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Re: Hatching Problems



zc at talk21_com wrote:
> 
> Hiya, about the A.gardneri eggs Im having trouble hatching,
> 
> I'm incubating the eggs in fish water in margarine type tubs. I collect the eggs from the mop usually daily. I wait until the eggs look fully developed and ready, no earlier than 14 days later before attempting to hatch them. Im feeding the adults frozen bloodworm, live daphnia and occasionally flake. Im not sure how old the adults are, they were quite small when I got them, theyre now about 2 inches.
> The temperature has definately dropped since the first lot of successful eggs (due to weather) - the tank (and separate eggs) are at room temperature, this is aprox. 72 degrees f.
> 
> Today 4 eggs hatched and the babies were far too small.
> Hope you can help, many thanks Zoe.

IDK if I'm any help, Zoe, but that temperature seems a bit low, to me. If
you have a portable thermometer, you might explore for a place that stays
warmer, such as top of the refrigerator or near a sunny southern wall. I try
to gestate most eggs up around 78-80F, if I can. I even heat a closet in
winter for that purpose (and to have a warm place to raise the babies, at
first).

Otherwise, I would look to the conditioning of the parents. They would like
richer, fattier foods than you say you are giving them. Frozen bloodworms
are very risky (but pretty rich). You can feed very-freshly-hatched bbs to
the parents as a way of increasing the fatty acids in their diet. Once they
are used to them you can switch to the even-better dehydrated, decapsulated
eggs from Brine Shrimp Direct. [WAY cheaper, too!]

The Daphnia are a poor source of food, usually, but a fine laxative. ;-)
Only if you are gut-loading them with something like a fatty-acid mix are
they any good for conditioning breeders.

If you can't get blackworms (sometimes ignorantly called tubifex) or
mosquito larvae, you might try some of the prepared conditioning foods that
the discus folks use. Use an egg-based one. Grindals and other nematodes are
good, too. Chopped red fishing worms are usually a good source of live food
for the larger Fp., too.

Last but not least, the adults may need to grow a bit more. That often
creates healthier eggs with higher hatch rate. Stuff 'em with food and be
patient.

Good luck

Wright

-- 
Wright Huntley, Fremont CA, USA, 510 494-8679  huntleyone at home dot com

          If it ain't broke, don't fix it -- and, especially,
            don't let politicians fix it. ... Thomas Sowell

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