Aggressive juvenile Triturus karelinii

[Turtleben90]

One of my juvenile T. karelinii newts suddenly got aggressive toward his tankmates. This comes one day after I started feeding them frozen bloodworms - I don't know if there is any connection.

He is not any larger than the other newts and there is no food still present in the aquarium. I just notice that every time another newt crosses his path, he would snap at them (at the toes, head, and mid-body section).

I have him separated for now, but do you have any suggestions for reintroducing him?

*The newts are about 3.5 inches.. and I cannot tell yet if they are male/female.

Thanks!

 

[Coastal Groovin]

Feed that one more so it's not so hungry. Feed them chopped garden worms. They are more filling. That is what I did with mine. Your animals are getting close in size to sex soon. The males will show a raised line where the crest will be in a month or two.

 

[caleb]

This comes one day after I started feeding them frozen bloodworms - I don't know if there is any connection.

What (and how) did you feed them previously?

I that aggression mainly occurs when they can see each other feeding. You can minimise this by feeding them small items (so they swallow them before any of the others see they're eating), feeding in several places at once (so they don't all gather in one place and fight over the food), feeding them individually (there won't be any fighting if they've all got a worm in their mouth), and/or separating them when feeding.

 

[Coastal Groovin]

I was feeding them live black worms. I always try to feed them when they are apart and not crammed in one corner