Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain Water dogs/ Tiger Salamanders

I have always heard these things called water dogs, but I am 99.9% sure they are Tiger Salamanders. We have TONS of these guys in our lake. I am thinking they should help to grow monster trout some day. If we can ever get the trout big enough to eat them!! I could be wrong, but a 2.5lb rainbow doesn't seem anywhere close to eating this guy!

I wish I had a bunch of those to put in my pond.

They don't come cheap.

http://www.backwaterreptiles.com/salamanders-for-sale.html

A few years ago I'd sometimes see Water-Dawgs in bait shops around East Texas.

This place has decent pricing on mud-puppies.
http://livewaterdogs.com/prices.html

Here is another supplier:
http://www.westsidewaterdogs.com/

You are correct in calling them water dogs or tiger salamanders. Common name is water dog here in the west; they are actually the "larval" form of the tiger salamander, the only salamander in fact that we have here in sw Colorado.

We have found some of the terrestrial form, the yellow and black adult tigers, around our property. Most likely these are walking in from somewhere else as the larvae generally wouldn't survive in a pond with LMB, as we have in ours.

Some individuals don't metamorphosize into the adult terrestrial form, but remain their whole lives in the aquatic stage. Possibly up at the elevation of your pond, few would leave the water for the short growing season as terrestrials.

A mid elevation lake in western Wyoming is loaded with these water dogs right along side arctic grayling. I've float tubed around that BOW watching water dogs swim in the clear water while I hauled in the grayling.

Very interesting critters for sure. I have never seen one on land up there. They are all in the lake, but they do not have their gills for some reason. You can paddle around in the canoe and they come up gulping air all around you. If they never leave the water I thought they kept their gills.

Thanks fellas! I had no idea I had such a cash crop! I can see my retirement now.... selling waterdogs and frozen leeches by the pallet! haha

I was looking at one of the links above where they sell live bait.

can someone help me with the ID of the pictures?

Bait options...


The first one is a 'waterdog'
The second say salty. What is that? It looks like the drab goldfish that I catch in my pond. Maybe they are good bait because they are hardy?
the third picture down says 'minnow' is that a GSH?
The others are obvious.

Thanks

Salties

Black Salty Info

Salty IS a drab goldfish. Yes, that other fish is a Golden Shiner.