Unexpected and inexperienced newt mother

I got 3 fire bellied newts in Sept 2010. I researched them before I actually bought them from the pet store. I was under the impression that it was hard to breed them in captivity, unless you preformed certain things. I did not do anything to encourage breeding.
Anyway, I had them in a 29gal tank and decided to upgrade them to a 40gal tank this past week. When I went to scoop out some of the feeder fish I discovered newtpoles (?). I counted atleast 11 that I readily saw; some with front legs and some with both front and back legs. So I rushed to the store to get a filter to keep in this tank with the babies and several eggs left, unhatched thus far.
I have searched all over this site and several others. I would like all the info in 1 spot if possible. I had not been feeding the babies anything special. I didn’t even know they were there. I feed my adult FBN frozen blood worms 1-2x/wk and sinkable newt pellets 2-3times a week.
My adult newts, I keep aquatic. I do provide a few places very close to the surface and some above the surface, yet hardly see them there, if ever.
I have the baby newts in a 1-4 inches of water with the gravel from when the adults where in there. I added extra plants and hiding spots and a few places outside the water.
Please, please help me. Even tho not prepared or expected, I would like to help them survive and grow as best as possible:
1. What do I feed them? How often?
2. How long does it take to morph?
3. When they morph what should I put them in or on?
4. What should I feed them after they morph? How to feed them? How often?
5. How many morphed can be kept together and in what size tank?
6. When can they be introduced back to water?
7. When can I give them to friends who want them? How will I know they are ready?
8. Any other useful information?
Thank you so much for all of your help.

Congratulations!
Have you read the reproduction&rearing articles here: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/articles.shtml
I think you will find most answers in there.
Good luck with the larvae!

evut said:

Congratulations!
Have you read the reproduction&rearing articles here: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/articles.shtml
I think you will find most answers in there.
Good luck with the larvae!

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Eva,
Thank you. I tried the link but it said page not found. Any other suggestions? Or know how I could get to it?

I copy and pasted it and it opened! Thank you I am on the reading.

You may also find this informative:
Caudata Culture Articles - Why Larvae Die

Insane1818 said:

I counted atleast 11 that I readily saw; some with front legs and some with both front and back legs. So I rushed to the store to get a filter to keep in this tank with the babies and several eggs left, unhatched thus far.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

Click to expand...

What kind of filter did you buy? Pump filters are bad news for larvae, because the suction can overwhelm a larvae and can either leave them stuck to the filter, or worse yet, get sucked into the filter and chopped up by the propeller.

I've never needed anything more than an air pump, with a line and airstone running into the water, and a turkey baster to suck up any accumulating debris.

I got a small fliter that you can place inside the tank, and placed a fine mesh over the intake slots and then pt a large rock infront of it...seems to be working thus far with any larvae around the fliter.

What are you using for food for them? Sometimes the food being used will dictate the type of filter and other tank decor that will work. Another thing to watch out for with the submersible pumps is that they tend to heat the water, which is something to avoid.

I wasn't feeding them anything, until I discovered them. I tried the mashed up newt pellets, until the store got in blackworms. I am attempting to cut them up and feed them to the babies. I have seen some of them eat, so I hope it is working. It is the smallest live food I have found in 5 pet shops/stores around.

The temp hasnt seemed to have gone up, per the thermometer. I have checked the filter daily to make sure it does not feel warm.

This was me 2 years ago. Most of my larvae survived on live Daphnia and a frozen and thawed mixture containing Daphnia and baby brine shrimp. You can find live foods online. Once a little bigger, it was live blackworms and white worms with some frozen and thawed bloodworms. I "saved" my eggs and newtpoles, one time having 8 bins of them in varying stages. Natural selection would have left me far less than the 30-40 I have now. I'm now down to three aquatic tanks w/o filters and one dry tank for terrestrials who still haven't gone aquatic. For the land stage, you'll need fruit flies, springtails, and pinhead crickets. It's about 3 months, if I remember correctly, from hatching to the newts losing their gills and going on land. When gills shrink, be sure you have an area of land for them.

Good luck,
Dana

Thanks Dana, I feel I'm going to need it.

"one dry tank for terrestrials who still haven't gone aquatic." Is this from your batch 2 years ago??

How long are they in the terrestrial stage? When will I know if they are ready to go back to beingg aquatic?