T. marmoratus and eggs

[DocZelop]

Hi everybody,

so, last October, I got two couples of marms from a Caudata member (thanks Graeme )... The little guys got so used to their new french home that they spawned right after their hibernating period...

Right now, my two (fat) females are beginning to lay eggs on plants. So far, I've spotted a dozen of them, this is quite exciting !

So, being new to marms (I've already successfully bred alpines many times, though) here are my questions:

1) Are the marmoratus females laying over a period of time, or do they lay their eggs all in one big batch ? If so, how long is that period ?
2) Is there any risk that the adults will eat the eggs ? In that case, I'll transfer them to a hatchery as soon as I spot new ones...

Many thanks in advance for your advice,

Cheers,
Phil

 

[tom]

Hi DocZelop!
I'd give the females a month, more or less, to lay all their eggs. I kept mine in their aquarium the whole year, but of course they had the chance to leave the water at any time. I didn't notice any adults eating eggs, but for safety reasons I took out lots of plants with eggs. So I ended up with some 200 larvae and that's quite a lot to care for. This species is quite productive and I really cannot recommend to raise so many newtlets. It's hard work and expensive, too. So my advice is to let them hatch in the adult tank and then catch as many as you want to or can raise. I'm quite sure the parents ...ähm ... will take care of the rest their youngs. Hope that helps with your decision.
Greets
Tom