Pond water for Newt larvae?

[rebel]

Quick question

As i don't have much access to live food, would i be able to raise my larvae on local pond water locally? It's too small-ish ponds where people can go fishing.

 

[Otterwoman]

Some people do this. Watch what you bring home, however. One damselfly larva will ruin your whole day.

 

[FrogEyes]

I've done this by transplanting small amounts of water, Lemna trisulca, aquatic mosses, and netfulls of mainly daphnia and scuds. After screening for apparent leeches and other predators, this goes into rubbermaid tubs on the west side of the house, creating a home pond. Eggs and larvae can go into this, but a good screened lid is needed once transformation starts. A good growth of aquatic moss with algae sometimes will provide a "platform" for emergence. When mosquito wrigglers become apparent, I net as many as I can and feed them off to other newts in well-screened cages. Good food supply, but I prefer to keep potential sources of viruses and annoyance to a minimum, so feed before they emerge. I have used rainwater, which was fine where I was before, but could be risky elsewhere [ask Sludgemunkey].

 

[Molch]

I raised most of mine on pond water and critters. Just sort out the larger insect larva which could eat your newt babes

 

[Coastal Groovin]

You will need a very fine brine shrimp net run it back and forth along the shore line careful not to stir up the bottom and dip it into a empty jar full of water. If your eyes are good you should be able to she the ponds micro life swimming around after the water settles Try different stretches of shore line to find were this life is gathering. As Otterwoman states watch out for any insect larvae. Do not dump this water directly into your tank. You will need to pour it through the net and just dip the net into the tank to release the food.