[crittermom]

13 days ago, my new varadero pair laid their first egg (with me). I've been watching it in the tank, and was planning on leaving it for the parents to raise (maybe pulling it once they transport). It has looked good, been wiggling, and I figured they would transport it any day now. This morning I looked in, and the egg looked deflated and the tad was just laying there in what looked like a sticky, dried up gel. I think the tad hatched, but then the parents didn't transport it? I went ahead and pulled it out and put it in a bit of dechlor water, and it wiggled a bit, so as of now, it's alive. Do you think the parents would have transported it? should I have left it alone? Is this common for the parents to abandon it? There is another egg in there now as well, so I just want to know what to do for this next one.

Thanks!

 

[Pumilo]

Not every tad gets transported. My green Sirensis, for example, are great parents and seem to transport pretty much every tad. My Vanzolini don't transport every one. The parents of one of your Varadero have a bad habit of only transporting one tad out of most of their two egg clutches. When they are accessible, I simply move them myself. A razor blade or a slurpee "spoon/straw" can be helpful with this.