New Newts and Owner

I haven't had Newts since I was ten, and that didnt last long I'm afraid.

I had the tank all set up more or less, save the lid which I was going to buy when I got the Newts (Fig and Isaac, who seem to be both girls if I am looking at them right), as they're temporarily housed in my six gallon bowfront as the lid I had bought from the store isnt the right size for my 21 Long... (30X12.5 inches).

They should be ok until Monday when I can get the right lid from the store right?

I have an internal filter which came with another old aquarium I have, and I have plenty of plastic plants to start them out as well as driftwood, nice smooth rocks, and rounded gravel.

Thing is, how DEEP should the water be? I intend to give them some terrain to sit around on and stuff. However, looking at the site shows that these are Fire Bellied Newts (probably chinese or Japanese) and are almost all aquatic, so I wont have to worry about that. Should I fill the tank completely though? That's a LOT of water for four wee newts...

Can a snail to keep down algae be kept with them? I know they like bloodworms and stuff so there's no problems there. I've kept aquatic fish for years so I'm familiar with cycling, conditioning and water quality control, and I used some 'pre cycled' water from my fish tank to help get the new tank settled (I've had it set up about four days at 1/3 fullness, although its getting an extra two days due to my lid mistake)

Any information is greatly appreciated!

Edit to add: Further research seems to confirm that I have two somewhat plump chinese Fire Belly Newts, the plumpness which may be a sign of being females. They dont seem to be 'bloated' as in the bloating page indicates as its all down in their tummies.

The basic set-up seems ok but keep in mind that any pathogens that were in your fishtank are now in your newt tank as well. Even is the fish were healthy, there could be diseases that the newts could be susceptible to. It will not likely be a problem but watch them closely for the first 30 days and pay attention for signs of illness. Other than that the tank sounds fine. Cynops are shameless little beggars and will react when you walk in the room and sit near the tank.

Thanks for the advice, but what about my questions? Should I have any land at all? Perhaps just a little one for if they feel like climbing out.

It does depend entirely on your specimens, but yes, they will probably only require a small land area.
Of all those that I've kept(I would guess 11 or 12 over the years) all the wild caught newts have been mostly, if not entirely, aquatic. Some of them would pop out for a quick look around occasionaly, most never left the water. I did have one captive bread CO that probably spent about 2/3 of its time on land, the other three from the same spawning didnt leave the water at all.

Oddly I have observed that it tends to be the larger paler coloured individuals that come up to land from time to time, that just me?

Thanks.

Bad news though. The fish store doesnt have the right type of lid in the size I want at this time

I'm going to go to Home Depot next chance I get and get some plexiglass cut.

Another temporary lid can be arranged using duct tape (the universal cure-all!). See photos here:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/escape.shtml
Use the duct tape to make a lip of minimum 2 inches all the way around. Be sure that no cords or tubes go through the big opening in the top - cords or tubes need to go UNDER the duct tape.

That will work, simple as that? They can't somehow climb upside down or stick to the duct tape? (It IS the Force after all)

And I have a roll too. Woo!

*goes to set up* Thanks.

Horsetuna said:

That will work, simple as that? They can't somehow climb upside down

Click to expand...

Nope. At least, in my experience.
They can hapily scale a vertical piece of cable or up glass(even inclined against them), but they cant get far upside down.
You need to make sure any cables or tubing run under the tape. Be mindfull that they can stretch out and grab on. I used a 15 litre tuppaware with the middle of the lid cut out(about a three inch rim) as a quarantine tank with a cork bark float. The little chap managed to paddle the cork into the middle of the tub and reach up to the edge to haul himself out.

all set up!I need to add more water though as the filter's rather noisy... But I noticed that my TV stand is not liking the weight so I will have to move it first.

Thanks for the idea.I was worried as at the reptile store I worked at years ago, we used Duct tape on a snakes' cage in an emergency (while we got a new one set up) and he got stuck to it!

Tv stand? I would!
A full aquarium is pretty weighty in comparison to what most household furniture can take. Aquarium stands you see in shops are quite robustly constructed. Usualy solid, made of heavier materials and reinforced.

Simple stands arent to difficult to build with a few supplies and tools.

Tools and supplies which I dont have, heh.

However, I do have some sturdy milk crates, and I found out their bases fit EXACTLY into the bottom of the tank perfectly, so the entire tanks' length save a 1 inch gap in the middle is supported by the crates.

UGH! What's wrong with me> I left the sheet of plexiglass to make myself a nice Newt Tank Lid on the bus on the way home... they likely wont realize they have it for 3-5 days.