Aqua Dragons, Underwater World

Here you can see a video of the development of Artemia Salina eggs

HOW TO START?

Fill your fish tank with water, put the envelope of the eggs and in a moment tiny living beings will start to hatch, although during the first two or three days they are so small that they can only be seen under a microscope. The wait can be eternal, but they are alive and they grow at great speed, doubling in size within a few hours. After a couple of days, if you watch them carefully you will see how some white dots with tails move, against the current. These are your baby Aqua Dragons! By feeding them with the food envelope they will grow over a couple of months until you have an Aqua Dragons family living in your fish tank! It is very simple, you only have to feed them once every two or three days with the small end of the spoon and oxygenate the water with the air pump or transfer the water from one container to another a couple of times a week, to that the bubbles that are created oxygenate their habitat. Your fish tank should be filled with clean water, preferably bottled, and at an ideal temperature of 20º to 27ºC. If the water becomes cloudy, you should stop feeding them until it becomes transparent. It is also recommended to air your fish tank several times a week and open the lid so that your Aqua Dragons have enough oxygen.

The life cycle and anatomy?

The male of the Aqua Dragons is distinguished from the female by the antennae on its head that it uses to hold the female while copulating.

The female Aqua Dragons often has a small dark pouch on her back, which is nothing more than an egg sac where her Aqua Dragons "babies" are incubating.

This amazing species has a magical way of surviving the ages. It can reproduce in 5 different ways, depending on its circumstances and the conditions of its habitat, to the point of being able to do it without the need for the male (parthenogenesis).

Once your Aqua Dragons family has finished their life cycle, you can let the tank dry by evaporation and after a while fill it up again with bottled water. Once this is done, the eggs, until then in a dry period, will hatch and you will see new Aqua Dragon babies.

How long do Aqua Dragons live?

Each Aqua Dragon can live between 6 months and 1 year and measure up to 2cm. When the eggs hatch, the Aqua Dragons are so small that they cannot be seen. After 24 hours they are twice as big, although you have to be patient to watch them swim. Remember that the fish tank must be clean and filled with bottled or boiled water. The ideal temperature is between 20-27ºC and you only have to feed them once a week.

How to feed them?

You should feed them 5 days after hatching, with the small end of the spoon. The first four days they feed on the food that comes with the eggs in envelope # 1. Do not put food on them during these first 4 days since otherwise harmful bacteria will be created that will consume all the oxygen, which would cause your pets to suffocate. After those first days, you have to feed them every 2 or 3 days. If the water becomes cloudy you should stop feeding them. They are overfed and you should stop feeding them until the water clears. Oxygenate the water with the air pump or transfer the water from one container to another a couple of times a week, so that the bubbles that are created oxygenate the habitat.

Tips for healthy and cared Aqua Dragons

If your Aqua Dragons do not hatch at the moment, here is a guide that can help you solve any problem.

Have you noticed well?

Use the magnifying glass, since the Aqua Dragons when they are born are extremely small. The best way to see them is by looking closely through the magnifying glass, with a good backlight and looking for small spots that swim against the current.

Have you put in the right amount of water?

You need to use 400cc of water for your Aqua Dragons to hatch. If you have put little, you can add more up to 400cc and aerate the tank every day. If you've put too much water in, the Aqua Dragons will take longer to hatch. You have to wait for the water to evaporate until the correct amount remains. Do not remove the water, you have to wait for it to evaporate, because the envelopes are prepared to work correctly with that amount of water. Excess water dilutes the formula and if insufficient, it is too concentrated. If you wait for it to evaporate you will not lose any of the eggs. All of our fish tanks have that amount of water. You must fill it up to where indicated.

Is the temperature adequate?

The ideal temperature is 20 to 27ºC. If not, they will not be born. Also, abrupt changes delay hatching of the eggs. If you want to control it, you can find special thermometers for aquariums in pet stores.

Is it good that there are algae in my fish tank?

If you place your Aqua Dragons in indirect sunlight, algae will grow in your fish tank that create oxygen, necessary for breathing in the water. Watch out! Direct sunlight is not recommended as it can be cooked. If you don't have sunlight, you can get the same effect with a grow lamp like the ones used for plants.

How do my Aqua Dragons breathe?

Your pets need oxygen to survive. There are several ways to oxygenate:

- Stirring the water from the tank with a plastic spoon or a straw. It is the least suitable way because what you use to remove the water must be sterilized (see the questions about soap below)

- Carefully pour the contents of your fish tank into another sterilized tank and again pour it back into your fish tank. So several times.

- The best way to aerate the water is to use the air pump. If the kit you have purchased does not have it, you can find it in our online store.

What happens if I don't air the fish tank?

The first week of life of your Aqua Dragons is critical. If you don't aerate the tank every day it will fill with carbon dioxide, one of its main enemies. It is a gas that all living things produce naturally, but it is more important for aquatic than for terrestrial. In water, some of the carbon dioxide forms a component called carbonic acid, a very weak acid but strong enough to kill your pets. If there is too much carbonic acid in the fish tank, Aqua Dragons cannot breathe oxygen from the water and suffocate. Thus, you must aerate the tank every day for the first week. Then, if your pets swim slowly and seem tired or out of power, air the fish tank right away to provide them with the oxygen they need.

Should we clean the fish tank?

With the passage of time, the bottom of the tank accumulates food remains, algae, waste and non-hatched eggs. It is natural and does not harm your Aqua Dragons. Thus, it is not mandatory to clean the fish tank, but if you are very neat and clean, you can use the water pump to vacuum the remains of the bottom of your fish tank. When an Aqua Dragon dies, its body remains at the bottom and it is recommended that you remove it. You can use the water pump or a straw to do it.

Can I use soap to clean the fish tank?

When you use any utensil that comes into contact with the water in your Aqua Dragons, you should clean it well, but without using any type of soap or detergent. These contain chemicals that can kill them. WITH THE SUPERVISION OF AN ADULT, you can sterilize the utensil that you are going to use by boiling it in water. This will destroy the bacteria but YOU NEED TO ASK AN ADULT FOR HELP.

What happens if the water in the fish tank evaporates?

As the water evaporates, each time the concentration of salt in the water (salinity) is higher. The Aqua Dragons adapt without problems to the salinity levels, since the process is slow and gradual. But when you fill the tank with fresh water, since it does not have salt, this causes a sudden decrease in the salinity of the water and can affect your Aqua Dragons. To avoid sudden changes in salinity, the tank must be filled with bottled or boiled water and left to stand for 24 hours before adding it to the tank, to control that the temperature is between 20 and 27ºC.

Where do the Aqua Dragons come from?

In nature the Aqua Dragons live in different places, but above all in two salty lakes and in the sea. These lakes are what remains of the old salty seas that have been evaporating, which has increased their concentration of salt (salinity). Only certain species of plants and animals can live there and one of them is the Aqua Dragons.