separating larva

Hi everyone,

Yesterday, as "Newty" approached one month of age, I separated him/her and his/her three larger siblings (all having back legs) from the younger ones. I put the eggs in a third container that have yet to hatch.

My question is this: Is my combination of a Daphnia-like frozen combo, frozen baby brine shrimp, and live Daphnia adequate for these larger newtpoles? When can I move them to the adult food of frozen bloodworms? Do I have to move first to black worms, and if so, how do I get them. I've seen so many posts and links on cultivating worms, but frankly, I'm a little sick thinking of this jar of lettuce/cabbage on my kitchen window sill! LOL - I'll do what it takes, but is there anything I must do as I move into month 2 w/ these babies?

Thanks for all your help,
Dana

You should give white worms a shot. All I use to culture them is a coco fiber/peat mix and then feed them bread slices. If you bury the bread, it will cut down on mold.

It would really help to know what species you are talking about, Dana. These pages should give you some guidance on various types of worms:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/worms.shtml
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/microfoods.shtml

Blackworms cannot be cultured, but they do need to be kept in your refrigerator, which is a problem for some situations. Being in a major city, i would bet that there is a pet shop near you that sells them. Call around and find out. You'll have better luck with small specialty shops, not the large chain stores. If not available locally, they can be ordered, for example here:
http://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=59736
If they are rinsed daily and kept in SHALLOW water, a supply of blackworms can be kept in the fridge for over a month. So while the upfront cost may seem high, one or two batches may be able to last for almost the whole time you are raising larvae.

Whiteworms, as Justin suggests, are simple to culture. They do require cool temperature. Grindle worms are similar, smaller worms, and don't need to be kept cool. I dont' think you'll need to keep any rotting cabbage on the windowsill:crazy:

Jennewt said:

It would really help to know what species you are talking about, Dana. :

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Sorry, I have Fire Belly Newts, C. Orientalis. Will check out the links. I think I did once, but I wasn't at that stage just yet.

BTW, one of the larva hatched but seemed to have a large void in it's midsection - like it was an air pocket. It was the only casualty (I realize the tough part lies ahead when they morph) thus far. I don't believe it had been attacked by Newty or other larger ones as it seemed to just be lacking pigment. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Dana

Bubbles in the stomach are a mayor problem. They can develop into bloat(caused by aeromonas??), and are usually the consequence of inadequate water quality. Make sure the water is properly suited for them, and the problem should disappear. At least when i had that problem that´s what i did.

Azhael,

The water is good - tested several times per week due to the high concentration of food in the tank. Water is partially changed daily and a large change is done at least weekly.

This one, to my knowledge, never swam. I check them several times/day and it's the only one that seemed malformed thus far. Perhaps it died shortly after emerging, but I never saw it swimming. I went to feed and check on them and saw it, dead in the water. I didn't tell the kids or anything, just removed it.

Do you think, if it was a bubble (looked like the midsection was translucent or missing, then black pigment started up for the tail again), that the others are susceptible to bloat? So far, they are fine.

Thanks,
Dana

vistajpdf said:

Do you think, if it was a bubble (looked like the midsection was translucent or missing, then black pigment started up for the tail again), that the others are susceptible to bloat? So far, they are fine.

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It doesn't sound like it was a "bubble" to me. Bubbles look like, well bubbles. Theres no mistaking them. Bubbles don't always mean bloat, most cases I have seen result from a larva not eating and it will usually resolve its self as soon as they feed and get full.