Larval Tylototriton newt problems

T

trace

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I am having a small problem with my larval Tylototritons (emperor, mandarin crocodile, etc). I keep 10 of them in pairs in decent sized rubbermaid tubs. There is a land area with green moss they can haul out on, although all still have their gills. There is java moss in the water but no substrate. The water temp stay at a constant 60F and the air temp is around 65F. I noticed the other day that a pair in one tank were floating belly up, they were very bloated but still alive. I touched them a little and one swam under water, upside down, and emitted a decent sized air bubble. They had just started to lose their gills so I thought maybe they couldn't get out onto land. I placed them half on land half in water and they both moved a little then died that night. I figured it was a fluke or keeper error since they were in the same tank. Now another bigger one seems to be doing the same thing, he isn't upside down but is perched up high on the java moss with his back out of water. He seems a little bloated and listless. Am I being paranoid now or is something going on? I have them in my basement along with a bunch of baby axolotl and Spanish ribbed newts, which are doing great.
 
My axies all died this way. I think it could either be lack of feeding, as Jen suggested or not enough oxygen in the water.
 
I think that is a bubble in the stomach things. I got them with my C.O. larvae. At first I thoguht they got some disease and I killed all the bubbled ones. Then I tried to give them less air, (removed air pump), no use. I change more water or less water. No use. Then I found out what happened.

In my case, it has to do with the lack of food. For big larvae who will accept frozen blood worms fed by tweezer, I just keep feeding them and they will soon lost the bubble. Usually a couples of blood worms will get that fixed.

For smaller larvae. I have to spoon them out to a small container and very low water so that the water level is only barely higher than the height of the larvae. Then I fed them lot of brineshrimp. In this case, they could eat the shrimp. If you dont do that, they probably can not hunt the shrimps and die of starvation. Since brineshrimp tend to stay at the surface. Well. most food tend to stay at the bottom as well.

I am not sue if this is the same case as yours. but this always work with my larvae all the time. I hope this work for you.
 
Hi Trace,
What are you feeding them and how often? If they are getting tubifex worms or black worms that are "dirty" it can cause bloat of boyancy problems. I feed mine black worms and chopped earthworms. I make sure the blackworms are well rinsed. Sometimes a quick change in diet can cause bloat.
Keep the water shallow. The T. verrocusus are not real active when they come on land. Mine did not come to land until they totally lost their gills. Mine are eating blackworms on land and in water. I have not lost any when they "switched" to land but have read this is a difficult time for them. I think the larger you can get them in water the less problems you will have when they switch.
Michael
 
I got 4 from Michael and was feeding black worms and brine shrimp. All 4, as they lost their gills sat on top of the few plants in their tank. The first one I left in the water, it drown. The second two I moved to a semi-terrestrial setup (pond at one end, tapered up to land), one was doing well (lived for about a week, was eating small crickets, died about 2 weeks later), and one died a few days later. The last one I gave lots of floating plants to climb on, and it died too. I don't think it's just you. Mine all morphed very small, which I attribute partially to the stress of being shipped and moved. All were eating brine shrimp and blackworms happily, very fat. None of them were on land long enough to starve, but all died quickly. Rather disappointing.
 
Here's what's going on with my T. verrocusus. Many are absorbing their gills and going to land. I have my larvae set up in a flow through tray system with low flow filtered water. As the larvae absorb their gills they cling to the sides and sponge filters. They will not stay on the bottom they bob. When I see the gills mostly gone I switch them to a slanted low water level switch over tank. At this stage they like it on land but I usually put them in the water while I am putting their food in their hiding spots on land. I'm feeding them blackworms and fruit fly larvae. All the literature says they are most fragile at this time. If I can paraphrase Tylototriton.org they say something like T. verrocusus seems like it would be easy to work with but the juveniles can be difficult.

I've sold over 100 larvae and have had reports of less than a dozen losses. I've lost 3 or 4 runts in water due to overcrowding. I've had 15 to 20 go to land with no losses in the transformation. I really baby them. They are slow and disoriented when they switch over. It takes some work to get them to feed.

My results with T. kweichowensis have not been as outstanding. I didn't have them in as good of a system. I lost most early on. I have 3 T. kweichowensis that are well started on land and look great.

As always I'm willing to work with anybody that has lost some of my animals if they contact me privately.
 
it could be gas bubble disease, the symptoms are,bloating,bubbles under skin surface,loss of ballance.


one of the main causes is the water is to aerated.
 
Except you need very cold, super aerated water. Neither Trace nor I had anything about bubbles under the skin. And I had no filter of any kind running.
 
I also got some from Michael awhile back. I fed mine blackworms and chopped earthworms during the larvae stage. They were kept in a 10 gallon split in two with a tank divider with lots of java moss(3-4" water height) Once I notice the dorsal fin shrinking I added a piece of driftwood so they can climb on when ready. (I also surrounded the driftwood with java moss) Once I notice them hanging out the water for some hours, I moved them to a dry land setup.(paper towel floor and a hiding spot) They still had a lil gill left to absorb.(I'll let them absorb it on land) During this time they don't really eat or move much. From day to day I would dangle a chopped earthworm in front of them. Then one day one of them snap at the earthworm.(It was the first one that hung out of the water) As days went by they all started to eat. They all absorbed their gills. I'm currently feeding them chopped earthworms, mealworms that just shedded their skin, and small silkworms (though they don't like eating head 1st so I flip the SW around). They always hang under the driftwood. I see them roam around the tank from time to time. And they all come out during feeding time when I dangle some food in the open area of the tank.
 
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