Fire Belly Newts

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Let this be a warning to all. Never trust any old LFS. I have made the classic noob mistake of buying a fire belly newt without doing my research first but still.

I went into a LFS while on holiday and my GF feel in love with the newts they had. So I asked the owner what conditions they liked, what they eat, will they be ok in my fish tanks with the other fish etc.

Basicly he gave me a load of bull told me they would be OK in my tanks which run at 75-79f and have fish such as betta's & RTBS in them and have no where to get out of the water. That is how they were running them in the fish shop according to him.

So I get the newt home temp adjust him and let in free in my smaller tank. Five minutes later my betta has the newts tail in his mouth (he is ok thank god). So I move him to my lager tank in a breading cage and break out google, mean while it becomes clear he doesn't like the water and climbs into the filter.

After some quick reading I find this:

Fire Belly Newt

So he prefers 60-70f somewhere to get out onto land and would probably have a go at my tetras.

Anyways I have purchased him his own small tank with UG filter and plan to make him a nice environment, which makes my girl friend happy as she had a tank to call her own now

Anyone got any suggestions on this and further adivse before I do the setup?

 

[MAM]

i have not advice to add, but thank you for posting this. i have seen these adorable little guys for sale at a particular chain pet store and strongly considered setting up a tank for them. at this store, they kept them in a tank only half filled with water, with "land" for them to sun on, heat lamps, and kept them with frogs of some sort. but i never did further research on them. the link is really informative. you'll have to post some pictures when you have his home all set up. i'd like to see his little newty face

 

[ftx9]

seems like a fun thing to do i just want to know how big is your tank and how much did you pay for the filter i think im gonna do this we should keep each other going or something do you have msn

 

[x-router]

Well I have setup the tank.

Will post photos later but its a sand base tank filled up by 1/3rd with a few rocks that give him access to the land. Have put a few plant cuttings in his tank from my other tanks but I have a load on order which I will add when they arrive, java furns which I think will work well in a shallow water tank. I have put the rock with the smalest first so he can get under the bigger ones on top for some shade.

I went for a normal fiter in the end as I wanted 'some' water movement. I've used some filter media from one of my running tanks with some booster chems so the tank should cycle quickly. The tanks a 19" and has one 18" sun glow tube in there....I'm unsure if this will be enough do you think I need to put a reptile light in?

The whole setup cost £50 so far.

However I am very worried about him. I'm woundering if his initial exposure to that warm water and being moved a lot has affected him. He is eating but seems generally very very dosile and doesn't want to go in the water. He spent 16+ hours on land. This morning before I left for work I put him in the water for fear he was drying up.

Will let you know how he goes

 

[Cheese Specialist]

The tanks a 19" and has one 18" sun glow tube in there....I'm unsure if this will be enough do you think I need to put a reptile light in?

The link you posted says that the newts can burn if placed under a reptile light. It's in the 'Specific Care Information' section.

 

[x-router]

The tanks a 19" and has one 18" sun glow tube in there....I'm unsure if this will be enough do you think I need to put a reptile light in?

The link you posted says that the newts can burn if placed under a reptile light. It's in the 'Specific Care Information' section.

Oh yeah Well spotted.

Well I guess all I can do now is keep my fingers crossed. Poor little guy.

I've been feeding him frozen blood worms btw. He doesn't take from the surface and he is quite slow (again this may be due to stress etc atm) so have been turning the filter off and suringing the blood worms near him.

 

[Pugwinkle]

I posted a very informative Firebelly newt care sheet here
http/fish.orbust.net/forums/index.php?sh...showtopic=30670

 

[ftx9]

okay i was just wondering how much 50 pounds are in canadian dollars thanks

 

[x-router]

Ok first tank pic in this thread

Will post more in that thread as and when I do them.

I have decided that the filter is creating too much current. For all the info that I have read (thx Pugwinkle) it seems they prefer still conditions. I need to cap the filter output somehow as it doesn't have an ajuster. I had assumed given it's size it wouldn't have been very powerfull.

Anyone got any ideas on that? I was thinking some sort of nozle on the end with a smaller hole in it.

Acording to this link £50 is 120.559 CAD. However you will have to check what tanks your lfs etc has.

 

[x-router]

Oh I forgot to mention he is looking well this morning. He stayed in the water all night and is moving around in the shade.

<fingers crossed> he is going to be fine

 

[Pugwinkle]

Hi there! Glad to hear that it appears he is now doing much better. The picture was wonderful. I might add a bit more land area. I hear they like to spend a lot of time on land (at least some of them do).

As for the filter, what type is it? I use AquaClear filters and I have frogs that I worry their little legs will get caught in the uptake tube and they also don't like a lot of current. I put a piece of cheese cloth on the tube which slows down the water quite a bit. I just hold it there with an elastic. You could also use a piece of knee high nylon.

I'm glad you found the care sheet helpful. Good luck with your little guy. Keep us updated!

 

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First pic of him.

 

[MAM]

awwwww, look at that little newty face

 

[jams.alaskan]

That's such a cool little home for such a cute little guy! Nice job.

ALASKA

 

[Pugwinkle]

OMG he is gorgeous! I just want to rub his little red tummy! How cute. Good photography!