#cynops orientalis

[megan-the-artoonist]

My first drawing in soft pastel is a portrait of the one the only Noodle, my fire bellied newt I’ve had for nearly ten years! As it is on a full sheet of Canson Mi-Tientes paper, it is much larger than Noodle’s actual size of about three inches from nose to tail tip.

[knuxtiger4]

Tiny little Fire Belly Newt eft! This is one that has gone through metamorphosis and is now in the juvenile stage of their life. At this point they are only about 2 inches in size and become fearful of the water in this stage. Next stage of raising them is to start teaching them to accept frozen food and begin to raise them to a larger size. Hopefully in the coming months and getting my private breeder permit that I can begin to sell them. This in the end is rewarding to me, to have my newts able to breed which is difficult for this species. More so the fact these are captive bred individuals to boot.

[scalestails]

HE’S up

[knuxtiger4]

I haven't updated on these guys in a while but here there are! I had 7 hatchlings from my Cynops Orientalis that have been doing wonderful on blackworms and microworms. It's actually really cool to watch them hunt. I also have tons of developing eggs too. I plan to start a second batch and then the rest are eggs I'm selling to others that are interested in hatchling and raising their own babies. A lot of work and time is going into these guys but it'll be worth it I'm sure!

[knuxtiger4]

Managed to get a cool photo set of my Fire Belly Newt (Gaia) laying an egg on an Amazon Sword I have in the tank.

Most FBNs when they lay eggs will find a live plant or even your fake plant decoration and fold it over to lay an egg in it.  Folding it helps it bind to a surface as well as hide it from would be predators in a wild setting.  But eggs are also an easy target for hungry adults in the tank too.  Gerald and Gypsum were both watching her and waiting to a chance to snatch the egg for eating.  

It is why if your newts are laying eggs that tanks must be check often as several times a day and eggs must be removed.  Its a time consuming process but this ensures no eggs are eaten and that the eggs can hatch in a safe environment.  Egg care is pretty simple, they can be held in a container which I use water from the tanks they are found in.  Daily water changes are required and you want to minimize movement or handling, it why filters are not recommended since they make too much of a flow that will harm the eggs.  Eggs should also be checked for duds through the process so that they don’t foul up the rest of the good eggs.  

So far with the experiences I have that the FBNs usually lay around 20 to 25 per female and eggs usually hatch within 3 weeks depending.  From there on the babies are rear in a larger container with java moss and duckweed and give a constant supply of live microfoods.  They can be reared with the adults but because my adults are a bit of food sharks that they stay separated for that reason. Current count of the newts eggs are 16 eggs from the Chinese FBNs and 14 from the Blue Tailed FBNs.  I’ll be able hopefully in a week’s time to report a full count as well as how many are developing.

[scalestails]

A shitty picture but I like how he’s lurking.

[scalestails]

The newt tank. The hygro and Anubias are growing slowly but very well and I added a small crypt from another tank. It’s pretty packed and I think he likes it, he’s in the water 90% of the time now. If you recall, it has been the bane of my existence worrying about him going in the water more often. But honestly, as long as they’re healthy I would not stress if your doesn’t go in often. It’s taken Sol like... a year to decide it’s safe.