Cynops ensicauda popei riparium

Well now!

My setup was made several weeks ago and finally they contain the long awaited inhabitants!
The tank is a Juwel 80 and it houses a pair of adults and 6 juveniles. The plants within are Java moss, Java fern and other assorted aquatic plants. The "bank" consists of a slate staircase leading to an island naturally covered with moss while a long floating piece of cork bark supports samples of cushion moss and other mosses.


Here is a close up of the female and the juveniles which hatched in July 2005. The juveniles come from a mixed "parentage"as the former owner bred them in a very large community tank.

Great setup! and your newts sure looks happy.

it looks like godzilla and her babies.

Wow cool tank
I bet your newts love it!

Very nice tank. As Ed and I have been talking recently about this, I will mention it-- I would worry about adding wild moss into your tank as it could be a possible vector of Chytrid fungus. Since the moss is already in the tank there's not much you can do, but something to think of in the future.
j

Justin, A very disturbing post to read. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Yes I have read about Chytrid fungal infections and their vectors. I guess It is a bit too late at the moment unless I screen the inhabitants inside. Most of the vegetation were purchased from nurseries who grow them in rather sterile conditions but this says nothing I suppose. I'll be more prudent in the future. In the meanwhile here are things currently:


Here is a juvenile making it's way through the bank area.


As for the moss, I bought these in a garden center where they offer it for sale as topping for pots and/or terrariums. They are sold in polystyrene crates. These mosses are often sold in reptile/amphibian fairs for terrarium add-ons.I do not know how these are cultivated. Perhaps something the people in the amphibian and reptile fairs neglected or overlooked when selling moss to people? So who is to say what these mosses already contain:


The inhabitants are doing very well so far. I seriously hope nothing happens to them then. In any case it is a wee bit too late since they have been there for some time.

Hi Terry,
The sheet mosses are typically collected from the wild and are not cultured.

Ed

Hello Edward.

Yes I kind of noticed that since the sheet moss contained bits of plant material and sometimes leaves from pines. After posting that yesterday I went to the plant nursery and they were selling more moss for the *groan* christmas decorations. Again they had pillow-moss but they also had lots of sheet moss. It looks to me they just removed it from the forest floor.

Justin, I would safely assume everyone who includes moss from the wild must be at risk of chytrid infection then since some of the people here in Europe collect mosses from the fields and forests to decorate their terrarium. This puts a lot of hobbyists and breeders at risk then since most sources of mosses around here are from the wild.

(Message edited by terryschild on November 13, 2005)

Terry, you are indeed correct that anyone who collects moss, wood, etc from the wild are at risk for a Chytrid infection. I think it's safe to assume that it is already in some collections (both frog and salamander). Ed knows a bit more of the more recent literature on Chytrid-- I know what it looks like in the Neotropics as it extirpates species.
j