The goal of Amphibian Aquatics is to provide hobbyists with healthy amphibians with as little effect on wild populations as possible. We intend to provide pets from a variety of species that are rarely (if ever) offered as captive bred, and to provide an alternative to some of the non-sustainable harvesting that occurs today.

Salamanders are a very underappreciated group of animals. While the dart frog hobby is well established and growing in leaps and bounds, the American salamander hobby is in poor shape. With the exception of the Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), all CB salamanders in the US hobby are supported by a very small number of hobbyists, and many species and subspecies are in danger of dropping out of the hobby all together. Some species that were common just a few years ago are now almost unavailable as one or two breeders stopped offering animals for various reasons (see Lissotriton boscai, Triturus cristatus, etc.). There are many species right now that are currently only being bred by three or fewer people in the entire country.

Amphibian Aquatics was started in response to the practices in the sale of WC salamanders. Currently, hundreds of thousands of salamanders are imported into the United States from Asia alone, and they're sold at such low prices that at times breeders can't even give CB animals away. Additionally, when American salamanders are available, they're usually collected in extremely damaging ways. Ambystoma and Taricha in particular are collected during the breeding season, when a large percentage of the adult population in an area will congregate in a few ponds or pools. One individual with a net and a bucket can capture a large percentage of the entire adult population in a few days; this is an extremely damaging abuse of the commons that can harm a population for decades or more. These animals rely on adult survivorship to continue the species rather than juvenile recruitment, and without the adults the population is in very poor shape.

There are currently few alternatives to wild caught salamanders, but with luck we hope to grow into a reliable and stable source of captive bred animals in the next few years.

Captive bred (CB) animals have a variety of advantages over wild caught (WC) individuals. To begin with, captive animals are generally more healthy than wild caught individuals, since they don't have to go on long, cramped journeys from their origin to a resaler to a pet store to an end user. They're also less likely to have diseases and parasites; due to the way WC animals are handled, a disease from one animal could quickly spread through the entire shipment, and more diseases can be picked up at each stop. The stress from shipping can also lead to a suppressed immune system, causing diseases to spread even faster. This is why pet store animals are often time sick, starving, and full of fungal infections and other problems. Because of these problems, often times it takes several dead animals to result in one animal for sale in a pet store. Imported Asian newts such Tylototriton, Pachytriton, and Cynops are especially prone to these problems.

Additionally, captive bred animals don't take anything from the wild. With the exception of the founding stock, no animals are taken from the wild. Wild caught animals are generally adults, and removing them in large numbers can cause long-term damage to local ecosystems. In some cases, it can seriously threaten the species. Neurergus kaiseri is expected to go extinct in the wild within the next five years due to collection.

Additionally, buying captive bred animals supports other hobbyists, which provides incentive to breeding animals. There are animals in the US salamander hobby that are only being reliably kept by a few individuals, and if they were to stop breeding them the bloodline or species could fall out of the hobby all together.

Some species of salamander are extremely difficult to breed in captivity, terrestrial Ambystomids in particular. However, they're still sold in large numbers, and they're a group that rely heavily on the adult population. So, in order to provide an alternative to these wild caught adults, Amphibian Aquatics offers captive hatched animals, animals raised from wild-caught eggs.

Ambystomids lay large numbers of eggs, and have a very high mortality rate. In some years no animals will morph, due to drought. With Amphibian Aquatics, we collect a few egg masses (around 200-300 eggs) and raise them using our resources in captivity. This generally has next to no impact on the population, since cannibalism, egg mortality, early freezes, competition for food, predation, and drought would limit the number to leave the water to begin with.

For example, assume 1,000 eggs were removed from a population. In the wild, out of all those eggs, 0-25 animals might reach metamorphosis. When you factor in predation on land and the time it takes to reach adulthood, less than ten animals per 1,000 might actually reach maturity (more or less depending on species and location). And unlike with collecting adult animals, the adults are still around to attempt to breed for the next few years.

In captivity, 1,000 eggs might yield 500 or more metamorphs. On top of that, all the invertebrates that they would have eaten in the wild are still around to feed the other salamanders in the pond. So overall, captive hatching has a minimal impact on wild populations while still providing animals for the pet trade.

Of course, we hope to some day eliminate even this step, and we're attempting to captive breed whatever we can.

A common question from people new to the amphibian hobby is whether or not they can mix species.

For the most part, the answer is no. Most animals carry parasites and diseases that they're adapted to deal with, but another species may not be built to handle; animals from different parts of the world are adapted to different diseases. A notable example of this is the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), which is a carrier of the Chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis). While the clawed frog usually isn't affected by the fungus, Chytrid is currently decimating amphibian species across the world and is one of the leading factors in amphibian extinction.

Additionally, most species of salamander are toxic. While this is rarely a problem with humans (unless they choose to eat them), keeping them together can result in mixing toxins. Amphibians have much thinner skin than humans, and toxins can be absorbed in this manner, killing them.

Also, predation and aggression are huge problems when mixing species. There are numerous records of newts or fish eating a tank mate. Firebelly toads (Bombina spp.) are known to eat firebelly newts (Cynops spp.) Even if predation doesn't occur, mixing species can lead to stress, which can kill or otherwise harm your animals.

Different species may require different husbandry methods. Most newts do not do well with frogs (FBTs, tropical tree frogs, dart frogs) because these frogs typically like warmer temperatures than the newts can tolerate.

However, many times zoos or professionals will keep animals together. Pet stores almost always get it wrong, with disasterous results, but a zoological institution has the resources and knowledge to pull this kind of thing off, which is why zoos many times will keep geologically related species of similar size together. Despite this, mixing species just isn't a good idea for the average hobbyist, and I strongly recommend against it.

Many species of newts and salamanders are extremely toxic. This is a defensive mechanism, due to the fact that many salamanders are slow moving or vulnerable to fish predation. Taricha granulosa are some of the most toxic animals on the planet, and there are reports of humans dying after eating them. For the most part, it is safe to assume that all newts are toxic in some shape or form.

However, they lack a method of delivering this poison to humans, and the only way to poison a human would be if it got into the bloodstream. For the most part, this means they have to be eaten. Poison can also enter the bloodstream via cuts, but the animal would have to be agitated first to excrete toxin, and a harmful dose through this method (much less a lethal dose) would be extremely rare.

So basically, unless you intend on eating the animal, you're pretty safe. Pets or small children may be at risk, but this can be avoided by securing the tank. Close off all holes in the top with tape and keep a weight or lock on it can prevent these kinds of problems (as far as I know, no one has ever been killed by a pet amphibian) and will also save you grief from losing a dead pet, since escaped animals die within minutes or hours.

In summary, amphibians are harmless pets. If you have any doubts, please feel free to e-mail me.