Lucky me

[jarno]

For the first time my verrucossus female laid some eggs. She laid about a 300. That will cost me a lot op diapers. Do you have some advice to raise the eggs. E.g. quality of the water, temperature.

<font color="ff0000">Moved by John - please use the correct topic in future</font>

 

[jesper]

Congrats! I don't think water quality is that important really since they are pond type newts.
Higher temp = faster development.
I kept mine in a shallow container and only switched water maybe once per week.
I kept them at 19C, it is better to keep the eggs at higher temp I think. I'd go for 23-25C!

 

[jennifer]

While warm temperature (23-25C) will speed development, it also results in reaching metamorphosis sooner. I had good results keeping my "runts" at cooler temperature (17-18C). Isolated, and kept at cool temperature, they reached the same size as their larger brothers before they morphed.

My other advice is, don't try to raise all 300.

 

[jesper]

Jen, don't you think that the reason why your runts caught up was that you isolated them and thus they got access to more food than in a "pack"?
I thought runts just were a result of keeping several larvae together(i.e. uneven distribution of food), raising larvae separately would thus eliminate the creation or reverse the creation of runts.

(Message edited by Jesper on December 12, 2004)

 

[jennifer]

True, Jesper, I have no way to know the separate effect of temperature versus isolation. But both groups were kept at similar density and similar food availability.

 

[jesper]

Ah, I thought you raised the small ones individually and the big ones in a group.
However if the small group got as much food as the big group it is only normal that the small ones gain weight on the big ones(since the big ones are used to more food and the small ones to less etc).

Hehe, one blackworm, two blackworms.....
I have an opportunity to raise two similar groups in different temperatures now if I want, but I think it would be a hassle to insure that they get similar amounts of food - would be so much easier with blackworms than with nematodes and Daphnia.