wondering if i should seperate my fire bellies?

we have two fbn and because they look quite different in shape at least, we have assumed one is male and one female. i've done so much reading not only around here, but in various places online, i'm not sure i remember, but i think the females are generally bigger/fatter?

anyways... we have one that is just over 2.5cms in length and looks healthy. the other is around 3cms and was very skinny, the bones (hip bones i guess) were protruding when we got it. it looked different, almost like it had a slightly "spiney" look to it, but i guessed this is because it was so skinny! it has a looong skinny tail that ends in a point, whilst the other seems to be more a more rounded shape. i have studied pics of the c.orientalis and believe these are the closest match - and the pet shop said so too

sorry for the long description, but i've tried to take pics but they just turn out as blurred black blobs!

we decided to get a tank mate and yes, i had read up on what is recommended and what isn't. just as a tester, we got just one ghost shrimp. we have lots of hiding places, rocks, a log and a few plants. at first ghosty was all over the place. skinny was stalking him lots, and ghosty started hiding in the plants.

today he went missing. after searching the plants etc., i notice skinny newt is no longer skinny!

my god, how it ate that shrimp i have no idea! now it looks twice the size of the other newt. is this normal behaviour for a fbn? i know they eat brine shrimp, but this is much bigger! i'm worried that skinny is perhaps aggressive, or maybe i'm over-reacting and he's just a real hungry chap

do you think it's possible - as he's such a glutton, that he might try to eat the other newt?

thanks for any advice.

Your experience is not uncommon. Newts are predators and while they are cute and beg for food from the big hand in the sky they are able hunters and will eat anything that firs in their mouth. Mixed tanks are something lots of people want and many have success with. You just need to take some things into consideration. 1. larger is better as it allows more hiding spaces, is more forgiving of water quality problems, and causes less stress because the animals have more space. 2. Any animal you put in needs to be considered a food item and you need to be prepared to loose it. If you can manage thos things then you can have a go at it. I have a 58g with 7 T. granulosas countless white clouds, lots of tiny snails, and ghost shrimp. The minnows are many generations out from the originals and even though well fed the newts keep them in check.

thanks for the reply mriguy. and you're right i know - if i'm not prepared to lose a shrimp, i shouldn't have put one in. typical of me and my rosy coloured view of the world where everything should get along nicely!

although do you think skinny might have a go at the other newt now? especially because (he/it) appears to be nearly twice the size now?

i just took a look at your gallery and your little guys are so cute. i notice the one next to the ruler and have to say i got my measurements wrong, although i'm sure you guessed that. skinny looks exactly the same as that one and is the same length - 3 inches.

is this juvenile or adult?

thanks again.

It's hard to say. Newt aggreesion towards each other depends on what species they are, their sex, their age, available food etc. In my exp. Cynops are not real aggressive but I tend to keep only a few in a larger space. Crowd them and keep them hungry and they will do what they have to to get fed.

Your photo looks like an adult male to me, mz. If their sizes are 2.5 and 3 inches (your first post said cm, but you did mean inches, right?), then I don't think one would eat the other. Skinny is a bit skinny, so i'd recommend feeding both of them liberally (with the usual caveat of not allowing any uneaten food to linger in the tank) until they fatten up a bit. This will also help reduce any possible aggression.

thanks both for your replies and advice - much appreciated.

yes - i did get the sizes wrong! of course it is inches, not cm's. so they are adults then. i read they should be fed every other day, but have been feeding them daily, simply because the skinny one is eating well now. and yes, i take out any uneaten food with a turkey baster.

i thought he was male and think the other is female. will try to get a pic up of her, she was camera shy. their tank isn't massive, but seemed ok as we just got the female first. i think that now they have both survived their journey to the pet shop and to our house - and are now both eating, then it's time to invest in a bigger tank. neither of them ate for almost the first week and just hid lots. then slowly they began to take chopped up earth worms. neither are interested in anything other than frozen bloodworm or live earthworms.

i'm happy he's eating lots because i wasn't sure he would survive. he was literally skin and bones when i got him. i reackon he couldn't believe his luck when i put ghosty in there! i honestly didn't believe he could have eaten it - it was so much bigger than him. well, there's another lesson learnt

replying to myself here...

a nice snippet i got from the internet today "if it fits into a newts mouth, it's food"

i think (and hope) my other newt is too big :happy:

Looks like Skinny is shedding you can see the shedding skin right behind his neck, it's black in color.