Beginner advice for 3 Taricha species

Hi all. This is my first post, thanks everyone in advance for the help!

I am planning to get 5 newts for my 50 gallon long tank: two T. granulosa (rough skin newt), two T. torosa (CA newt), and one T. rivularis (red bellied newt).

As I have just bought my tank, I have not set it up but I plan to make a paludarium with live plants. However, I am unsure as to the ratio of land to water. I know that granulosa prefer mostly aquatic with the other two more of an even ratio? By default I was going to do a 1:1 or 1:2 land to water. I want to do my best to accommodate all 3 species. Any suggestions for this?

Also, what kind of filter should I get? Under gravel filters don't work because I have plants, hang on the backs risk newt escapes, etc. What are your suggestions and what brands/models do you suggest?

Thank you!

Do you have a source for these newts? Why would you want to mix species like this? MOre of a challenge is getting four or so of one species and trying to breed them . THat takes time and effort but the rewards are amazing.

I agree with otterwoman. I keep both T. granulosa and T. torosa and as your excellent research has found, they have slightly different requirements. You can definitely find both species living in the same streams in California and it looks cool to have mixed species set-ups but rarely are mixed species habitats good for all of the species. It's challenging enough to shrink Mother Nature into a smaller habitat and meet the needs of one species. If you have to mix I'd stick with those two species but my favorite part of the hobby is observing the natural breeding behaviors when you properly cycle you newts and raising the subsequent offspring. I either use 1 part water to 2 parts land for these two species OR full terrestrial habitat with shallow water feature summer/fall and then move to aquatic habitat in winter/spring. Some species prefer slightly deeper water that can be hard to provide in a paludarium IMO. Have fun setting up the habitat, lots of good ideas in the forums.