Introduction & Question:

[Hajji]

Greetings all...my name is al-Hajj Fred H Minshall, and I live in Anchorage, AK.

I have two pairs of Notophthalmus viridescens piarpicola, collected for me by
a friend in northern FL last year. They bred slightly over a month ago.

They reside in a 55gal, fully-planted tank. The females deposited single eggs on leaves of Ludwigia, water sprite, Cryptocoryne etc and folded the leaves over the eggs.
Larvae are now ~0.75in long (or slightly less) and are showing some adult pattern/coloration. I don't know how many there are, because they hide in large clumps of Java moss and/or under driftwood in the tank.

My question is: most salamandrids--even eggs and larvae--are toxic (at least
to the point of tasting bad), but will the adult Notophthalmus prey on their
own offspring? The larvae are quick to dart for cover, and transferring them
from the tank would be difficult, but I'm prepared to attempt this if there's
danger of them being eaten by their parents.

This is my first success at captive breeding any salamander species. I can provide photos if needed of larvae and tank


Sincerely,

Hajji

 

[deliriah]

Congrats on breeding your newts!
Yes they will eat them if they can catch them. But don't go tearing your tank apart just yet. It sounds as if there is plenty of cover with the plants and moss you've discribed. I would be more concerned with stressing the adults and larvae by trying to remove the babies than I would about the parents eating them. Be sure the adults are fed well, and that the larvae continue to have good coverage, and hides, and your little ones should be fine.

 

[warrior]

Newts will eat anything that moves and it doesn't matter if it's their own babies.It would be easier to remove the adults and place them in another tank.It may be harmful to the babies if you try to remove them.The babies are much more fragile than the adults.

 

[Hajji]

Thank you, Deliriah...another poster has suggested removing the adults temporarily. This would be do-able (but still difficult). Will do my best to target 'em with food so they'll be less inclined to go after the larvae. Haven't figured out how to attach images, but when I do, I'll post photos of the tank and of the larvae.

Sincerely,

Hajji

 

[Ltdanicecream]

Thats cool that you got them to breed. But next time, try to separate the eggs. Your larvae might actually do better with the adults though, as the tank is well established with microlife and the water quality will be great. You're lucky to have bred these guys!