Wild Axie's? (long)

[karen]

About a month ago my son snagged and egg blob out of our very shallow (and murky) pond in our front yard. As I remember there were 3 or 4 egg blobs with about 15 eggs per blob in the pond attached to a long stick. Anyway he thought it was cool and we knew that the frogs were mating and thought they were frog eggs, so we put them inside in a very small aquarium filled with pond water.

Well all of the eggs died except two. I have been trying to identify them since they hatched 2 or 3 weeks ago. Unfortunately I forgot to note on the calendar when they hatched. They just didn't look like tadpoles and the egg jelly blob didn't look like any frog eggs identifiable via internet.

So this morning we were looking at them and I noticed three fuzzy fins on each side of their heads. I started searching and lo and behold I come across info on Axolotls! I had never heard of such a thing. I am certain that's what these are. They are the brown sort but they definitely look like all the pics I've seen.

I have spent the day now researching the care and feeding of these little amphibians but am not sure how to proceed with these.

So far they have only had the pond water and last week I added a small rock with algae growing on it (still thinking they might be tadpoles). Also every couple of days I was putting a few flakes of Betta food in the tank. But I don't think they were eating any of it.

I scooped at least half the water out this morning and added more water from the pond hoping there was food in that water for them. Otherwise I don't know what they have been eating since hatching. There was. I watched them gobble up whatever was floating around in it.

Obviously there are others living in our pond and they have survived nicely. Although I have NO idea how they got there. It is an ornamental pond that is run down and desperately needs a new liner. It has aquatic plants in it, goldfish and about a zillion black tadpoles. We have seen salamanders and other amphibian types but never the Axies. It is very murky and you can not see the bottom so who knows what could be down there. The deepest part is only about 2 feet I would guess.

Anyway I read that they are endangered species in the wild so does anyone know what that means for me if I have the babies in the house? The ironic thing is that the eggs were laid when we had a false start to spring. Shortly after we rescued them the weather turned cold again and we had below freezing temps for over a week at night. I don't know if the others made it at all.

Initially we had thought to just watch the "tadpoles" morph and then let them go. We could do the same with the Axies but would it be ok to keep them also? And if so would pond water suffice or should we go 'conventional'?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Karen

 

[sarah(uk)]

They are probably salamander or newt larvae,most likey they would be tiger salamander larvae (water dogs).See how they go.

 

[karrie]

I don't think they are axies they are more likely tiger sal. Before they morph they look like axies. Still vary cool can you post a pic. It is har dto tell the diff.

 

[amber]

Most newts and salamanders look like axolotl - they'll have the broad flat tail and fluffy gills. Nearly all frog and toad tadpole look basically the same, if that gives you a better idea.

 

[karen]

This is the best I could do for pics. They are about an inch and a half long. Their gills are very large and fuzzy but you can't tell from these. I noticed that they grew their front legs in just since this morning. CUTE!
Tell me what you think.
Thanks,
Karen

 

[kaysie]

Karen, if you've found salamanders around your property, and can identify them (or post pictures and we can identify them for you), that will give you a better chance at identifying the larvae. Some amphibians will lay eggs in any available water source. I've seen frogs laying eggs in tire tracks in the mud.

They are NOT axolotls, as this is a completely neotenic species native to only two lakes in Mexico.

Pond water will be fine for now, but for a more stable food source, I suggest getting a daphnia culture and then moving up to blackworms as the larvae grow.

 

[karen]

Thanks for the feedback. I feel a little silly now thinking that they were Axolotls after further research. I think that salamanders are probably a better guess. We have seen some sort of creature with yellow and black spots in there. Probably mommy or daddy

I am glad for the surprise though. The fact that they weren't tadpoles. It has created a terrific learning opportunity for me and the kids and introduced us to a whole new animal that we didn't even know existed. A really neat one at that! I think they are beautiful. Love the fuzzy gills.

It will be interesting to see what we end up with. When they get big enough not to be eaten by the gold fish then we will release them back into the pond most likely.

Thanks!
Karen

 

[kaysie]

My guess would then be 'spotted salamanders', Ambystoma maculatum. Try looking and seeing if that looks right.

Good luck.