Breeding for Cynops orientalis

M

mark

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Hi, I know there is a bunch of articles and such on this, but can anyone tell me some of the behaviors of Cynops Orientalis when they are in breeding "condition." Maybe some of the not so obvious behaviors. Also, I don't think I will be doing it, but does anyone know if Cynops orientalis can eat newly born guppies? Thanks
 
Basically there should be a lot of tail fanning, I noticed that breeding males will walk around with their tails at the ready (slightly curled) sometimes. Another physical difference is the cloaca becomes "hairy" there's a fancy name for this, something like paepillae. Another breeding behaviour is cloaca sniffing, but this can happen outside of breeding. When they breed you will know, every action by the male is done with great determination. I wouldn't say their were any really subtle behaviours, males will often change completely behaviour wise, tail fanning anything that moves, sometimes even their reflections (this is usually when there's another newt nearby though).
 
I noticed when my male is in breeding condition heis much more active, his cloaca is extremely swollen and the papillae are sticking out. He follows the female like a magnet, and usually sniffs at the cloaca. Then he tries to run in front of her, block her off, and tail fan. I have seen him drop S'phores but the female simply ignored them and turned away.
 
Hmm, thank you. Do you know where I can get a picture of a S'phore? About when do they start breeding, during the cold winter, or just right after, or what? Also, I don't think I will be doing it, but does anyone know if Cynops orientalis can eat newly born guppies? Thanks
 
Oh yeah, also. Do females get a lot bigger when they are "pregnant"?
 
Just after winter. Females get big when "pregnant", but not as big as some other types of newt because C.o.s lay their eggs over several weeks. It may take a couple of weeks after you take them out of a cooling period for breeding to commence.
 
To my eyes they look like clear jelly things except for a white object embedded(presumably the sperm packet itself). They are nearly transparent and except for the white thing are very hard to spot. I saw a juvie of mine eating one though.

Be sure to provide some plants for the female to lay eggs in.

Btw, not to hijack this topic but my C. o are currently being kept at 60 or so right now. Would it be beneficial for things to go lower. They could get around 40 degrees(frost outside) if that is needed.
 
Oh yeah, the water is about 50. I hope to get some pictures of my tank soon. It a really nice tank. BTW, I don't think I will be doing it, but does anyone know if Cynops orientalis can eat newly born guppies? Thanks
 
I had my C.o.s turn on a small, about 1 inch gold fish. The fish must have came in as an egg on a plant from the pond store, and managed to evade both my notice and my newts' notice for the early part of its development. Once I found it during a water change, I expected the newts to eat it at some point, but they waited till it grew nice and large and I was about to remove it. Then I go on vacation, and come back to find golden scales scattered across the gravel. The water was shallow, so I think this gave the newts manuverability advantage. What ever the case the newts ate the whole fish, bones, guts, and everything else except for the scales. I'm sure new born guppies would be eaten, but you have to make sure the that the fish haven't been exposed to any parasites that would be foriegn to your newts.
 
C. o are too slow to eat baby guppies dependably. However, I've noticed that for my Heterandria formosa(pygmy livebearer) kept in that tank multiplying rate is pretty slow so the newts may be eating some of the young(or they may simply not be getting enough food). I'll have to experiment and see.
 
Most (all?) newts and salamanders will eat spermatophores. Don't ask me why. So if you don't spot the spermatophores within a few hours of them being placed, they'll probably be eaten. FYI, axolotls seem better about this though - they seem to rarely, if ever, eat their spermatophores or eggs.
 
Thanks guys. i recently took some pictures of my tanks. They are really nice. They should be up tue. or wed. under the tank and photo gallary pages. check them out! Thanks again.
 
John: I thought that was unusual when I observed one of the juvies pull up a spermatophore and eat it. Looked like he was dealing with a big glob of sticky jelly...LOL I think he got a bit of fine sand along with it.
 
Do the S,phores have "strings" attatched to them? Kind of like this -0 Becuase I have a bunch of these stuck to the glass.
Joesph> How did you lower you tanks temparute so much???

I got pictures! Here is to show you how planted it is. Tell me what you think!

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The tank looks a lot smaller there, but really it is a whole lot thicker.
 
Ben --

I truly doubt that C.o. are capable of killing and eating a goldfish. The way you describe your newts "turning" on the goldfish is exactly how a turtle would kill and eat prey. (Ie: My painted turtle killed and ate goldfish all the time in that manner.) C.o. simply do not have the physical power to do that.
 
When I said turning I was not describing hunting tactics, I was mentioning that these animals, which had previously peacefully coexisted with the goldfish suddenly ate it, it was turning in more of a metaphorical sense than a literal one. The gold fish was only one third the size of the smallest newt, it wasn't very old, as I described earlier it must have came into the tank as an egg. I did not witness the newts attack the goldfish, infact it may have happened gradually with the newts biting at the goldfish until it was to weak to swim away.
 
Ben --

I wasn't referring to hunting tactics either. I'm saying that it's physically impossible for C.o.'s to de-scale and rip apart a goldfish, regardless of size, in order to eat it.
 
Well I didn't see them kill or rip the gold fish, but I did see them eat it, the last few pieces of it that remained by the time I checked on them.
 
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