FIRE larvae floating!?

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Mike Gent

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Good evening Gang!

Hope you are all OK.

Our 'flock' of newly laid FIRE salamander young are doing OK at the moment (Albeit we lost 2 within the first 24 hours).

However, one thing that is odd is that they all have a tendency to occasionally float to the surface very gradually and rest at the top. After a while they go back down again.

Is this normal? Are they tired? (We dont have much weed in the tanks so do they need more to allow them to rest near the surface?)

I will try and get some pics soon. (I couldnt find my video camera when the female was actually giving birth....it was amazing and we almost felt privileged to be witness!)

Thanks for any help offered,

Cheers,

Mike Gent
 
I have seen very young larvae (much too young to breathe air) come to the surface and gulp a mouthful of air. Then they "hover" midwater and wait for passing daphnia. Based on this, I think that larvae have some ability to regulate their own buoyancy. On the other hand, sometimes they get air bubbles in their gut and are unable to submerge; this can be a serious problem, though it's usually not fatal unless it persists for a long time.

In your case, I suspect that the larvae are doing this voluntarily - or else they are coming up involuntarily, but are able to get back down again voluntarily. It doesn't sound to me as if they have a problem. Are you feeding them daphnia?
 
Flaoting loonies!

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

I think you may be right re the voluntary floating.

They are being fed on Daphnia alone from my clean garden pond...and endless supply thankfully as there seems to be a major shortage in bloodworms etc in the UK!

I will keep you posted,

Regards,

Mike.

Jennewt said:
I have seen very young larvae (much too young to breathe air) come to the surface and gulp a mouthful of air. Then they "hover" midwater and wait for passing daphnia. Based on this, I think that larvae have some ability to regulate their own buoyancy. On the other hand, sometimes they get air bubbles in their gut and are unable to submerge; this can be a serious problem, though it's usually not fatal unless it persists for a long time.

In your case, I suspect that the larvae are doing this voluntarily - or else they are coming up involuntarily, but are able to get back down again voluntarily. It doesn't sound to me as if they have a problem. Are you feeding them daphnia?
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