spotted salamander eggs (I think)? HELP!

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BugLover

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So the last few days I have been in PA and the last day we were there I found these eggs that I brought home and I think they are spotted salamander eggs off of this page (see the fourth picture) : http://npsgnmp.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/amphibians-then-and-now/

The eggs are clear with the salamander tadpoles in there. I have the eggs in a 15 gallon fish tank and they look like they are growing. My question is, Has anybody ever cared for these and can someone give me some care guidelines? I have had frog tadpoles before, but never salamander tadpoles. will they eat fish flakes as tadpoles? fruitflies when they're out of the water? can they live with fish or will the fish be eaten? any advice is needed!

 
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The larvae are carnivorous and eat small inverts. They can also be cannibalistic. Probably best to leave them in their natural habitat.

 
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Rick said:
The larvae are carnivorous and eat small inverts. They can also be cannibalistic. Probably best to leave them in their natural habitat.
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I'm afraid I can't do that, The eggs are already 4 hours away from where I found them. Since I've gotten them home, how should I care for them? There were plenty of other egg clumps there, so I am guessing I didn't mess up the population too much.

 
BugLover said:
I'm afraid I can't do that, The eggs are already 4 hours away from where I found them. Since I've gotten them home, how should I care for them? There were plenty of other egg clumps there, so I am guessing I didn't mess up the population too much.
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Well they need inverts as food. I have never kept them in captivity so not sure if they will take anything else.

Here is an informative website. Scroll down for more info on larva feeding:

http://www.uri.edu/cels/nrs/paton/LH_spotted_sal.html

 
Would they eat dried bloodworms (made for fish) or fruitflies dumped in the water? I have slugs and "roly polies" in my backyard, but I don't know where I would get the inverts they eat :unsure: Any ideas on where I would get them or how I would find them?

 
The link I sent said they feed on zooplankton when they are small. You would need to get some pond water for that.

 
Ok! I will be going to a park later today, so I should be able to get some.

 
Ok I got creek water (hopefully that has zooplankton?) and put it in the tank. Do they need a place to go above the water or do they only need that when they're bigger?

 
BugLover said:
Ok I got creek water (hopefully that has zooplankton?) and put it in the tank. Do they need a place to go above the water or do they only need that when they're bigger?
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I don't think they do since they have external gills. But they would eventually so I'd add something where they can at least support themselves close to the surface. I've never kept them personally so I am just going off of what I know about them.

 
i've reared young axolotl larvae and here's what i recommend u do

get some aquarium salt, brine shrimp eggs, an air bubbler (i have a smallish one that will work if u want it), algae wafers. and a medium (3-5 gallon) container

fill the container~3/4 of the way with cool tap water

put like a third of a cup aquarium salt per gallon in the water

mix well, put in the air bubbler (no airstone, just the tube) and put it on

add like half a teaspoon brine shrimp eggs and a very tiny, crushed piece of an algae wafer (litterally just a chip of one)

every day, turn the bubbler off (unplug it) for 30 minutes and in 3 days, darken the room and use a flashlight to attract brine shrimp to the light

then collect with a turkey baster, put into a tupperware half filled with spring water to dilute the salt, draw them back to the light and transfer them with the babies

add more eggs to the shrimp thing each day to keep food constant and each week add a bit more algae wafer

if the eggs r already hatched u better set this up ASAP ;)

 
Ok thanks! @ agent A, I have an air bubbler and airstone, but the only small "tank" I have is a tiny cricket keeper from petco, would that work? It's not even 1 gallon. Also I have some eggs from some diving beetles, would the larva from that work? The only brine shrimp eggs I can find are on ebay, so it would have to ship. How many eggs should I get (in grams)? . Sorry for all the questions, I want to make sure I get all/most of this right.

 
Ok I need emergency food ideas. The eggs are hatching ( ^_^ ) and all I have is fruitflies, fish flakes, and some creekwater (for the zooplankton)( :helpsmilie: ). Would the babies be able to eat those until the brine shrimp eggs get here? the fruitflies look too big for them to me, and I don't know if they've eaten the zooplankton if there was any in the creek water. Also do they eat their eggshells? I read somewhere that they eat their eggshells before they start eating other foods.

 
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How would I get those? aren't the larva in the ff media? I would think all the ff's would get out... If I can think of a way to get to them I will try them :)

 
Thanks for all the help everyone! The salamanders seem to be doing much better, and some eggs are still hatching. I will probably have more questions about them once they start growing more :)

One question: once you put zooplankton/pondwater in the tank, do you need to keep adding more or will the zooplankton reproduce?

 
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