HELP!!!!!!

Hello, I have or had 2 Cynops pyrrhogaster
Japanese Fire Belly Newts. Last night I found that one had died and the other wasn't looking so great. I'm worried because the newt that didn't die has some sort of raw areas on his back and head. It looks as if he has an infection and the areas are raw. Also he is normally at the bottom of the tank just lounging around, but has begun to float at the top and seems very restless. I am very worried about his belly also, it seems like it is a bit bloated and he usually doesn't look like that. I feed them about every three days, so his belly shouldn't be bloated today. Thanks for any help. Dawn Sutton

Well Dawn, that really doesn't sound good at all. What symptoms did the dead one have, if any? Do the raw areas have a furryness to them? How long have you had them?

I'm no expert when it comes to sick animals but I'd place your remaining newt in a clean quarantine tank, in a quiet, cool part of your house and probably start treating for a bacterial infection. Information can be found here http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/sores.shtml along with treatment for other illnesses. Hopefully someone can recommend a decent antibiotic you can use.

Ok, is it possible that the two newts had a fight and the dead one lost. I was away for the weekend and when I returned they looked normal, but hiding as usual so I can't say for sure what may have happened. I have in the past witnessed minor scuffles between the two, but like I said, nothing major. I have my other guy in a different environment right now, and he seems fine but not moving much. When I really looked at him, I noticed that he is missing 3 toes, one on each back foot and one on this front foot....This is what leads me to believe that perhaps there was a fight. I doubt that my fish would have done this, they have all been housed together for almost a year and there have never been any issues. Maybe the marks that look raw on his body are from fighting the other newt? There isn't any fur around these spots either and like I said, they are new. Thank, Dawn

It does sound like it may have been a fight. C.pyrrhogaster arn't normally aggressive to the point of murder. Pachytritons on the other hand...

As C.pyrrhogaster is fairy rare in the pet trade it might be worth checking http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/firebelly.shtml to establish what type of newt you have. What fish were they with?

I looked at the link, and I am absolutely sure that we have the JFB...He seems better now that I have him isolated, but I tried to put him in the tank and he just floats. I have several gold fish, 2 angel fish, 1 guppy, a sucker fish and the newt.

There are lots of good reasons not to keep fish and newts together many of which you'll find documented here http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/Mixing_disasters.shtml Could be where your newts toes have gone and may even be the cause of the sores on the remaining one's back.