White orbs

[RobM]

Hey guys,

I have woken today to find 3 little white orbs in my adult N.Kaiseri tank. I have not witnessed any tail fanning at all, so suspect they may not be fertile. Currently charging camera, so hopefully will get some pics up later.

 

[Azhael]

They might be fertile. Since some individuals seem to keep their businness to the night hours, it´s easy to miss the action and be surprised with unexpected eggs.
Let us know if there´s any luck.

 

[RobM]

If they are fertile, I will be ecstatic!
I am scrapping the idea of taking pictures, as I cant get a good focus on them with my camera, I have tried like all the settings and they always end up looking like white blurry blobs!

 

[Neotenic_Jaymes]

If the orbs have an obvious white center which is the yoke and everything else within the orb is transparent then you have eggs. Orbs just don't come out of anywhere, good luck!

 

[Davo]

Fingers crossed for you! :happy:

 

[RobM]

I have collected 8 eggs and put them in a small Tupperware box! They have started turning grey, which from limited experience with some c.orientalis, I am taking as a good sign.

Now I am in a few hundred minds of what to do next.
I have read the documents created by SludgeMunkey so have setup a "pond" style setup with a fair amount of plants (mostly Elodea) in another tank, however I am not sure on what scale this should be. I have filled it with about 10 litres, at a depth of about 2 inches with co-op brand spring water (thank you Davo for this idea). Im thinking of putting a very small sponge filter in to create a bit of circulation (it is too small and pathetic to provide proper filtration).
So any advice?
Thanks in advance!

 

[Davo]

I did not use any fiteration when rearing the eggs,just small plastic takeaway dishes with 50% water changes every day with co-op spring water. I swapped the eggs to a clean containear every 4 to 5 days using a turkey baster.It is surprising how mucky the bottoms of the containers get even with daily water changes!

 

[RobM]

I've been doing 50% water changes daily and 100% water changes every few days, but unfortunately I am losing loads to fungus. I thought the first batch were going bad because they got too much daylight, but others are going bad which I kept away from sunlight. Any suggestions of what I could try?

One option I am considering is putting my juveniles in a terrestrial set-up, which would allow me to place eggs in their tank. Im not sure if this is a good idea though as it is about 35 US Gallons (over half filled), which I think could make feeding any larvae hard.

 

[Davo]

I had similar problems, it is very frustrating! Maybe you are doing nothing wrong, if they are young adults the male might not have got the hang of things with the first eggs.I read in youre earlier post that the male has not been seen tail fanning, when my adults were pairing up the male was permanantly tail fanning all over the tank even at his reflection, he was driving the females nuts!
I think the way you are keeping your eggs sounds fine, i would carry on with them hoping that some of them are fertile, i dont think there is much more you can do.

 

[RobM]

I am really losing heart with this, I have probably lost like over 60 eggs now...
Someone suggested putting oak leaves in with them, tried this, but they are still going mouldy. I was kind of hopeful about one batch as the eggs seemed bigger, and the shape of the grey inside the egg looked good, but they look like they are going to turn too.
I noticed a mouldy one in the planted tank I set-up too, so even that way of keeping them doesn't look good.

 

[Davo]

Any luck?

 

[RobM]

Nope :-(

parents tank = mould
juveniles tank = mould
planted tank = mould
takeaway pots = mould
individual pots = mould
oak leaf pots = mould

 

[BILLY JAMES]

I would guess that the eggs were not fertile to lose every one in all tanks.
I have had newts in there first year of breeding to have nonviable eggs.
The only other thing would be the sping water did you use the same in all setups.

Im sure next year it will all go right for you.

 

[RobM]

I used the same brand Davo used on his eggs. The parent and juvenile tanks contained treated tap water only, the planted tank contained a mixture of bottled and treated tap water.
She is still laying, she doesn't realise she is wasting her time yet.

 

[SludgeMunkey]

Don't give up! I have females that lay two and in one case four clutches of eggs. There is still hope.

Perhaps I missed it, but what temperature is the water? Also, what is the hardness? I found that a bit too cool, or in water a bit too soft, the eggs all died out on me.

 

[RobM]

Don't give up! I have females that lay two and in one case four clutches of eggs. There is still hope.

Perhaps I missed it, but what temperature is the water? Also, what is the hardness? I found that a bit too cool, or in water a bit too soft, the eggs all died out on me.

The temperature is normally around 18 degrees, which you found in your rearing report to be fairly optimum. I did at one stage let the temperature drop to 15, and for a stage below that, to see if it would create conditions unfavourable by the mould, but found that didn't help.

I am not sure of the hardness of my tanks exactly, but the bottles of water contain 55.0 mg/l of calcium, which would be considered a medium hardness.

 

[Davo]

Have your kaisei been kept aquatic or have they had a terrestrial phase.Just a thought for the future, if they have been kept aquatic maybe a while in a terrestrial set up might help things.I still think with them being young that the male was not ready and next year you will have more luck!