Baby Scobies grow on the top of your brew or as a new layer on top of your scoby. This will happen every time you brew (can take up to 14 days before its thick enough to see).

When your scoby grows as a new layer it can be a bit worrying at first as it just looks like a funny looking layer of slime/white is growing on the top of your brew. This is normal and good.

If your scoby grows as a new layer on top of your brew:

1. Leave the baby scoby where it is until you are ready to bottle your brew
2. Gently lift the baby scoby out of the brew and place it in a container with the mother while you bottle your brew and prepare your next brew.
3. when you are ready to put your scobies back in your brew place the mother scoby in your brew first then the baby scoby back on the top.
4. You will need to keep mother and baby scoby together until the baby is about the same size as the mother. You cant really do any harm leaving  the baby with the mother for too long but you can remove if too soon and try to brew with it.

If your scoby grows as a new layer on top of your mother rather than on the surface of the brew then your mother will just get bigger and bigger rather than grow a whole new scoby, you might find it helpful to remove the dark layers from underneath the scoby to prevent your scoby from taking up too much room in your brew. Baby scobies can grow in both ways and both is normal. 

If you are brewing with a strong healthy mother and your brew is in the correct environment then a new baby or a new layer on the original mother should form after EVERY brew. The only exception is when using a dehydrated scoby to brew it can take a few brews for the babies to start to grow this is normal. 

When brewing with a baby scoby for the first time. 

Make sure that you start off with small brews you can slowly and gradually increase the volume that you brew with as your baby grows but for the first few brews don't try and brew too much as this can leave your brew vulnerable to mold. Mold with thin baby mothers is very common (beware of this if you have bought a scoby online from another supplier and it is very thin as it can mean that they have sold you a baby rather than a mature mother and this makes a big difference) The ratio of tea/sugar and scoby is vital to prevent invasion by other pathogens and mold forming so remember to brew small batches at first and ensure that the tea and sugar levels are correct for the volume you are brewing. 

If you spot mould forming on a scoby, THROW IT OUT along with the kombucha it had brewed and sterilize all equipment you used.