Fire bellied Newt

Seen some of these little guys in the Pet shop and before getting some I wanted a bit more information on them. The petshop is using an airstone, is it possible to use oxygenating plants to ensure the water is suitable for them? And how big a tank would two need? Also, how much maintenance is involved in caring for them?

Yes, live plants would be an excellent choice.

Just about everything else you need to know about captive care for C. orientalis can be found here:

http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Cy...ientalis.shtml

Thanks, Jeff! How often would a planted tank need cleaning,though? Can't seem to find that info on there!

Have you kept an aquatic tank before, Shonagh? If not, read the water FAQ on the CC site. The maintenance for a planted tank is roughly the same as any aquarium. It needs a partial water change weekly. With a lot of plants, you might need to spend additional time cleaning up any plant debris that accumulates. Weekly would be a good schedule, but it depends on the tank.

Be forewarned that many (perhaps most) of the live plants sold in pet shops are adapted to tropical conditions. Some will die in a newt tank that is kept appropriately cold.

also check this, pet stores occasionally mislabel species:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/firebelly.shtml

I have a fire belly newt and he doesn't look good. He's very skinny and I feed him a regular amount-I don't know if he's sick or not.

What are you feeding your newt, how much are you feeding it and how often are you feeding it, April? Saying you feed him a regular amount is too vague to be helpful. Does he have any other signs of illness? Also, what kind of enclosure is he in, and have you done a water test? Is he a newly acquired newt or an older captive?

Well I got him and another newt a little while ago from the mall. I got a big aqurim for them, but one of them died. I dicided that it might've been to big for them or to new so I put the other one into the plastic aqurium that he and the other one came in.

As of the food, I've been feeding Olivia frozen bloodworms with tweezers, about this big
/-\ about four times a week. He eats it all up.

I didn't know that your supposed to get the water tested and I really don't know how to go about it. He looks really sad and when he emerges into the water it looks like his skin is a bubble-like there's water underneath his old skin that hasn't shed.

When I bought them the guy didn't tell me anything about them, exept for "you can keep them in this container forever" and the thing has no filtration system it's just a plastic box, he also said that they use spring water, that's what I've been using ever since I got them.
I just want to give him the best enviroment I can.

Have a look at these:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/setups.shtml
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml
You can usually find a local pet store that will test your water or get a kit to do it yourself.Also, does the skin just look silvery and then goes back to normal? Or can you actually see air under the skin? If it is the former, that is pretty normal. But if it is the latter, then it may be having trouble shedding.

(Message edited by socom on January 18, 2007)

Thank you so much Jim! You don't know how much I appreciate it.

And yeah his skin is a little silvery at times and when he goes into the water it puffs out.