Fake vs. Real

[dustin]

Any thoughts (pros, cons, etc...) on plastic strips vs. real plants for breeding various Triturus sp.?

 

[kamil]

Hi Dustin,

I would not use plastic-plants - they could be to hard to fold or have sharp shapes.
If you don't want to use real plants, you can take wool. I use blue/orange wool - but the animals just like the blue one. I think, it's because it's darker.
If you want to use wool, check out, that it's made from plastic. Then you have to wash it out with hot (60°C) water - to remove all traces of colour and other things that could be in it. If you offer real plants and wool, the newts will first take the plants. But if there is nothing else, they will take the wool also.

Best Greetings,

Kamil

 

[jennifer]

Hi Dustin,
For me the choice boils down to: (1) What do the newts prefer? (2) Do I want to take the eggs out of the tank (to save them from predation or to ship to people)?

My Cynops really don't care much for the plastic strips, so there's no point using them. Triturus in general seem to like the strips, sometimes even preferring them to real plants. I find the strips convenient, as it gives me a very efficient way to "harvest" the eggs without destroying my aquarium plants.

Kamil - can you describe (or show a photo) of this plastic wool? This sounds like an interesting alternative. It might work for my Cynops who normally prefer Java moss.

(Message edited by jennewt on February 12, 2005)

 

[alan]

Jen, my C.orientalis refused to use plastic strips at all initally. You have to "persuade" them! Eventually, they preferred them to real plants.

 

[pamela]

How do you persuade a newt?!

 

[kamil]

This is how my Triturus alpestris Tank looks like.

 

[pamela]

WOW! So it is wool yarn, but plastic?! Not the kind my mom used to knit my sweaters. To cool! Thanks Kamil

 

[liz]

I only have Taricha granulosa but they don't mind laying eggs on small strips of astroturf. I cut strips that are about 2cm by 15cm. Some seem to like that better than live plants, and like Jen said you don't have to destroy your live plants. I also tried giving them plastic aquarium plants, thinking they might like that shape better, but they definately preferred the astroturf. I like it better than plastic strips also because you don't have to anchor the astroturf to the bottom of the tank.

 

[uwe]

Taricha granulosa lay there eggs almost anywhere. I think the discussions concentrates on Triturus species, which cover their eggs. I think the point is do they lay eggs or not. When Kamil finds fertile eggs in the wool there is nothing to compülain (besides the colors ;-)).

Uwe

 

[alan]

I suspect Kamil means synthetic fibres such as nylon or acrylic with will not rot in water like real wool.

You've never persuaded a newt Pamela?

 

[pamela]

Hi Alan! Actually I've been "persuading" my one C.o. female to eat (she went off food for over a month!) She finally ate a live wriggly little earthworm. YEAH!