Desmog a go-go

[greg]

I have Desmognathus brimleyorum eggs!

Found them just now in my tank. roughly a dozen or so. I'm separating about half to keep in a separate tank as I can only assume that the adults will likely eat at least the hatchlings.

pretty darn cool!

 

[nate]

Yes!!!

Right on Greg, you da man!

Told ya they'd probably breed in a big tank

Was the female guarding them? Were they attached to rocks. Details man, details! Can you get some photos too?

 

[greg]

They were hanging from the bottom of a flat rock I had leaning against the filter... right in the blast of the powerhead (I have a small power filter laying on its side so that there are riffles in the water as it blasts across rocks in the tank). some were floating loose in the tank, but ther rock had marks where they HAD been attached. Those that were still attached were greenish white and hanging individually in clear jelly sacks from a little thread. Reminded me of some kinds of cheese that hang in the deli. that end of the tank has two of the three animals there all the time. The larger of the two (I assume the female) was indeed under the same rock with them, but swam away when I flipped the rock. She's back there now though sitting under the same rock.

oh... I'll try to take pics, but all the good eggs I've removed to attempt to rear in another enclosure. I have no pics of the attachment.

 

[greg]

Well... the eggs are duds. No embryonic development at all. hmm... but getting them to LAY the eggs... that was a good step. now... I gotta work on why they weren't fertile... or... maybe they were fertile and died very early. Some of the eggs were floating in the water, so maybe they were not laid correctly. I'll work on that.

any thoughts?

 

[nate]

Well, getting the female to lay eggs is a huge step. I think all you really need to do is cool them down for winter and try again next year. Perhaps add a second current to the tank and try to add some more substantial caves/egg-laying sites in the flow for next time. It's uncharted territory

 

[coen]

I also heard it's better to install something like a oxygen-bubble-thinghy to keep the water flowing when you are trying to hatch newt eggs.