Slow growth rates of young C. pyrrhogaster?

Molch

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I have a small crop of young pyrrhogasters (sassayama) from last year. They are almost a year old now; they hatched last March and morphed in August.

They eat and look fine, but I'm scratching my head over their slow growth rate. I keep them aquatic at ca. 12-15 C and feed them blackworms and chopped earthworms mostly. They are still only about 2 inches long and appear to grow just verrrry slowly. All my other newts grow much faster.

Is this typical of pyrrhogaster or is something amiss?
 
In my experience they are very slow growing. I have some females over 2 years old that are still way off full grown. The males are generally smaller and appear to reach maturity and full size quicker.
 
Seems like Japanese species can generally be slow growing. I have 2 popei that were born last year and are now over a year old and I'd bet they aren't even 2 inches.

On the other hand I have some n.kaiseri that are roughly the same age and in the 2 months I've had them they have grown a full inch and gained mass.
 
I see wild variations among individuals. Some grow quite fast and others take a very long time. However, since they can all be kept aquatic after a certain point, i don´t really mind. On average they take two years to reach maturity, while other species do it in less than a year (mind you, some take longer....)
 
I keep them aquatic at ca. 12-15 C and feed them blackworms and chopped earthworms mostly.

Molch, since Cynops can be more tolerant of higher temperatures, I wonder if keeping these at 18-21C would improve their growth rates. Does anyone have experience at raising juveniles at different temperatures and comparing growth rates?
 
thanks all; I am considering moving their tank to a slightly warmer room, so they'll grow a bit faster. My other room is about 17-18 C..
 
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