Sirenid breeding

[Sperlerpinae]

I would love to hear more about the challenges people have experienced when trying to breed sirens in captivity.

What has helped you succeed and what have you learned?

In what species have you been successful?

Thanks in advance

 

[onetwentysix]

This is an old post, but no one answered so I thought I'd give some input.

I've had a lot of success breeding P. axanthus, both inside and in outdoor enclosures. I tried to mimic a temperature cycle as best I could, letting it get colder while decreasing the photo period over the winter months, and then increasing hours of daylight and temperature, and raising the water level over that period. I don't know if all that was necessary; I've also had them breed with no real effort. A few years back I had two in a 10 gallon tank on my kitchen table, and ended up finding fertile eggs. It could be that they got more light through the window and the house was cooler in the winter, but I don't know if any of that was necessary. I've also bred them easily outside, though I've had problems keeping the eggs and larvae alive with those for some reason.

I also bred some lesser sirens last spring, but that wasn't much of a big deal; I'm 100 miles NW of their range and they were in artificial ponds, exposed to local conditions. I don't know if it matters, but I didn't get any eggs until after I added two flower pots to the pool (500 gallon swimming pool with 5 adults). I'd had them for two years before then with no breeding, but I think they needed a bit of time to mature first, so the pots may not have mattered. I'm going to try to find eggs this year, so it might be useful to see what they're laying.

 

[Ponder]

I would love to hear more about the challenges people have experienced when trying to breed sirens in captivity.

What has helped you succeed and what have you learned?

In what species have you been successful?

Thanks in advance

I kept a female S lacertina for years. I did not have a mate for her, but she did lay eggs on her own. As with most amphibians, mimicking natural conditions works best. Her tank was near a shady window, and the house was not well insulated or heated., No artificial light on the tank, so basically she was exposed to natural day length and seasonal temp variation, though it never got AS cold as she would have outside.

I always try to keep my amphi's as close to natural cycles as possible, doing larger water changed during rainy periods, less food in winter (I don't keep tropical species) etc. And I've had good results with this.

I think it's always a valid question to ask, before intentional breeding what you will do with the offspring. If you don't have a means of properly feeding and raising them, or a reliable outlet to disperse them think again. Some people find it best to kill the eggs rather than let larvae suffer from crowding or improper care.

Large sirens, of breeding size are best not kept together, gills and legs will soon disappear. They are escape artists, so breeding in a shallow kids pool is not really an option. If a pool method is used make sure it is deep and thee is a large gap between the water level and the lip of the pool. Even so, I'd have it covered with sturdy mesh. Providing ample dark hiding spaces will keep the sirens from trying to escape so much,. They will eat the eggs if they happen across them. The eggs are sticky, tended to be laid is short "strings"...maybe three eggs along, or individually. They were stuck to tank walls, rocks and some in the plants, seemed fairly hap hazard.

which species are you keeping?

 

[Sperlerpinae]

I have been keeping P. axanthus for several months now. They were young when I obtained them, but they should be old enough to breed now. I was going to try and cool the tank and change the photoperiod in the next few months to try and encourage mating. Anyone have experience using a chiller or tank fan?

What temps and photoperiods have worked?

Thanks!