<i>Cynops ensicauda popei</i> rearing

Well last night I transferred my Cynops ensicauda popei larvae into a 45cm long x 20cm wide tank. Water depth is approximately 13 cm. I have 13 now (I had 14 but one died mysteriously) and they're 3 cm long. I'm keeping them at 22 degrees Celsius and the tank is filtered by the smallest Eheim Aquaball internal power filter. The flow is minimised and directed up into a corner of the tank so only the immediate surroundings of the filter are subject to noticeable water flow. A small Visitherm heater maintains the temperature and the only light comes from an adjacent tank (they are glass to glass). There is some Java Moss (Vesicularia dubyana) in the aquarium and the larvae enjoy climbing around in it. There is no substrate.

Their diet consists of microworms (which they're really too big for now), chopped bloodworm cubes and Daphnia (number of Daphnia permitting). They are fed daily.

I will post a photo or two tonight of the setup.

Any comments on this setup and regimen?

Oh I should point out that (as I had hoped when I saw the design) the Aquaball doesn't suck in Daphnia. This is due to the fact that the filter takes water in from all sides and the bottom of the media cartridge. This therefore seems to be the ideal power filter solution for larvae that will tolerate some water flow.

I know you didn't mean this as a discussion of Daphnia, John, but this brings up a question I have had: how does one know if a filter will be compatible with Daphnia (i.e., not suck them up)? I am particularly interested in this as I would like to build a pond, but would like to be able to grow Daphnia and other small critters in it.

Regarding the setup, it sure sounds fine to me!

Sounds perfectly fine to me too Have you detected any tail-biting going on? The addition of java moss certainly helps reduce crowding. Look forward to seeing those pics!

Jen - you really don't know until you put the Daphnia the tank with it. As a general guide, if it has a small inlet (such as the end of a tube) or it is very high powered, it's probably not compatible with them. This baby aquaball is the first one I've had that I'm comfortable with as being reasonably Daphnia friendly right off the shelf.

Tim - yes, there was some tailbiting before I moved them to the more spacious accommodation. I think this was mainly due to the microworms - these were too small for the larvae and they thought that tails would make a better meal. They are somewhat aggressive when there's bloodworm in the water, which was quite a surprise to me.

Sorry I didn't get around to taking photos last night. I will be putting some more java moss in this evening, courtesy of my sub-adult Tylototriton verrucosus (they seem to have green fingers for Java Moss).

John, what's the latest with your ensicauda larvae? They should be starting to morph about now...

Hi Tim,

They're all between 4 and 4.5 cm at the moment. Some are starting to show body colour changes but none have metamorphosed yet. I'm hoping they stay larvae until they're at least 5cm. Keep your fingers crossed for me please .

Well I've now posted this:

http://www.caudata.org/forum/cgi-bin/show.cgi?tpc=985&post=22488#POST22488

This is my favourite photo for a long time: