Warties

Okay. I am still relatively new to Asian salamandrids. BUT, I got 6 Paramesotriton today. 2 of which lack red or orange bellies. They otherwise look like the others (which I think are caudopuncatus)... but the bellies are greenish-gray and lacking any hint of orange.

Is this a different species? I can find nothing in the literature I have indicating that any of the other species lack orange. Or are these older animals? or sick? or males? Basically... what's up with this?

Greg

Greg, congrats on your acquisition! I have a pair of caudos that also don't have red or orange bellies, but rather whitish, light greenish bellies with black dots. The 5 others I keep have orange bellies though. I bought the two without such coloring separately from the others. So it may just be a regional variation...

By the way, they are quite territorial and can be pretty nasty with each other so be sure to provide places to shelter behind...rocks, driftwood...anything to break up space in the aquarium. I'm sure you'll enjoy them!

I understand they are semi-aquatic.... how much land should I provide? Does anyone have a care sheet to this genus? There isn't one at Caudate Central that I could find (or at least not for this species... I'll check again to be sure).

Greg

Hi Greg, they are totally aquatic as adults in my experience, and need plenty of hiding places, as Tim mentioned because of their aggressive behaviour between males.The juvies when rearing are different than other paramesotriton as mine take to the water after only a month or two on land after transformation. Then they grow like pigs feeding on blackworms, earthworms ect...Keep your adults cool in well oxygenated aquaria. Good luck!

Greg, I once bought 8 warty newts from a pet shop. They turned out to be 3 different species. So don't rule out the possibility that they are from different sources entirely.

Tim, didn't you also have a case where the males/females had strikingly different coloration? I can't remember exactly, but I think there was a question about whether they were opposite sexes or different species.

Greg, do they look anything like this?:

Why Yes. They do.

I've looked closer and there are at least 2 species here. There's also one that is light colored like this, but with a reddish stripe at midline and a row of ocelli para-midline. The ocelli seem to have darker gray or bluish spots in the middle. does this ring any bells?

I need to take pics.

greg

Greg, by "midline" you mean in the dorsal ridegline? (sorry but I'm a bit illiterate when it comes to describing newt anatomy ) If so, then maybe you have something like this in mind:


(reposted pics)

Jen, the males generally have prominent spots on their tails, making it easy to tell them apart from the females. Other than that, there is the occasional difference in belly coloration noted above. I'll have to check to see if it's only the males that sometimes lack red/orange belly coloration, but I don't think that's necessarily the case. I have seen males with spotted tails AND bright orange bellies.

Greg, as Craig said, they seem pretty much totally aquatic as adults. I'll watch them a little more closely to confirm what Craig said regarding the aggressive behavior being primarily between males.

Craig, I envy you for having bred & reared caudo juvies! Please post pics of larvae/juvies if you can

By the way, I use a standard overhead filter with my caudo tank to circulate the water and keep it well oxygenated as Craig recommended.



I'd also recommend adding driftwood or something like it because they really seem to like hanging out on it, often vertically





I've since removed the driftwood as it made the water too dark to see much of anything. While I've provided them with artificial lily pads to climb up on, they rarely do.

I especially like the last one, hehehe.
A "caudopunctatus-cliff-hanger".

Ralf

The redline down the back is indeed what I was meaning by midline. I have one though that on either side of that red line has a series of circles with greenish centers.... like Notophthalmus, but not red.

What size tank do folks recommend for 3 or 4... assuming ideal sex ratio.

Greg

Yes Greg, you definitely need to get some pics of this critter up so we can feast our eyes on it! I for one would love to see those ocelli!

Ralf, it seems that one newt has laid claim to that particular territory as it's almost always there. I intend to return the driftwood to the tank after...ah, what's the word for it...I give up, but I mean getting the wood to stop shedding reddish color. (as is more and more frequently the case, my English fails me but I know the Japanese word for it -- "aka-nuki"

How are your caudos Ralf? You do keep some, don't you? Or was it just chinensis and hongkongensis?

(Message edited by TJ on October 11, 2003)

Seems the English expression is to "weather" a piece of driftwood to get it to stop "leaching" tannic acid into the water, turning it brown. There's a kind of powder sold here that when mixed with water is supposed to hasten the weathering process.

Just hongkongensis and fuzhongensis, Tim.

Ralf

I can assure you, Ralf, caudopunctatus are much livelier, more alert than either of those. They zip around the tank, chase and nip at each other. Quite entertaining actually

Hi Tim, and Greg, regarding pics on the development of p.caudopunctatus, no problem! I can send to your e-mail if you wish but for some reason I cannot get them on to the forum...I have tried many time in vain. Also I can send some cb juveniles to both of you if you wish at shipping expense...I can send C.O.D! I raised over 300 this year so feeding is getting to be a problem. I only have around 40 or so left though. Tim in seeing your pics, it looks to me that you have some of the "blue" caudopunctatus, or are your pictures adding the blue?

Craig, as for the blue, are you referring to the 5th pic I posted up above, the one on the left? If so, then no, it's not a camera effect. That was how they appeared to the naked eye. Those two are still with me, though that amazing coloration has faded somewhat. I don't know if those were their breeding colors, or something do to their diet in the wild. Here they eat mostly bloodworm. A couple pics to show how they are now:





(Message edited by TJ on December 16, 2005)

Craig,

I am interested in some CB little dudes. Let's chat off-list for the arrangements.

Greg

Back to that 5th picture posted above, does anybody know what is that lush green coloration is all about? Something to do with breeding, I would guess. I've also seen it appear on a few C. pyrrhogaster, like this one, a pic of which I found on a Japanese site:



(can't disclose the source of the pic just yet...)

Hi all
Unfortunately, i can´t be that active these days,
but some work still has to be done,and life has to go on,...

Yes, definitely a gorgeous species discussed in here,....!!!It always lived anywhere in my head, but the wish came out these days, when i saw some Hynobius dunni(you don´t have to and even can´t understand how i got to P.caudopunctatus then,.....;-))
Actually it seems to be the only urodele species, i´m interested to keep beneath my favourites,....

So i would really be glad to be allowed to raise Juveniles, cause you can learn much more of the
treatment of certain newts, by getting them as juveniles,.....
But still some questions remain(Especially for Craig, but interesting for all!):
Did they breed "shortly" after having been imported or did you really find the reasons for them,
starting to multiply themselves ?;-)
What range of temperatures dou YOU offer them?Have there been any problems while raising them?
(like "not returning into water" or things like this?How fast have they been growing so far?Are there any favourite food-sources?)
Greets,
Philipp
P.S.:Ralf:Sorry, i couldn´t be in Gersfeld,
cause there was a sudden death one week before,....!

Hey Philipp,
hab mir schon gedacht, daß dir kurzfristig etwas Wichtiges dazwischengefunkt hat. Kein Problem!

Ralf