Tank setup for larvae and morphs

Here is the tank I have used for raising Triturus marmoratus larvae. This type of setup could be used for a variety of species. It is a 15-gallon and I have raised up to about 25 larvae in this tank.

The eggs were placed directly in the tank. After hatching, the larvae were difficult to see, but I kept them with a supply of small daphnia. Also I'm sure they grazed on the natural microinvertebrates that live in a well-established planted tank. Until they get large enough to see, this process is a bit of a "flying blind" experience, but the larvae always end up healthy.

The bottom of the tank is bare, except for algae. I have minimized flat objects in the bottom of the tank so that the blackworms cannot hide too well.

When they morph, the metamorphs emerge onto the flat island. The cork bark is there so that they feel safe on land, in the hopes that they are less likely to dive back in and drown. After they emerge, I move them to a terrestrial setup, which is shown in the last photo.

Yours are nice and fat!!

very nice! How big are your morphs, nose-to-tail? And what kind of cleaning regime, if any, did you have in there?

I also work like this (for the larval setup. I also use a layer of gravel on the bottom, for the biological balance. I've raised (for example) around 100 popei larvae in this kind of setup (tank is a plastic box 50 cm long, with just 20 liters of water). 89 of them morphed without fall-out. I don't use a filter, only an air-pump.

Likewise, I use just an airstone, no filter. The cleaning regimen is just turkey-basting and partial water changes. When the larvae are newly-hatched, I don't do any cleaning except the partial water changes (dipping out the water carefully to be sure I don't dump any larvae).

you guys are the newt whisperers

I moved my apuanus to a comparable setup about halfway through their development and haven't looked back. My marms grow up in a setup like that as well. Except, I do have a sponge filter instead of just a bubbler in there.

How big should marms be at morphing, ideally?

can I ask a few more OCD questions ?

Jen - what kind of substrate do you use for the terrestrial setup?

Joost - do you vacuum the gravel? When you feed blackworms, don't they disappear into the gravel and die in there and spoil the water or something like that?

also, do you ever have larvae of different ages/sizes in there together, and if so, isn't there any cannibalism?

I've done nothing during the whole time I have larvae in it. I only added some water from another healthy tank because of the evaporation.

I feed mostly Tubifex worms, but not too much at once. So mostly will be eaten right away. Also Daphnia will be fed, but they stay alive for a very long period, and even multiply in this setup.

I keep larvae with differnt size in this setup. Occasionally cannibalism has been seen. The eaten one are mostly slow growers, or not healthy larvae. So I see this as a natural selection. I rather want the strongest to morph and survive.

sounds great. I have a number of larvae who grow up in their parents' tank and they eat some of their small siblings and eggs, no doubt. I named the fattest one Hanibal, bwaahaa

I like this thread - it tells me that sometimes the less one micro-manages, the better things will work out.

Tengo una pregunta .Cuanto tiempo tardan en su fase terrestre desde que se metamorfosean gracias