Help, got a salamander tadpole

[chrispy]

ok, so i got one for free and i dont want to flush him so i am gonna raise him. Right now he is in a little half gallon carry tank, but i have a 2.5 gallon rectangle tank for him then eventaully a bigger tank. Well i need to know how to care for him. I read to grind up flakes and maybe some lettuce. How long do they take to develop? Also how old must they be to ID them. Here are some pictures i took with my phone but they are bad because it wont focus on him. I will get some better ones up later

oh and i probly should describe him. he has a high dorsal fin. the dorsal fin starts pretty back on him. his eyes are just black spots like a guppie. he is tan with spots or dark gren. the spots are tiny and cover him and part of his tail. he has those little wing gill things behind his ears. and well, thats about it

 

[Abrahm]

I can't make out any details on your pictures, unfortunately, but if you really have a salamander tadpole (known as a larva) then you won't be able to feed lettuce or crushed fish flakes. Unlike frog tadpoles, which are generally herbivorous, salamander larva are carnivores and usually require a living food source to feed upon. There are lots of choices here but I'll leave more experienced people to comment on that.

Please don't ever consider flushing a live animal. There are many better choices for euthanasia than flushing.

 

[t_summ]

Where do you live? It may be possible to go to your local fish store and get live food for the larvae. Any idea how big it is?

 

[chrispy]

sprry for the bad pictures. And i didnt mean flush him literally, just like get rid of him. I have 2 firebelly newts in another tank and i have frozen worms for them, would he eat those? And he is about an inch and a quarter with the tail

 

[t_summ]

It is possible that he would eat the frozen worms. If not, I would seek out live blackworms or redworms. Remember that he may be stressed so give him a day or so with small amounts of food to get him used to the idea of eating the food. Keep all natural stressors at a minimum. Good luck.

 

[digger]

at that size i would reccommend yo try to get some live daphnia from an aquatics shop.
larvae respond better to live foods and blood worm may still be to big without chopping

 

[Kaysie]

If you tell us your location (or where it was collected), we'll be better able to make a guess at species.

 

[chrispy]

I live in pullman Washington. Which is south of Spokane. So eastern washington. I will have bette pictures up later

 

[Jennewt]

Live food is really your best bet. Check local pet shops for live blackworms (it's worth calling around). If you have ponds nearby, you might be able to find pond micro-organisms, though this isn't the best time of year for that.

You can try using frozen bloodworms (cut up if they are too big). But these are much less likely to be eaten, and more likely to foul the water.