally tipped Twin 2 a little golden albino, into the parent tank through a tiny gap in the lid that was there to allow some pipe to go into the tank and it swam straight down to where it's mother was waiting and she being the guts she is promptly ate it and then went looking for more.
Twin one has turned into what looks to be a melinoid albino so they were not identical so I've put twin 1 back in with the rest of the brood.

My only other interesting little one was Zeb who after having those strange white markings has decided he is a proper wild type so he is back with his siblings as well.

Still a few that I am keeping an eye on that are showing signs of being a little different so we'll see what they turn into.