Fire belly newt tadpoles

[kellsnotokay52]

I've had two fire belly newts for 16 years and they finally laid eggs for the first time. I have about 50 eggs. The eggs are separated from the adults. The water is about 65 degrees. They have started to hatch, so far I have 8. The newly hatched ones are in a 2.5 gallon tank with the water about 64-65. They have some plastic plants to hide in. My questions are; does it sound like I'm doing things good? It's been 2 days since they have hatched , when should I introduce them to food? I noticed that some of my tadpoles have very straight tails and a few have a crooked tail? Is this okay? I also have a tadpole that lays on his back and floats. He swims very well but when he stops swimming he flips over and floats up. I heard he might have gas? Can this be true? Should I remove him from the rest of the tadpoles. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jennewt]

Congratulations on the longevity of your newts, and their breeding.:happy:
Sometimes their tail is crooked when they first hatch out; see if these improve. The floating can be from gas. This sometimes happens due to underfeeding, so I would suggest introducing food now. There is no reason to separate him, unless you can provide a better situation for him (shallower water, lots of plants to rest on).

They are ready to start eating when the yolk is gone. These photos show how to identify the yolk:
Caudata Culture Photo Series - Tylototriton verrucosus development

For their setup, I'd recommend live plants, if you have any. Also, the debris in the bottom of the adults' tank could be a source of food for them for the first few days. By this I mean the fully-decayed brown muck (mulm). Trying to keep larvae "clean" is more likely to run into problems than using a well-established tank.

 

[Jennewt]

By the way, do you know which species of firebellies you have? I am compiling some information on longevity, so I'd like to know. If you aren't sure, see:
Caudata Culture Articles - Firebelly

 

[AngieD]

My larva floated on his side for about a day, but was clearly still alive.
We lowered the water level so he could keep himself the right way up, and by the next day it looked like he had burped because he was back to normal. Newts get wind too

 

[kellsnotokay52]

Thanks for all the help guys! By the way I have Chinese fire belly newts. The floater seems to have gotten better. It's so cute that they have gas! I started to hatch my own shrimp brine but for some reason they aren't hatching. I purchased freeze dried shrimp brine and frozen daphnia. Which should I try first? What is the best way to introduce them to food? Could I buy shrimp brine even though they'd be much bigger than newly hatched and would they eat it?

 

[AngieD]

I raised mine on live daphnia. I think it is possible to get them eating pre-killed foods, but a lot more difficult, as they instinctively go after moving things. Adult brine shrimp are way too big for them at that stage. You might need to order some live daphnia and start a culture, then wean them onto pre-killed when they're a bit bigger and stronger

 

[kellsnotokay52]

Thanks for all the help! I'm having such a difficult time feeding them!!! I have had a couple of them for 5 days and they haven't eaten yet. I haven plastic plants in with them should I try getting live plants as well, would they eat any algae off it them? Until I could hatch them food? Sorry to be so annoying! I'm so new to having babies!

 

[AngieD]

all plastic plants would do for them is give them somewhere to hide. Live plants would be much better for them, as they will improve the water quality and add oxygen. However, the larvae won't eat algae, they're going to need young daphnia or freshly hatched brine shrimp.
You're not being annoying, we all know how worrying it is the first time we've been in charge of larvae

 

[kellsnotokay52]

I finally got my shrimp eggs to hatch!!!! Which is great because they do not want frozen daphnia! My question now is how long should I leave the shrimp brine in the tank with the tadpoles? Will it harm their water quality? Are the tadpole supposed to be really active because they don't seem to want to move much? And also has anyone had undeveloped tadpoles hatch? I have 4 they are very small and tan colored, the others that have hatched are dark. Could there be a reason for this? Thanks again!!!

 

[Kaysie]

Brine shrimp usually die in fresh water in ~6 hours. After that, you'll need to suck them all out with a turkey baster, and do a 100% water change.

No, larvae don't do anything but lay there most of the time.

 

[Jennewt]

When you say "how long should I leave the shrimp brine in the tank with the tadpoles" do you mean the brine, the salt water? There should be no salt water in with the tadpoles, rinse the BBS (baby brine shrimp). After the BBS die, they will harm water quality.

They sometimes do hatch prematurely, but usually turn out OK anyway. The tadpoles shouldn't move much. Their job is to sit around and wait for food to swim by. If they are active, something is wrong.

 

[kellsnotokay52]

Can someone post a link, I want to see the stages of the firebelly newt from tadpole to adult. Does anyone know where I can see stage pictures. How long does it take for them to morph?

 

[AngieD]

I don't have any pictures, but I can tell you it usually takes them 3 to 6 months to morph