Bloat/Edema issues with larval Lissotriton v. ampelensis

I posted in the species forums rather than the illness help as this is more of an observation than a call for help. I am wondering if anyone else has had the same experience when raising Lissotriton (or any other species).

I've observed in the two years I have raised Lissotriton larvae that a small have suffered from serious edema as they develop. The onset initially followed rear leg development and slowly increased in severity as the larvae grew. Last year it effected about 1% of larvae.

This year I experimented with two different methods of raising larvae; a 28L plastic tub in a basement kept at 58-62F and a 15 gallon tank "pond" set up with live plants left outdoors. The outdoor tank experienced a wider range of temperature but did not get above 70F during the day or below 55F at night. Out of 30 Lissotriton larvae left outdoors nearly half developed bloat following rear leg development. I have a similar outdoor set up with T. dobrogicus larvae and have experienced no losses or bloat. In the basement set up only 2 of 60 larvae had any bloat issues.

My take away from this is that Lissotriton v. ampelensis seem especially prone to stress issues during significant points in larval development and that stable temperature is essential to success. While this can be said for all larvae, some species I've raised (T. dobrogicus, M. a. apuanus, T. karelinii) show much greater tolerance for temperature change. I have only experienced bloat issues with Lissotriton. Have any other keepers come to similar conclusions or have any additional insight? I would love to hear others' experiences.

These photographs are of the worst effected animals right before euthanasia.

Hello Perry,

Hope I have not problems in reviving this topic.

I experienced the same problem with axolotl larvae.
I'm still new to it, but I will give my opinion.

Adults axolotls, when they consume large amounts of food tend to have dificudaldes to swim. As if within them, there was a buoy that pulls upward.
This ocorrore solely on very hot days.
I solved the problem by letting the animals larger volume of water, and cooling the site.

When spawned last winter, I managed to raise large amount of larvae.
But when he began to warm weather (well above the temperatures that you said) the remaining larvae that were with me (as with the four-legged) had exactly the same problem that I see in your photos.

I concluded that this is related to poor digestion and gas accumulation.
The cause?
Perhaps elevated temperatures ....


All the larvae became swollen died.

A friend who has Pleurodeles said he solved the problem by using a remedy for gases in humans. The drug is "drops" I used and actually the swelling disappeared, but then the animals died.

I am at the moment through the winter. My animals have not spawned. This year I intend to work around the problem.