Eurycea Cirrigera eggs hatched: Unprepared and need HELP!

[Risigan]

Ok, just now 2 of my 5 E. cirrigera eggs hatched. I planned to feed them some copepods, but my culture is nowhere near ready enough to supply them with food. So hear are my 2 big questions, how long should I wait to feed them and what are some emergency foods? At the moment I have access to various types of fish food, frozen bloodworms, and some salamander/frog pellets. I may be able to scrounge up a few ostracods from some of my planted tanks. Any ideas, I am really desperate!

 

[Risigan]

Can someone please give me some advice. I am really desperate right now!

 

[Aneides]

I do not keep Eurycea, nor have I ever, but I think I can give you some guidelines:
a. Try going to your local pet store and see what food sources they have available.
b. Go to the locality where these animals (if possible) were collected and find food items that might appeal to larvae.

Aneides

 

[Aneides]

Actually, try the bloodworms and the salamander pellets first.

Aneides

 

[stanleyc]

Caudata Culture Species Entry - Eurycea - Two-lined and Junaluska

It doesn't go in detail too much about larvae care, but it does say

"The larvae feed readily on small live foods such as bloodworms, blackworms, whiteworms, and grindal worms and are easily maintained with the methods used for larvae of newts."

So there you go, just look up general newt larvae raising methods and they should work fine. Your frozen bloodworms should be good. Blackworms/tubifex worms should be good, chopped is probably preferable. Daphnia is probably very good as well. I don't know much about this species, but salamander larvae are usually born with a yellow yolk sac in their belly, which you can easily see. They are supplied with food as long as this yolk is present. But I've had Orientalis eat a little daphnia even before the yolk sac disappears. Of course that is an entirely different species. I would take a look and see if your larvae are hatched with a yolk sac, if they are, you can probably not worry about feeding until it disappears. However I would put some food in there even before the yolk disappears to see if they'll bite, just make sure to clean out the uneaten food.

 

[Risigan]

Will the larvae eat bloodworms that aren't moveing? If not, how could I make them move so that they will catch the larvaes attention.

 

[Jennewt]

Do the larvae still have any yolk? This photo shows what the yolk would look like:
Caudata Culture Photo Series - Tylototriton verrucosus development
If they have yolk, then it's too soon to start trying to feed them.

There are two problems with the frozen bloodworms. First, as you guessed, the lack of movement might mean they aren't eaten. Second, any non-live food will quickly foul the water, so you better have some good cleaning protocols in place. If you are unable to get anything else, they might learn to take the chopped frozen bloodworms, but it's not certain.

Here are some other options
Caudata Culture Articles - Microfoods
Among them, your best bets on short notice might be pond water or tank water with microscopic life in it. Next, call all the pet stores within driving distance (the smaller shops, not Petsmart or Petco) and ask if they have live bloodworms/blackworms. If you can find these, you are all set!

 

[Risigan]

I have found a decent population of ostracods in my planted tank, so I am currently feeding them those. There seems to be a little of the yolk still present, but that hasn't stopped them from feeding on the baby ostracods. I am not sure how long the ostacods will last (it is by no means an endless supply) so I will try and go down to a local fish store that I believe has blackworms. As for cleaning, I am currently doing daily 50% water changes, so I think their water quality should be fine. Any idea's on how to make frozen bloodworms move? They are going to be my emergency/backup food.