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Adventures of the  Baby Axolotls

2017

The adventures of raising Nellie's babies.

Week One

When your male axolotl wants to reproduce, he will start with what is known as a 'tail boner'. This is where the tail will become slightly pink (easier to see on a leucistic) and stick upwards, rather than lie flat. He will then do a mating dance for the females in the tank, by dashing around franticly and wiggling. Once this is done he may lay spermatophores everywhere. They look like a see through jelly cone, with a little ball on top, which is white-ish and contains the sperm. He will then nudge the females by their cloaca to get them interested, and try to guide them over the spermatophores. If the females pick up the spermatophores, then they will start laying eggs usually within the next 24 hours.

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My axolotl Nellie began to lay eggs within the next hour. I have lost count of how many eggs she has now laid! It took her approximately 35 hours from start to finish. There is a rough estimate that she has laid around 400 eggs. Female axolotls will lay anywhere between 100-1000 eggs in one go. 

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When it is their first clutch, you may find more die. I have currently only had about 60 turn bad. When they turn bad they go milky looking, especially within the inner sack. 

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The eggs are very strong, you can pull at them with little fear of damage if they've been laid on a plant or ornament. I just used my fingers to get them off.

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I keep them in four tubs at the moment.

The first tub is for the most developed eggs. 

Then I keep the second most developed in another tub,

the ones who still look 'egg' like in a separate tub,

last is the tub that looks like 'dead' eggs.

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Dead eggs go milky white in the middle sack, the outer sack might not look too healthy either. On the right is a photo to show you what to look for. 

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Eggs take approximately 2 weeks to hatch, but it depends on temperature. The colder they are, the slower they'll grow. Many people keep them on a windowsill so they get enough warmth, but depending on where you live and the weather determines if this is suitable or not. If it's 30 degrees celsius or hotter out, this is not a wise idea, the eggs will cook. 

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Around 20-22 degrees celsius is a nice temperature for the eggs.

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I do daily water changes for mine, so I let the new tubs sit overnight with the eggs in their other tubs to make sure the water temperature is the same, as temperature differences is not good for them - like juvenile/adult axolotls. 

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There is not much to do whilst they're eggs except for sorting a food source, so enjoy watching them grow! 

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If you plan to sell eggs, here is a link on how to package them: posting eggs in the UK.

Spermatophores

Laying eggs

Most developed eggs

Most developed eggs

Medium developed eggs

Very undeveloped eggs.

'Dead' eggs.

Sorting a food source in week one.

Baby axolotls have to eat live food, and should be fed twice a day. 

People tend to use either baby brine shrimp (BBS) or daphnia, sometimes microworms. 

It's always good to have two different types of food available in case one of your cultures crashes. You should also have at least 2 cultures of each food type. 

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Here is a link to show you how to make a BBS hatchery. You buy BBS as eggs, from ebay is fine, and you have to hatch them yourself, which takes 24-48 hours. That is why you should have at least 2 hatcheries running at once, so you have food available every day. 

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Here is a link on culturing daphnia. 

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Here is a link on culturing microworms. 

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