Triturus Marmoratus embryonic development

[Otterwoman]

Four?

 

[Molch]

By cycled media I mean..charcoal and filter floss encased in a plastic cartridge or a plastic frame that has the filter floss material on the outside and charcoal is on the inside.

The media has been used on a established tank.

Some people throw their cycled media away....

I keep mine so that I can setup tanks without waiting to grow beneficial bacteria.

makes sense...I use sponge filters that I start a month ahead of time or so in the parent's tank.

In a 10-gallon I would keep up to about four I guess. If terrestrial, I'd make sure there are enough hide-outs for everybody, so they'll have some "privacy".

 

[esnailme]

quick update:

larva are about 17 days old. Appetite is excellent with pink bellies. These guys are eating me out of brine shrimp, house and home. They are growing like wild flowers. attached are pics. the texture in the background is the wall of my house.

 

[Molch]

spectacular! I'm amazed to see them swimming in the middle of the water column - do they do that? My apuanus and Cynops are pretty much always at the bottom.

 

[esnailme]

Yes, they do. The more active larva hang on the walls of the tank. I have one larvae that will go to the top of the water and eat brine shrimp. I suspect this will be the one with an outgoing personality. Of course, there are a couple that look as though they will be the runts of the bunch. They don't move around much.


Oh, before I forget....I tried the whiteworms, Initially the babies were frozen in their footprints. I guess they had a light bulb moment. Then they went on to eating their brine shrimp.

My count as if today remains at 25.

 

[Molch]

I put some of the eggs under my dissecting scope; here are some pics.
There were many twin eggs in my batch, and even a triplet egg. Looks like the triplets started developing, but they were already going cloudy and fuzzing over when I looked at them.

You think this one will come out with a kink in his neck? He might need some massage therapy after he comes out

this one is about a week from hatching, I guess?

seriously, now - did you know manatees lay eggs??

or maybe it's a bowling pin?

one of many twins: note the evil fungal hyphens growing from the egg

the doomed triplets

 

[esnailme]

Your pics are spectacular!!!!.

This is the first time I have seen pics with a high magnification.

Can you add the pics to a photo album on this forum?

 

[Molch]

Your pics are spectacular!!!!.

This is the first time I have seen pics with a high magnification.

Can you add the pics to a photo album on this forum?

already did; they are in the gallery.

 

[Molch]

I've got 7 hatchlings so far. The oldest is out of the egg almost a week, but they all still have yolk and nobody has started eating yet, though I offer brine shrimp daily. I find the wait excrutiating - when are they gonna start eating!! I want to see those pink bellies!!

Of course, I have them cooler than most folks - about 58 F, so maybe they'll just take longer that way.

btw, the one with the kink in his neck in the pics above did come out all twisted into a little pretzel. I think he's gonna die when he's used up his yolk. He can't straighten out or swim; just jerks around spastically when you nudge him...

 

[esnailme]

The kink in the spine must be contagious. I have one that looks strange.

He is not quite as chipper than the healthier specimens. However, he is quite a "fighter".

I think now would be the perfect time to gutload with a highly nutritious supplement and a sprig of something to purk up the color.

I am posting pics that I took last night. I am beginning to see back feet. Things are really moving along. The oldest of the larvae was 1 month old last Thursday.

We will save the party for later.

Oh well....I got pics. I am just now learning how to focus with the camera.

Give me some time and the pics will clear up.

 

[Molch]

how long before yours started eating? I have 8 now and about 8 more to hatch soonish. I have them in a 5 ga with lots of hornwort and a sponge filter. Some Daphnia in there. I will add brine shrimp and clean daily, but I haven't seen any pink bellies yet....still yolk after 1 week post-hatching.

Have you had any losses, esnailme? What's your cleaning regime? And how dense are the brine shrimp when you feed? Are they able to find and hunt them or will they pretty much just wait till one swims into their mouths? That's how my apuanus larvae were at first....

 

[Mark]

Very soon after the yolk stage Triturus become mid-water feeders - very different to alpine newts. That doesn't mean they wont scour the bottom for prey if it's there but they tend to spend most of their time floating through the pond weed like little submarines. They are remarkably agile little killing machines and can spin almost on the spot, picking off prey in mid water. I think because of this they are one of my favourite larvae to raise, I could watch them all day.

 

[Molch]

Mark - does this mean prey doesn't have to be super-dense because they will hunt it from the start? My hatchlings are still just hanging in the plants, motionless. Will they start moving around when the yolk is absorbed?

They really do appear different from my Cynops or apuanus, so I'm not sure I'm doing things right...

 

[Mark]

Yes, they will hunt. At first they are just like any other larvae using the standard "sit and wait" technique. As soon as the front legs appear and the caudal fin thickens they take to the water. Using small flicks of the tail they float around, arms outstretched like aliens, actively looking for prey. Daphnia work really well because they can be picked off mid water. Like I said though, if the prey is on the bottom they will seek it out down there.

 

[Azhael]

I love to see Triturus larvae hunting, they really are very good at it. Feeding Daphnia is specially fun, my T.dobrogicus larvae can always eat the whole serving of Daphnia in about 15 min. They are like greedy darts.
As much as i enjoy raising any species, for the sheer fun of it, i too think Triturus are my favourite. Specially when they are in that phase where they are growing big, but the color is not yet there, that´s when they are fastest and more active, and they are just brilliant.

Congrats to you both for those lovely larvae. And such a wonderful species too! I always love to see T.marmoratus in any form.

 

[Molch]

Thanks Mark and Az,
to alleviate my anxieties, can you tell me if this setup looks ok? It's a 5-ga with a sponge filter, carbon cartridge and lots of hornwort. There's Daphnia in there and also I feed BBS.

The larvae are in the plants in the middle section, but of course most brine shrimp will sink to the bottom. Will the larvae sit there and starve and miss all the food? I guess I'm a bit paranoid about these guys...I sooo want them to succeed!!

also, some have been out of the egg for 8 days now and still seem to have yolk. Is that normal (temp is 58 F)

 

[Otterwoman]

I'm always afraid to use a filter with my larvae. I'm afraid they'll get sucked in there and be injured and never come out.

 

[Molch]

well, it's a sponge filter - there really is no suction, so I don't think they can get sucked in there...

..but maybe I can take it out till they are older.

 

[esnailme]

Hi Molch,

My larvae were at or about 3-4 days before they absorbed their yolk sac.

It could be temp dependent on the yolk sac. My temp hangs on the low end of the 70's.

I have not encountered any losses as of yet........knock on wood.

Now granted I have one with an obvious deformity and another that is small and pale.

The pale larvae does have a full pink belly, so I still have faith in my little pale baby.

Cleaning regimen was using old tank water out of my 22 gallon feeder tank.

After 3 or 4 water changes with this water, I switched to aged and dechlorinated tap water.

This is so the larvae would not become dependent on the old tank water.

As far as how often, I started out daily, then dropped to every other day.

I am now up to every 4-5 days as needed.

I remove as much water as needed now since my filter should be fully functioning by now.

I always remove the water from the bottom of the tank since this is where the highest bacterial count is usually found.

The density of the brine shrimp is like a snow storm.

Heaven forbid if there isn't enough brine shrimp.

My babies will fight for their food!!!

I try not to referee these fights.

 

[esnailme]

I forgot to mention......

When I feed any of my larvae tanks, I turn off the air pump for 12 hours.

This is just me.

The filter will suck up all the food before the babies get a chance to eat.

After then 12 hours I will restart the air pump.

At the end if the 12 hours the larvae are nice and full.