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merk199

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Hi all from Pepperell Massachusetts. New to newts and salamanders. I am thinking of starting a setup and figured I better educate myself before I jump into anything. I remember the days of my youth looking and catching local salamanders. They seemed pretty cool little creatures. I am a former saltwater reefer, who just converted to a freshwater planted tank. So a salamander tank of some sort seems like the next most logical step right :).

I am reading the FAQ's and care sheets right now. Anyone want to point me at a few beginner species to look at?
 
Terrestrial -

Tiger Salamander (A. mavortium, A. tigrinium)

Semi-Aquatic -

Chinese Fire Belly Newt (C. orientalis)
Japanese Fire Belly Newt (C. phyrrogaster)
Spanish Ribbed Newt (P. waltl)

Fully Aquatic -

Axolotl (A. mexicanum)


Also, you could get Fire Belly Toads (B. orientalis) because thier care is very similar to that of the Fire Belly Newts, but you should go to a different site for a caresheet on them. I would also recommend only buying from breeders, not from a pet store.

What are the temperatures around your house and what kind of species are you looking for? How much time/money are you willing to spend on this?
 
My wife actually said oh you are looking at salamanders the smooth wet ones...:) She didn't really support my reefer tank or my current plant tank so that was a bit of good news. Seems like that is the implicit yes to continue researching and such....

So far I am most interested in the Chinese Fire Belly Newt (C. orientalis). I have a lot of research to do before I actually buy any. I want to be sure these are an animal I can and want to keep. We are in the stages of looking for a new place to live hopefully with a basement. Right now heat may be an issue with the place we live though I do have a chiller left over from my reef days maybe I could utilize that. As far as buying from a breeder I see that as my only option. Having been a reefer, and now in planted freshwater I am sensitive to purchasing wild caught versus bred. Hopefully after we move I will have plenty of room to satisfy all my aquatic hobbies. I will never admit it but I want to set up a seahorse tank too....That will satisfy my reefer instincts. Seahorses require 66-72 degree tanks so that is a reason why I have not done that as well yet.
 
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  • Shane douglas:
    with axolotls would I basically have to keep buying and buying new axolotls to prevent inbred breeding which costs a lot of money??
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  • Thorninmyside:
    Not necessarily but if you’re wanting to continue to grow your breeding capacity then yes. Breeding axolotls isn’t a cheap hobby nor is it a get rich quick scheme. It costs a lot of money and time and deditcation
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  • stanleyc:
    @Thorninmyside, I Lauren chen
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  • Clareclare:
    Would Chinese fire belly newts be more or less inclined towards an aquatic eft set up versus Japanese . I'm raising them and have abandoned the terrarium at about 5 months old and switched to the aquatic setups you describe. I'm wondering if I could do this as soon as they morph?
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    Clareclare: Would Chinese fire belly newts be more or less inclined towards an aquatic eft set up versus... +1
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