N. kirki Chilwa

[kodiak]

I have around 30 eggs of N. kirki Chilwa that are fully eyed up. Two days ago I soaked them but at this point none have hatched. The eggs appear to have swollen slightly since I wet them and I can even see the fry wriggling around inside the eggs. It seems they are trying to hatch but having trouble. Anyone have advice on helping the hatching process along? I have never run into this problem with notho eggs before.

Thanks!
Rick

[keehoe]

I remember someone use satay stick (tooth pick) before with good success. Best done under a good magnification glass so that you don't touch the wrong place.

[Scott_sg]

Hi Rick,
For the notho eggs get a jug of water and lower the temp to about 18C then drain off the old water currently in the tray (assuming they are somewhere warm to begin with), and add the cooler water to the tray, dont be afraid to stir them around while tipping it in. Then put them somewhere warm so the temp will slowly climb up to normal 25-27C etc. Also you can try adding a little bit more cool water about an hour or so after the first.
Also if you have some microworms or similar add some of them to the hatching tray.
It seems to work for me for stubborn eggs, I also give them a bit of a shake as I walk past. The idea being that it simulates the rains coming in the wild, so the eggs get a bit of a shock from the cold high O2 water then after an hour or so another smaller shock to really convince them the rains have come. The worms or similar will also stir the eggs and lower the O2. So it is a sort of natural cycle happening in the tray.
If all goes well they should hatch in an hour or two.

Some ideas for you,

[kodiak]

Thanks for the ideas. The toothpick method sounds interesting. I don't know if I have a steady enough hand but I would like to try it when I have some extra eggs. I did a second wetting with cold water as Scott suggested and got 8 fry to hatch. If I add microworms to the hatching try what happens to them when I dry the peat out for a second incubation period? I would be afraid of them fouling the peat and unhatched eggs but I have never tried it.