Fire-bellied Newts

[Questions?]

Once everything in my 20 gallon long is moved, i will probaly make it home to a couple of newts. So can anyone give me a number i could put safely into the tank? types of aquatic plants? types of land plants? a good size filter? temperature?a good plant substrate for the land part? anything else i will need to know? thank you for your time

also could anyone post pictures of thier newt tanks so i can get an idea of what it looks like, thank you

 

[Asp]

Well it depends a little on what species you get (there are a few sold as 'fire bellied newts'). I've seen Cynops pyrrhogaster and C. orientalis advertised recently, and though I haven't checked them out very closely I suspect that both are being sold simply as 'fire bellied newts'. Not that it makes much difference, just that orientalis are slightly smaller so you might be able to get an extra one.

They are small and hardy, you could fairly easily get 3 or 4 in your 20g. They are very tolerant of temperature and are a cool water species, so you shouldn't need a heater. They are also pretty much aquatic and could be kept without a dedicated land area - some floating cork bark or pieces of wood that break the surface will do - that said, if you want a land area for plants then I would stick with a simple fine potting soil that hasn't had any fertiliser etc. added to it (I assume, I've never kept anything that needed a land area beyond a solid platform of some kind - someone else might have a better idea).

As for substrate it is best not to put anything in that they are in danger of swallowing, and no sharp gravel. I tend to use no substrate for small newts and larger pea gravel and river stones for large newts (baring in mind that my Pleurodeles are a good four or five times the size of your average fire belly). Floating plants like elodea and water lettuce seem to be the best bets.

Filtration and water changes are much the same as for fish. Hope that helps a little.

Here is an (slightly old) pic of my newt tank.

 

[Questions?]

thank you for the information. your tank looks good . do you have have to acclimate newts like you do for fish?

 

[Asp]

As long as the water is dechlorinated and about the same temperature it doesn't make too much difference. That said, it can't hurt.

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I have 3 in a 16 gallon tank. I would personally acclimitize them (mine are chinese fire bellied newts). I think I'm right in thinking some are more aggressive than others.

Also make sure your tank has a tight fitting lid, just in case

 

[Questions?]

alright, thanks

 

[Questions?]

turns out my lfs is getting a japenese fire belly newt (cynops pyrrhogaster) would anything need to change?

 

[Questions?]

also could they happily live in an emersed setup with only about 3 inches of water?

 

[Asp]

pyrrhogaster are slightly the larger of the two commonly sold species, but the care is the same. Basically if you were getting orientalis you might get 4 or 5 in your tank, with pyrrhogaster you should maybe stick to 3 or 4.

I'd suggest a bit more than 3 inches of water, these are aquatic newts and they do swim. That said when you buy them they will probably be fairly small so you'd probably be ok. When they've grown a bit you should give them a bit more swimming space.

Also, I've never had issues with escapees, you'll see my newt tank hasn't got a lid at all, but I'm told that these guys can be quite good at getting out, so having a bit of a gap between the water level and the top of the tank isn't a bad idea.

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Only one of my newts has attempted to climb (up the filter wire incidentally). Just make sure there is a lid/lip on the tank just in case.

Am I right in thinking the japanese FB newts are more aggressive?

In my footer I've a link for a site called caudata - which will give excellent help/advice - they specialise in newts/frogs/axolotls etc...

I personally wouldn't be happy keeping a fully grown newt in 3" of water, I like to give mine space.

 

[Asp]

I'm not sure about the aggression, they aren't a species I have first hand experience with. Worth keeping an eye on though.

3" certainally isn't enough for an adult, my point was that it would probably be fine for baby newts.

 

[Questions?]

alright thanks, i wasn't going to make the whole tank setup like that. but i was thinking a raised platform in the middle of the tank, with about 3 inches of water on it, and if that would be good for a land area? it would look something like this:

sorry about how bad the image is, it will (hopefully) look better in really life, lol.
the light green stuff will be water wisteria and other floating plants. i will add some driftwood with mosses attached to it, the top of the driftwood will hopefully poke out of the surface (i think it would look cool, and provide another resting place). the big brownish gray thing in the middle will be some kind of water proof container will with regular (aquatic) planting soil, topped with a thin layer of smooth gravel (or sand).I will probaly try and get some really cool looking, easy to grow emsered grasses (from the wild, can anyone tell me how to clean them?) and i will try and grow a couple of rosette swords emersed too. and there will be no substrate in the tank, toher than in the container with the plants

 

[Questions?]

will they eat frozen brine shrimp?

here is my final idea i think
Tank – already have
Newt(one, maybe more, it depends on how much money i have leftover)
Ghost Shrimp (20) i expect losses with these, so i will put in 5 weekly unless, there is a lot in the tank
Driftwood – already have
Land area- already have
Moss Ball
Filter- already have
Heater- not needed
Light- already have
Land plants- already have
Land substrate(sand) - already have
Food- probaly frozn brine shrimp

ayone know of anything i might need, or might not need?

 

[dmth]

I have one in my 20 gallon tank with my fish, he was fine with my fish but managed to get into the filter twice and even got out of the tank 4 times.. I'm having to return him next week after having him for about 4 months. He's gotten out and fallen off the top of my tank.. about 4 feet to the ground and then crawled over 20 feet into my room. This last time my roommate found him in her bathroom covered in hair and dust (we have wood floors) ... I'm still amazed he is alive!! I couldn't bear to find him dead or have anything bad happen to him so I feel it's best I return him.  I could purchase an enclosed lid for my tank but really don't have the $$ to do that and my setup now works perfectly so I can't justify spending $100 or so to adjust the tank. He's a crazy little guy!!
Oh and I feed him blood worms. 

 

[Questions?]

how do you keep the water to a cold level? i live in florida, so underheated tanks (except for in winter) are anywhere from 72 to 76 degrees farenhiet