Bristlenose wigglers day 1: how many should I expect to lose?
cave is in the 10 gallon tub with a sponge filter, wigglers are all clustered on the cave floor with their yolk sacs, pic below of the clump. I count roughly 40 so far. Is some loss in the first week just normal, and do I do water changes at all while they're on yolk or leave them completely alone?
9 comments
Small losses are normal, the weak ones just don't absorb well. I do tiny daily drip changes with matched water, nothing that stirs up the cave floor. Skip any feeding until the yolk is mostly gone.
Agree on the tiny drip changes, and I'd add that with 40 wigglers the cave floor gets crowded so keep the flow gentle. A sponge filter turned down low is perfect. Losing a handful in week one is normal, if you see a lot of white fuzzy ones that's usually a sign of bad water or dead eggs that got moved over.
ok good, the sponge is on a low bubble rate so it barely ripples the surface. i spotted two that look pale and not moving, pulling those out with a pipette now
Good on pulling the pale ones fast. Dead wigglers foul the cave floor quicker than you'd think, so check the clump again tonight.
will do, found one more pale one an hour ago and got it out. rest look pink and wiggly at least
Rest being pink and wiggly is the right sign. Keep the drip changes tiny tonight and they should settle fine.
thanks all, down to 37 now and the rest are still pink and clumped on the cave floor. doing a tiny drip tonight like you said
37 from a first spawn is great honestly. once the yolk is nearly gone you can start crushed spirulina wafer or blanched zucchini mush in small amounts.
update, still 37 and all pink and wiggling, doing the tiny drip changes. thanks for the zucchini tip, will have it ready when the yolk is nearly gone
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