CFBN larvae dying

[OZIRIS]

Hello boys and girls,

I had around 30 cynops larvae, but there have been 5 deaths since yesterday. It's strange because I'm applying the same method I did before, so.. I don't know where is the problem.

I have them in a tupper with 1 cm water level and java moss, and I change water everyday (and dirt) and add bottled water or the same where are the adults. I feed them with daphnia, all day they have food. Their belly seem to be little bloated, their body shapes change quickly before die, after, their tails are curled.

Could planaria kill the little guys? I watched one and I saw planarias feeding on its little body. Should I put live ones in the fridge?

It's a pity , because this time my laying female laid a lot.

I read the article too on CC, but I can't find the problem alone. Any idea?

Regards

 

[vistajpdf]

Not sure about the planaria question, but I would be concerned about the water as it often seems to be the culprit. Are you dechlorinating and dechloraminating the water? I treat my tap water and let it age overnight before using it.

How crowded is the tank? How old are the larvae?

Here's what worked for me and I've had very few larvae die out of 50 (maybe I've lost 3-4 at the most.) I used sterilite containers, shoe-box size, with much deeper water than you described. It's easier to maintain water quality if there is more volume. I use a bare bottom - no gravel or dirt. I fed them live Daphnia and a mixture of frozen daphnia and frozen baby brine shrimp, both thawed in treated water. After three weeks, I'd start a new tank so the older larvae wouldn't prey upon the younger ones. I'd also start a new tank if the old one was getting crowded as that, too, can cause aggression. My first few tanks had no java moss, but now I do and that is fine.

I would start with a complete water change and clean out the old tank with fresh water only. Fill it up several inches at least and rinse out the moss before replacing it. Give fresh food and see how they are. I assume there's no filter or anyting else in there? Larvae can do well in small containers with daily water changes and not a lot of decoration or anything. Later, after 3-4 months, they will need a place to get out of the water when they morph.

Good luck,
Dana

 

[OZIRIS]

Hi Dana,

I follow the method I read somewhere here.

The tub is cleaned daily and the water is changed daily too cause I have no filter, that's true. It hasn't got any gravel or sand too. The water I drop in both tanks -adults and larva- is bottled (drinkable), I don't use tap water at all. I feed them daily too with live daphnia and microworms (Panagrellus). They are 2 weeks old so so. Maybe they got stressed for some reason I don't know.

I raised 2 larva some months ago by this way (same water brand) and they are fine, still terrestrial.

I could see a bubble inside one tadpole (while it was alive) that died yesterday, but others hadn't got bubbles... but their bellies were red, so, it's strange. I added nitrofurazone (antibiotic) to water this morning, and they seem to be better (no deaths). Let's pray. Sometimes there's nothing to do :S... small creatures...

Thanks

 

[vistajpdf]

Sounds like air bubbles were the issue. I thought that was due to water quality, mostly. How large is the tupperware container? Thirty is still a lot for one container unless it's quite large. I did lose one that looked like it was either missing part of its midsection or had a huge air bubble in there. If you see that again, separate the newtpole.

I'd still be worried about chlorine and chloramine - I would treat and age the water. I'm glad your earlier ones were OK, but you never know about this even with bottled water. I'd also use more water - seems too shallow.

Good luck - hopefully things are on the way back up. Did it get extra hot or have the temps been OK?

Dana