I need a little help with my newt.....

well, at first I had him in a dumb 4 gallon thing, the pet store said it would be an ok size for him, but it wasn't. The water would be dirty and I'd have to clean it every day. My newt wouldnt go in the water if it was dirty. So, now I got a 10 gallon aquarium with a filter. But he's not eating now.... He definitely looks underfed. He ate some frozen blood worms one day and a cricket, but now he wont touch anything. I've tried special newt food and those dumb little shrimp and nothing.... I'm getting really scared, since he looks so skinny. And the guy at the pet store said the filter i got would be fine, but it seems a little too strong for the poor little guy and it's making the water warm... Does anyone have any suggestions? I could use some help guys.... thanks

What type of filter do you have in there? Do you know what type of newt it is?

Newts don't like strong currents of water so you may consider getting an airlift type filter. He may not be eating because he is stressed with the strong current. If your tank doesnt have a 'land' area, try putting one in.

You could also try feeding him live bloodworms or small chopped up earthworms. Some newts tend to only eat live moving food. I have one like that.

its called a cascade 300... i dunno... can i get a diff. one for cheap? and i have a fire bellied newt... anyway today i went out out in the yard and got a few small earth worms... he ate all of them... looks like im gonna have to get him live food from now on. at least hell eat....

The Cascade 300 is too large for the 10 gal. I run a Cascade 200 in an 18 gal tank, with the output turned down.

For 10g tanks, I use both Fluval and Duetto internals filters. The Duetto does not give off much heat,is much smaller than the Fluvals, and has less water disturbance. I prefer the Duettos over the Fluvals for 10g or less. Also the Whisper internals are okay too.

I like the Cascade internals, but for larger tanks.

Good that he ate the earthworms. He knew what he wanted all along!

Good luck

thanks for the filter advice... im fairly new with amphibians, so I wasn't quite clued in to what i needed in a tank... i wonder why the pet shop guy said the filter would be fine, though... argh... do ya think I can return the 300? eh ill just waste another 15 bucks... but thanks again. lol now my newt's so full he's just sitting on the land... I'm glad he's finally full, though, he looked like death before....

Kelly,

If you got the filter at Petsmart, they will take it back. I don't know about other stores, but it doesn't hurt to ask! But, 15 bucks is super reasonable for a Cascade 300. You might just want to hang on to it should you decide to upgrade to a bigger tank.

Glad your little guy is full

The biggest worry with the cascade type filter is that it requires a big hole in the lid around it. Newts are real escape artists. You're lucky he's still in there.

(Message edited by jennewt on May 12, 2005)

Hi Jen,

That's a good point. The Cascade filter I use is an internal filter (just like the Duetto, and Fluval inernals). The only hole required is one big enough for the cord.

Soooo -- Kelly, is your filter the hang on type, or the internal type? That will make a big difference regarding safety for your newt as Jen mentioned in her post above. If you get a chance, please clarify this, as I don't want to worry about your newt escaping! Thanks

Also, I looked the Cascade up, and I am confused....I have a 200, you have a 300. Hmmm....the article stated that a 300 is okay for a 10g. (I highly doubt that, as my 200 is POWERFUL). Wonder if there is a product "renaming" thing going on here. I must search on.

yea, i was concerned about him escaping, too, but i secured the opening around the hole, right now i have a kind of tape around it, but im looking to put something else, it's kind of makeshift right now... but I'm going to need a new filter anyway, since this thing makes the tank pretty warm... and the current is very strong... I'm taking it one step at a time, first it was the eating, now it's the filter... tomorrow ill get a new filter, now that my little guy is happy and fat

Hi Kelly,

If I were you, I'd just use a low-powered, low-noise air pump, a simple charcoal/wool filter or sponge filter, and one of those metal air flow regulators so that you can adjust the volume of air flowing through the air tube.

As James said, newts dislike strong currents. I've used cascade filters in the past, but made sure that the water falls into a rock or into a clump of plants like java moss to cushion the impact. I stopped using them after an incident in which a poor newt made its way into the filter mechanism and got badly maimed by the motor.

As summer approaches and the weather gets warmer, an internal filter could push the water temperature to an intolerable level, so you're right to be worried about the heat it creates

Oh, and do check out Ed's article on cycling water for aquatic animals:

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

(Message edited by TJ on May 13, 2005)