E. Bislineata larvae specifics?

[FredLikesNewts]

Any specific care info or tips about keeping these salamanders? I read the care specific article so you do not have to direct me there. I recently caught two larvae to study and observe for some amount of time and its been a while since iI've last cared for salamanders. I was also wondering how people here collect food for the larvae? I'm going to try to culture some Daphnia and some scuds, although i doubt I'll have much success with the scuds. ALso the Euryceas i have are developed but are still small.

 

[Otterwoman]

I fed mine chopped blackworms when it was a larva. As adults, I had a springtail culture living in the tank, and fed them whole blackworms.

 

[FredLikesNewts]

ahh I forgot about blackworms, I used to feed them to my long gone axolotls, but the pet shop where I got them from was cleared and now there's a brand new Starbucks in its place...

Are there any online sources where you can buy less than a pound? because that is all I've seen and larger increments.

 

[taherman]

Search through leaf litter this time of year and you can often find tiny earthworms which will fit the bill. Also try grindal worms which you can order small cultures of online.

Mosquito larvae, midge larvae, bloodworms, and other small fly larvae can be collected in just about any standing water and are eaten readily by aquatic larvae. I saw your other post, and maggots should work too. You might consider rinsing them if you collect them from really nasty sources. I've heard you can culture them on wet dog food but I've never tried it.

Good luck!

-Tim

 

[FredLikesNewts]

Awesome, thanks for the reply taherman.

I think I'm going to try for mosquito larvae and take bags of pond water and see what shows up in them, nymphs, daphnia, etc...

Sorry for raising another question, would daphnia be suitable for 1-1.5 inch E. Bislineata larvae?

 

[taherman]

Actually I just morphed out several wilderae about that size, so I've got some recent experience...

Maybe if you get very large daphnia they would work, but by the time they are 1.5" they seem to be interested in bigger things. One larva can eat 3 to 4 blackworms at a time, and be ready to eat the next day. If you feed mosquito larvae, try lowering the water level down to 3/4" because the mosquito larvae will hang at the surface while the salamander sits on the bottom. Other fly larvae sink better and are more accessible in deeper water.

Also be careful not to add predaceous insect larvae/nymphs (dragonfly, damselfly, diving beetle) with the pond water.

-Tim

 

[cecalak]

If these larvae were wild-caught and that site is nearby, an easy way to feed larvae is to collect leaf litter from that area. If you ensure that no predatory invertebrates in the leaf litter, there are generally plenty of other small invertebrates that can serve as prey for larval E. bislineata. Also, you can leave that leaf litter for several days before replacing the litter. Good luck!

 

[FredLikesNewts]

Yea I've introduced some daphnia into the tank, although I can't tell if they were eaten or if they got sucked into the filter (if that's possible) since there is a mild flow which I wanted because they're stream salamanders. The two mosquito larvae that I've placed in the tank seemed to have disappeared although it also may have been due to the filter or they might be hidden among the watercress I planted, although I'll hope for the best.

Also about predaceous insect larvae, wouldn't newly hatched ones that are rather small be suitable food? I usually find a couple small when I gather bags of pond water.

EDIT: just wanted to say that I put more mosquito larvae in the tank and they gulped them up! which is a good thing, first time I've seen them eat.

 

[jbherpin]

My Bislineata larvals always enjoyed worm "tips" (just the two very tip ends cut off),and Brine Shrimp (well rinsed in cold water). When they morph out the flightless fruit flies are greedily accepted. I always do vitamin/mineral dusting, and the flies hold the powder pretty well. Just a few different food options that have worked very well for me. Good luck, and keep us updated!

-jbherpin-

 

[amkid247]

i have a single larva of the same species right now. he's growing up on blackworms

 

[jbherpin]

I forgot to mention that the Brine Shrimp I offer are live. My Bislineata are kind of picky eaters. They never responded to frozen anything, or commercial (pre-prepared pelleted foods) diets. They truly seemed to rely on the movement of the prey before any other "trigger". That is why I only had success with live prey, I think. I have a decent journal based partly on wild populations, and captive individuals. My study was based on larval accounts through adult specimens. The specimens I studied are from Northern Ohio. If anyone is interested, I'll post on the field work section. Just let me know!
-jbherpin-