Newt
- Thread starter dnn3
- Start date
I took a look at several different websites (google is your friend 
) and while they varied somewhat, I came up with around 2-7 years.
) and while they varied somewhat, I came up with around 2-7 years.
3ndl3r
Fishaholic
they live anything up to 15 years i believe. Yours aint' doing bad for 11 years!
you are without doubt doing something very right. any chance you could pop up some pics and outline your methods? there are many people who could benefit from them.
we don't do anything special, he lives in a 30 gal that is full. his tankmates are,1 krib(female) 1 plecostomus, 3 black skirted tail tetras, 3 mollies, 2 swordtails. and 2 x ray tetras. we recently started giving our fish blackworms and he loves them. and he also likes tropical granules. what suprises me is that he rarely goes up for air. his movements are pretty methodical except when we put in the worms, then he can move pretty good. i have pictures of him and will post them soon.oh yeah, his name is obviously, newton.
at last someone who has newts in with fish 
this is something i have wanted to do, though it is often said to be bad. i never really found out why. your experience would seem to say that it is not.
i would indeed be interested in more information/pictures on your set-up.
3ndl3r
Fishaholic
newts produce a toxic substance that can be harmful to fish. Thats why it isn't recommended. but one newt is unlikely to cause harm.
from the information i have received this is absolutely and categorically incorrect!!!!!
they are indeed toxic, but the toxins at all times contained within the body of the newt. the newt would have to be dismembered to cause any harm to the fish. even then the fish would need to swallow part or all of the newt. if a human swallowed a newt they would eventually die, but once it is removed or vomited up, recovery is rapid. not sure the same is true of fish, but you could wipe a newt all over your top fish, and absolutely nothing would happen to the fish. it might though be pi$$ed off with you for doing it.
the redbelly says "don't eat me, you will die", not "stay away, i will kill you".
sorry this is just another old wife's tale.
3ndl3r
Fishaholic
are you sure? I kept some newts in a tank. I was told to replace the filter sponges, decor and substrates because the toxins from the newt would be nasty for the fish?
Are the toxins not in the poop? lol
Are the toxins not in the poop? lol
yes as sure, as of anything. all the empirical and toxicological, information confirms it.
no none at all! they are in no way toxic unless eaten or swallowed, even their crap is safe if swallowed. lol or should be, i guess nobody will have tested it though.
i almost had a tragedy last nite. my krib went after my newt. they have been in the same tank for at least 9 months and i have never noticed any problems and then last she just starts going after him. i just watched at first because i thought she was just nipping at him but then she went after his face and that's when i freaked out. i immediatly grabbed 2 nets and thankfully caught her pretty quickly and put her in my other tank. i'd rather see him die of old age than get ripped apart.
i'll flesh out the evedence as to the toxicity of these newts.
the toxin appearers to be a tetrodotoxin. this is in the same family of none protein poisons as the deadly poison so well know in FUGU. it works by blocking the nerve signals, by attacking the membranes the transmit them. effectively blocking the signals from your brain that tell your heart and lungs to work. its toxicity however can vary, even between male and female even age. not only that but it even varies dependent on where they are caught. it seems that this toxin is quite capable of killing a human, but as i said if the newt or fragment is remove they will recover. it can only, as things stand with our understanding, be transmitted by a break in the skin or by the action of digestion. as far as i can find newts are as open to the toxin as any other animal. this would seem to give clear indication that they do not flood the surrounding water with the poison. there is just a possibility that you could transfer some of the toxin if you have contact with the eyes or mouth of the newt, but you would still need to ingest it or have a break in your skin. basic things like washing your hands, are common sense in fish-keeping. this seems to be the only precaution you need to take.
and as the OP has kept a newt in a community for 11 years, even the evedence from this thread would give a very good indication, of just how toxic newts are, unless they are attacked. from his evedence, not even in the slightest.
dnn3 i am sorry to hear of this attack. but i cant help feeling that this must have happened before, without your knowledge. but i think i may well have taken the same action as you. if it helps, newts have been known to emerge from a predator after it toxin has done its job, and just carry on.
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