I went to Arabia Mountain just outside of Atlanta on Sunday and found these little aquatic isopods. I'd never seen them before but a little research told me they are Lirceus fontinalis. I grabbed two groups from different pools and have them set up in Sterilites. Anyone know anything about them in terms of breeding and keeping? Here are a few pictures.
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Is anyone familar with Lirceus fontinalis?
- Thread starter JMH
- Start date
otolith
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- Dec 16, 2009
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I had these in a tank for awhile, they reproduce fairly slowly but I had a stable population. They were very easy to keep in a planted tank with lots of driftwood. I caught mine in a reservoir outside Baltimore, MD. If i caught one and held it with tweezers in front of the newt's head they would eat them, but the newts (Lissotriton vulgaris and Taricha rivularis) would not go out of their way to hunt them down. These isopods are very secretive and tend to hide under wood and detritus. I prefer scuds/gammarus as resident feeders.
I have 4 cultures of these guys going now and found the best production comes from a gravel substrate, large rocks for cover, gentle aeration, and leaves. Virtually no maintenance, just add water occasionally and add more leaves once they have been eaten.
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Shane douglas:with axolotls would I basically have to keep buying and buying new axolotls to prevent inbred breeding which costs a lot of money??+1
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Thorninmyside:Not necessarily but if you’re wanting to continue to grow your breeding capacity then yes. Breeding axolotls isn’t a cheap hobby nor is it a get rich quick scheme. It costs a lot of money and time and deditcation+1
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Clareclare:Would Chinese fire belly newts be more or less inclined towards an aquatic eft set up versus Japanese . I'm raising them and have abandoned the terrarium at about 5 months old and switched to the aquatic setups you describe. I'm wondering if I could do this as soon as they morph?+1
Clareclare:
Would Chinese fire belly newts be more or less inclined towards an aquatic eft set up versus...
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