I was recently given ten axolotl eggs to raise so I thought I'd start a journal.
In this journal you can expect to find:
Facts about the babies.
Feeding the babies.
Death (it happens).
Axolotls hatching.
Axolotls growing in the egg.
Lots and lots of pictures.
Some facts about these little guys:
Their mother is a purple axolotl.
Their father is a melaniod.
I have no idea what color these ones will turn out to be.
But they should all carry the purple gene, although they shouldn't end up being purple.
What IS purple?
No, it's not true purple. Usually a gray color with smaller, darker spots. Their spotting is considerably less than that of a wildtype.
What is melaniod?
It's usually a black axolotl although they can come in many colors. Just means they don't have any special shiny parts (I can't remember the exact word right now).
And what, exactly, is an axolotl?
It's a "Mexican Walking Fish".
It's not a fish at all, though. It's a kind of salamander. They will live, breathe, reproduce, and die as fully aquatic animals.
Those stick things on the side of their head are... gills?
Yep. Those are the gills. The fuzzy things are the gill filaments.
And what exactly are your pictures of?
Those are the eggs. They are fairly large and clear. You can actually watch the larvae grow from a tiny dot to a live axolotl that squirms once in a while. Currently the babies are just starting to elongate.
How long until they hatch?
Generally 10-14 days after they're laid. Sometimes even longer. You just have to be patient and keep their water clean. They were laid on the 23rd of September, 2016.
What do they eat?
I'll feed them baby brine shrimp and daphnia until they are large enough to take frozen brine shrimp. They are still fed daphnia until they're moved on to the blood worm stage. At that point I try to move them on to earthworms (chopped up) as soon as possible. They don't do the greatest on bloodworms although it's not horrible for them.
When will you sell them?
When they make it that far. It's usually when they have their back legs in, are at least 2.5 inches, and are eating non-living food from the bottom of their tank.
How do you care for axolotls?
No gravel. No fish. No snails. Gentle filtration. Cold water. Clean water (they are pretty tolerant, though, honestly). Pretty simple. 30 inch tank for one, possibly two (in a 29 gallon). Ideally 20 for the first and 10 for every other.
Day 4:
Notice the one egg on the left side that isn't changing. This egg is beginning to fungus and this will be the last time you see it in the pictures.
Also:
Anyone who can identify that plant will get a bonus cookie! :grin2:It was given to me with the eggs and I'm not sure what it is
In this journal you can expect to find:
Facts about the babies.
Feeding the babies.
Death (it happens).
Axolotls hatching.
Axolotls growing in the egg.
Lots and lots of pictures.
Some facts about these little guys:
Their mother is a purple axolotl.
Their father is a melaniod.
I have no idea what color these ones will turn out to be.
But they should all carry the purple gene, although they shouldn't end up being purple.
What IS purple?
No, it's not true purple. Usually a gray color with smaller, darker spots. Their spotting is considerably less than that of a wildtype.
What is melaniod?
It's usually a black axolotl although they can come in many colors. Just means they don't have any special shiny parts (I can't remember the exact word right now).
And what, exactly, is an axolotl?
It's a "Mexican Walking Fish".
It's not a fish at all, though. It's a kind of salamander. They will live, breathe, reproduce, and die as fully aquatic animals.
Those stick things on the side of their head are... gills?
Yep. Those are the gills. The fuzzy things are the gill filaments.
And what exactly are your pictures of?
Those are the eggs. They are fairly large and clear. You can actually watch the larvae grow from a tiny dot to a live axolotl that squirms once in a while. Currently the babies are just starting to elongate.
How long until they hatch?
Generally 10-14 days after they're laid. Sometimes even longer. You just have to be patient and keep their water clean. They were laid on the 23rd of September, 2016.
What do they eat?
I'll feed them baby brine shrimp and daphnia until they are large enough to take frozen brine shrimp. They are still fed daphnia until they're moved on to the blood worm stage. At that point I try to move them on to earthworms (chopped up) as soon as possible. They don't do the greatest on bloodworms although it's not horrible for them.
When will you sell them?
When they make it that far. It's usually when they have their back legs in, are at least 2.5 inches, and are eating non-living food from the bottom of their tank.
How do you care for axolotls?
No gravel. No fish. No snails. Gentle filtration. Cold water. Clean water (they are pretty tolerant, though, honestly). Pretty simple. 30 inch tank for one, possibly two (in a 29 gallon). Ideally 20 for the first and 10 for every other.
Day 4:
Notice the one egg on the left side that isn't changing. This egg is beginning to fungus and this will be the last time you see it in the pictures.
Also:
Anyone who can identify that plant will get a bonus cookie! :grin2:It was given to me with the eggs and I'm not sure what it is