Starting a Newt Aquarium, Help! (plus, Hard to find Marbled Newts?)

Well Im new and I ran across this site doing research on starting a Newt Aquarium. Im a huge animal lover. Growing up Ive had everything in my house that wasnt an insect. Turtles, lizards, geckos, fish, salamanders, everything. When I was in high school they all pretty much died on me though. Probably cause I had too much animals and was immature and did other <font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font>. Plus I never had the internet and young; so research was out of the question.

Now years later I want to get serious on ONE tank. My favorites were the salamanders because they were cheap, could swim with the fish and just looked awesome. Plus they dont grow too big, arent messy, and easy to keep up. Since I love fish and lizards, this is the way to go.

Ive been shopping around, doing some pricing and figuiring out what I want, here it is:

10 gallon aquarium
4-6 Newts
2 little crabs
1 algea eater fish (plutocomus or something)
a few fish/guppies swimming around (5-6 at the most)

The hard part is finding a filter for this type of set up. From what Ive read, its cool to keep these guys with fish so thats what I want. But a filter and way to clean the tank seems hard to find. I cannot find a SINGLE website that reccomends how to clean the tank. Do I need a syphon, ground filter, what?

It looks like I have to get FIrebelly Newts as thats what the shops are telling me. I want Marbled ones though because they appeal to me more. However I heard theyre rare and I cant even find anything online about these guys. What the deal with them?

I have more stuff to ask but I dont want this too get too long and truthfully who knows if I;ll find the help I need (other places havent been to helpful). So I hope someone here can help. It would be greatly appreciated

(Message edited by ravenous on September 16, 2006)

crabs and newts dont mix. for a 10 gallon tank i would put no more than 3 firebellies, marbles are much larger and would need more space. pleco's are a bad idea as they get too big too fast and have a bad habit of attacking other fish-and will also go after the newts. (i had a chinese algae eater that started eating the skin off of a tiger salamander). if you add guppies and they arent eaten by the newts then you will have to keep an eye on the bio-load/filtration balance. fish and newts usually dont mix-one will usually nibble on the other, there are a few exceptions. here are a few links to answer a lot of your questions:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/articles.shtml
http://www.caudata.org/cc/faq/faq.shtml

ahhh thanks. Any reccomendations on good "garbage collector animals" to help maintain the aquarium?

I wouln't put newts in an aquarium with anything but other newts.

I use ghost shrimp.

I think the best garbage collecting organisms are... live plants, benefitial bacterias and the human owner of the tank.

Well the links are really helpful and answer alot.

On the filters, Ive seen one not mentioned on the faqs. Its a ground one designed for amphibians and stuff but it shows turtles on the box, Im not sure its safe for newts.

Can SOMEONE tell me the cleaning they have to do? How long does it usually take, what do you do, etc? This is my bigget concern as with work and other things, time is essence and I want to know how to manage time. Basically what am I getting myself into with cleaning?

Also, I still cant find <font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font> on why Marbled are so hard to find, cost, etc...

I think 4-6 may be a bit too much and I wouldn't recommend mixing all those species especially in such a small tank. Snails may be okay as well as plants and ghost shrimp.

(Message edited by wally on September 16, 2006)

A minimum 25 gallon aquarium is required to have that many newts. I have a 10 gallon aquarium that is already crowded with just just 5 guppies.

Everyone here has good advice....only 2 or 3 newts per 10 gallon tank, don't mix newts with other animals (fish, crabs, or even other newt species), live plants will help in the "cleaning" part of the maintenance.

With regard to a filter, I use a duetto 50, which has worked out well. It doesn't release much heat and has an adjustable output since my newts did not like the current generated by their old filter.

I'm a neat freak with my tank, and clean it even though I know I shouldn't, so don't use me as a role model. You want to let the "good" bacteria grow in the tank. However, when I get too much algae and wiping it off the sides isn't cutting it anymore, I do empty out the tank to scrub the sides and wipe the algae off the rocks. I do not replace the water though...I empty it into a large bucket and re-use it when my cleaning is done. I rinse the rocks and try not to scrub too much of the stuff from the tank as to not eliminate the good bacteria (stuff that makes things feel a bit slimy). But, most people here would say that once you establish a tank to just let it go and not mess with it too much, and they're right. I'm just OCD with algae. (I usually do this cleaning once a month, maybe every 6 weeks if I can stretch it out)

If you're diligent about cleaning out poop and uneaten food (get a turkey baster for this), you won't have to worry about cleaning the tank too much.

Be sure to read the FAQ about cycling the tank too!

Ok so 3 Newts. Looks like I'll have to get firebellies becuase no one knows where to get other kinds

Thanks for the info Karen. Just to make sure, with Live Plants, do I need some kind of special lite for the them? And all I need is a filter for around $20? Sweet, I was afraid to go expensive. With a good filter and turkey baster, I plan on cleaning once a week, for about 30 mins. That aint too hard.

Any suggestions on a good way to make an island? I want land in the middle so its harder for then to climb out.

I have used ghost shrimp and currently have a nice colony of snails in my Pachytriton tank, all about 1/4in. Their shells look like "unicorn" horns.

there are more species of newts to choose from. captive bred specimens are offered here in the for sale section. i as well as a few others breed marbled newts-its just currently not the season for morphs. and these morphs will have to start out in a different set up. also marbles get pretty big-so even 2 adults in a 10 g tank is too much. with the filter just make sure they have an adjustable intake/flow valve. little newts can get sucked into the filter easily and too high a flow can stress the guys out too much or even drown weaker ones. some species dont need a land mass. many species can climb glass easily from the waters edge-a lid will be mandatory.

Well I wont be buying my Newts soon. Im doing research now and will be buying little by little than have the tank cycle. Ill be getting a lid with a light and gravel, plants (on live ones, I need reccomendations) and a filter.

Ive only called 2 shops and one says the Marbled are rare, they couldnt tell me price or nothing. Another said they had no idea just they may get some nets in eventually.

I know these guys are mainly sold in the fall so time is basically here. I know theres more breeds to choose from but it seems like shops here wont get a variety. Im open to buying them from people here. But what price am I looking at? Im a starter so Id be weary of spending alot when just starting.

On this website, marbled newts are not rare at all. I recommend that you post an ad in the "wanted" section here. I'll bet you can get some. They breed in winter/spring, and are best shipped in spring or fall (to avoid freezing or cooking in transit).

The filter that you saw for turtles... was it the submersible type (in-tank), or the mini-canister type? I believe either would be OK, but there are some drawbacks to each.

What sort of island will you have for the tank? Given the option, marbled newts spend a fair bit of time out of the water during the summer months.

Yea the filter was submersable. It was new and looked like it would go beneath an 'island' or be the island itself.

Not too sure on what Island I'll have, Im loking for suggestions or pics to give me ideas. The more centered the better so it will be a bit harder for them to climb out.

I might just do that for the Marbleds. Though like I said, Im weary on price...

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>Quoting Ravenous on Monday 18 September 2006 - 00:27 (#POST106250):</font>

The more centered the better so it will be a bit harder for them to climb out. <!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote> This statement has me worried.... the location of the island should not matter, because you absolutely positively MUST have a secure lid. They can climb the glass regardless of whether the island is close to the side or not. Think Alcatraz! See: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/escape.shtml

You may have already found this, but here are some setup examples:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/setups.shtml

No need to worry, I plan on having a cover and will make adjustments like the pics show; thanks for the links! I like alot of those setups

Karen E - I planned on the duetto, but as I research, the reviews are kinda poor. The tetra ones are better. Alot of people complain these break fast and are hard to clean. Do you have trouble at all with it?

I would like the aquarium to resemble a sunken forest/jungle. Heres the island I was considering:
http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441780317&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030049&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023694&CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673332994&bmUID=1158546383435&itemNo=24&Nao=24&In=Reptile&N=2030049&Ne=2

I also want some good plants but wanted to ask, whats a good idea for gravel? Those pics sometimes look like sand.

Also, whats a good light to look for?

I think a helpful page for this site would be a "beginners go here" so people like me can see reccomended lights, gravel, filter, plants, anything and everyhting. All that can be found at a local Petsmart/Petcom and other shops

I dont really think that is really neccesary, I mean all the info for beggeners is right there in caudata culture under articles and F.A.Q.

and for a light you can use one of those fishtank lights I forget what they are called off the top of my head

Yea but if a site plainly said reccomendations on the bulbs, live plants, itd really help.

I saw the parts on gravel and filters, so thats a good thing. Im pretty much set on regular gravel, a regular tank light (though the bulbs I'll need to look for) a duetto filter.

Now all I need to know about is live plants vs reg and look at other tank decorations.

I just talked to petco and Firebellies are $3.99! Whoo hoo! I love when things are cheap. Too bad when I mention Marbled no one knows what the hell Im talking about.