War wound

Larva with end of tail bitten off - ouch

Head sticking out of water.

Fat larva - maybe he ate the tail?

Nice shots mark, hope the tail grows back

It appears to be starting to grow back already. Larva can be pretty tough. What species is this larva?

Thanks Jeff.
Al, they are P.waltl larvae. Yes they do have remarkable regenerative powers. There are a number that have had feet and limbs bitten off but they grow back surprisingly quick. Gill damage seems to provoke excessive growth in remaining undamaged gills. The photo below shows an individual whose gills have been “nibbled” and the remaining healthy gill has grown longer than normal to compensate for the loss. I suppose regeneration is pointless as they are only temporary.

i found out the hard way that large P waltl larvae are still considered snacks to adults. these were well over 2.5" and i put them in to the adult tank figuring they will eat more in there due to larger food objects for their bigger mouths, they will eat less of their siblings (in parts or whole), and they will have more room so they will morph bigger. P waltl adults seem harmless enough, and when i first introduced them they didnt even take notice of the kids.....3 weeks later i found one in the tank just like your first photo..the other 2 were nowhere to be found....

Oh dear… they are very aggressive feeders. I keep larvae and adults separate, split into various sizes - they still take chunks out of each other. During feeding time some individuals appear more intent on attacking their siblings than actually eating. I often have to lift a fighting pair out of the tank and physically separate them to prevent loss of limbs. I have a large old male that begs for earth worms, but the instant blood worms are dropped into the tank he amplexes the nearest female. He never eats the blood worms, he’s too busy, and the poor female he’s grabbed misses out too! Someone on the forum suggested that they grew larger in captivity if males and females are kept separate - maybe they concentrate more on food than reproduction!

When breeding pleurodele larva, I keep medium sized river stones and some scattered gravel on the bottom with lots of plants. This creates natural barriers and cuts down on predation and cannibalism. Make sure you are culling off any larva with mutation traits (IE: spinning, floating, etc.) Culling is not easy for a keeper to consider, but it is in line what would happen in nature. This will give you some genetic selection (with the naked eye) and some relative strength in your offspring's gene pool.

This is the time for breeding and pleuros will try to breed year round, even though males only produce viable spermataphore supposedly 6 months out the year. Feeding will always trigger amplexis. I find sometimes pellet foods (sinking) will last longer and be eaten over a 24 hour period. Hand feeding earth worm pieces with forceps is another alternative.