Cynops orientalis help

Hi, i recently acquired 2 cynops orientalis. They are my first newts, and i must say, i'm crazy about amphibians, unfortunatelly never had the chance to raise any of them myself. The problem is that i'm absolutelly clueless about this, except what i read in the internet, and some stuff simply scares me, and i have a TON of questions, cause i really want them to have a life has long has possible.

First of all - about the stones i bought, the lady in the shop told me to boil them with salt, i did that, then i washed them in cold water. i added them to the aquarium and added the water (this water had no special treatment whatsoever) the water got cloudy, and that got me worried, should i change the water? i used regular tap water, should i use bottled water instead? I'm feeding them blood worms that they seem to eat pretty well, is that a good kind of food? should i change it? is living food better? They dont move to much, that got me worried, sometimes i have trouble knowing if they are still alive or not, is that normal? Also one lost his skin yesterday (i got them 2 days ago) but i read that changing skin is a normal thing, it is, right? I have no plants or filters, should i get one? wich would you advise on a 50x20 aquarium? How can i know if they are healthy and happy?

Also, something really freaky happened to me today, i just got home, and one of the newt was on top of the platform that i installed there, is it normal for them to leave the water? i would really apretiate some help cause i am clueless about what i am doing. I know this seems paranoia, but i am indeed worried about them. I would hate that something happened to them. Oh and btw, i got them 2 days ago.

Thanks in advance, João Rodrigues

Hi

Read this http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Cynops/C_orientalis.shtml

First thing to say is with your tap water, make sure you use dechlorinator solution for aquariums, gets rid of all the chlorine and nasty chemicals in tap water.

Bloodworm are a good food source.

I have five C.O, they leave the water occasionally.

My newts took 2 or 3 weeks to get settled in, for the first week they pretty much just sat on the rock in there tank, so i wouldnt worry yet about them not moving much.

as for the skin shedding, non of my newts have done that, so i can not comment on that.

Just do alot of research, especially on that link i gave, it tells you everything you need to know.

Benny2k1 said:

as for the skin shedding, non of my newts have done that, so i can not comment on that.

Click to expand...

It is perfectly normal for newts of any species to periodically shed their skin. Yours do it too, they probably just eat it before you notice.

Also, plants would probably be a good addition to the tank. If you want live plants, the tank will need to have a light source- Java fern, hornwort, and similar aquatic plants are fine. Alternatively, you could use plastic or silk plants.

I'd be concerned if cloudiness of the water persists. Meaning, more than 2 days. There is a lot of dust on some rocks...Like those used for driveways. I would use pea gravel from a pet shop( small smooth stones), and if you want to provide land area...Floating cork bark or even dense vegetation. I'd also look into "under-gravel" filters. They are an ideal for most species(including the Cynops varieties), because of the low current generation. Cynops don't like fast moving water, and could tire and drown. Newts and Salamanders are calm creatures. A little while with limited movement is all good. Best of luck!

Benny is right blood worm is a brilliant source of food but also experiment with different foods like daphnia or small earth worms.I also have five cynops orientalis and I use sand as substrate and elodea as plants










chris:wacko:

Thank you all for your answers. I think i got the picture on this, things are really going well, they seem pretty happy, i've been doing my best. One question, how do you feed them the frozen worms? do you unfrozen them? or just cut trough the ice, then place them inside the tank? One other question, can they get used to feeding outside? And for my final question how many times a day/week do you feed them?

Joao Rodrigues said:

Thank you all for your answers. I think i got the picture on this, things are really going well, they seem pretty happy, i've been doing my best. One question, how do you feed them the frozen worms? do you unfrozen them? or just cut trough the ice, then place them inside the tank? One other question, can they get used to feeding outside? And for my final question how many times a day/week do you feed them?

Click to expand...

To feed the frozen bloodworms, you have to let the cube defrost first. Once it is defrosted, just put it in the tank and they will eat it. If you are worried about it making a mess, you can put the bloodworms in a jar and slowly lower it in the tank. This will keep the bloodworms from getting all over the place.

I don't understand your second question. Do you mean feeding in a seperate container or out of doors?

They could probably be fed 2-3 times per week, depending on your preference and how much they are willing to eat.

Good Luck!

My bad actually i meant outside of water. In the platform i read somewhere that some kinds of newts can get used to that, but that container idea is great, thank you. The lady in the shop told me to feed them everyday with 1/4 of cube, do you agree with that?

Joao Rodrigues said:

The lady in the shop told me to feed them everyday with 1/4 of cube, do you agree with that?

Click to expand...

I wouldn't trust what the pet shop employees tell you. Many times they are clueless about what they are talking about and are just trying to make a sale.

I would probably feed them one-two whole cube(s) every two or three days.

Ok, one of my cynops just started getting really unresponsive, i really dont know what to do. I dont know if theres anything wrong with him, he looks good on the outside though. What should i do?

What do you mean by "Unresponsive"?

Nathan050793 said:

What do you mean by "Unresponsive"?

Click to expand...

He was really calm, and when i tried to reach him he didnt tried to run. Seems a lot better now, it is walking from side to side etc. Also if someone could guarantee me that feeding them every couple of days is how it should be done i would apreciate it.
I'm also having problems with the water. My main concern has allways been the water seeing that i dont have a filter. I will get a filter by tomorrow, but it might not be the better one for this type, since that now i cant get the one that i should have. Is there a way of stopping the water flow of the filter somehow? Any other tips you might have that you have done wrong in the beggining? Thank you for your time.

If the newts are young, or small, or thin, or not eating well, they should be offered food every day. Once they are a healthy weight and well established, then feeding them every 3-4 days is just fine.

There are various ways to deflect the water flow from the filter. Direct the outflow toward the glass, or into some rocks. This article has pros and cons of various filter types.
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/filters.shtml
Beware of electrically-powered in-tank filters, as they can raise the water temperature. Also, it is possible to keep a tank with just an airstone, or not even that.

Is there a way to tell if the newts are from the wild or captive bred? I have a feeling that mines are from the wild... and i really dont like that.

Considering that they're from the petshop, I'm thinking they probably are wild caught.

most C.O are wild caught , i totally agree with nathan and jennewt 3-4 days is right for feeding and once settled , these are great newts to watch

Jennewt said:

Beware of electrically-powered in-tank filters, as they can raise the water temperature. Also, it is possible to keep a tank with just an airstone, or not even that.

Click to expand...

I like this advice, and use the airstone on a few of my own tanks with great success. Trust the others about food offering, they are right. Adults that have healthy wieght should be offered 3-4 times a week. Jennewt put it best I think.
Good luck, and keep us "posted"!

jbherpin said:

I'd also look into "under-gravel" filters. They are an ideal for most species(including the Cynops varieties), because of the low current generation.

Click to expand...

Actually, undergravel filters are pretty terrible for caudates. In order for them to do their job appropriately, they need deep water, and a powerhead (which provides a significant current) on the uptake tube in order to move the water. If you don't provide a powerhead, all the waste will just settle under the filter plates and will contribute significant amounts of ammonia to the tank.

jbherpin said:

Newts and Salamanders are calm creatures. A little while with limited movement is all good. Best of luck!

Click to expand...

Broad, sweeping statements are incorrect in most cases. This species prefers calm waters, but there are many species that prefer swift water. Both 'giant' genera, Cryptobranchus and Andrias live in swift water, as do many small stream-dwelling species. And if you think all caudates are calm, you've never tried to catch a mudpuppy or a Desmognathus!

Thank you for every answer so far, but now something else is going on, i solved every issue, but i had to increase the water level to do that i had to change the whole tank, i did it, with the new setup the newts have a good hiding place. However they almost never leave the hiding place, when i go to feed them they are hiding, they are allways there. Is it stress from the tank change that was arround 4 days ago, or could it be some other thing? What should i do?

Joao Rodrigues said:

Thank you for every answer so far, but now something else is going on, i solved every issue, but i had to increase the water level to do that i had to change the whole tank, i did it, with the new setup the newts have a good hiding place. However they almost never leave the hiding place, when i go to feed them they are hiding, they are allways there. Is it stress from the tank change that was arround 4 days ago, or could it be some other thing? What should i do?

Click to expand...

Yes they are stressed. You didn't cycle your tank. Read this http://caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml Until your parameters are fine, you will probably need to do daily water changes, but not all of the water.