Please help: Granulosa floating, shedding

[erik3333]

I recently received a pair of adult Taricha granulosa that i put in a 80 x 40 x 40 (cm) aquarium.

This is a tank with a sad history. In the past i administered flubenol in that tank. Despite water changes and cleaning the tank, the newts (neurergus) all perished. They shedded irregulary, some wanted to go on land, they got apathic, stopped eating and you know the rest...

I blame the flubenol, but no definite answer was given. Now it has been 6 weeks and numrerous waterchanges, a complete change of gravel and interior and i felt it was the right time to introduce new animals in there.

And now some of the same symptoms seem to be reappearing...The male has started floating. He is thin, his body feels soft (not as firm as the female), wants to get out of the water and has started shedding in different places. He has not touched any food.

The female also want to go on land but is still eating, not floating or shedding.

The previous owner (who is more than helpful) told me he experienced these symptoms with other newts and that it might be some kind of infectious desease. But i keep thinking about the Flubenol...On the other hand; this must be gone by now surely?

I have now put them in another bare clean water-filled tank, but what should i do? Do you have any ideas what the matter is? I'm planning on doing a major cleanup of the old tank...

 

[Elliriyanna]

My only thoughts are ... Sometimes things can get into the sealant and cause future issues. But I read about that with I believe methylene blue staining sealant and pet rats chewing it ...

 

[sde]

Shedding skin isn't a bad thing, unless he does it a lot it might be, but I am not positive of that.

Male T. granulosa tend to be thinner than the females, and the newts should be soft, not firm. That's probably just because he hasn't eaten much, my male feels the same way.

How long have you had them for? Do you know your water perimeters? What are you trying to feed them? Also, some individuals prefer to be more aquatic than others, and during some times of the year they may want to be on land. -Seth

 

[Jennewt]

There are so many things that could be going wrong. Or, as Seth mentions, maybe nothing.

I doubt that the flubenol is a problem. If it's there, it's in such a small amount that it shouldn't matter, unless these animals are unusually sensitive.

Are the newts wild-caught? Recently imported? Stressed in some way before you got them? If so, then that seems like the more likely source of the problems.

Infectious disease is possible, but it's hard to know for sure. It could have even carried over from the previous newts.

 

[JReed]

I would also investigate "bloat". The symptoms you describe sound like possible "bloat" to me: the floating, irregular shedding, lethargy, soft swollen body with ( sometimes) boniness over the rest of the body due to lack of eating. Bloat can be caused by many issues, but fundamentally it is kidney dysfunction, triggered by disease or environment. Some bloat causing pathogens can be very contagious... changing water may not be to reverse the problems once the it is established. I have experienced it in my Taricha before and symptoms you describe sound somewhat familiar ...unfortunately. I had to quaratine/treat sick members and restart the tank set-ups completely over again (all are healthy now). Hopefully it is not what you are experiencing...