Im new at this! so help

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ItzChow

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Today i finally got my firbellies, got 2 i think their newt, cus they still small and baby size, i saw them at the petshop, and tey were WC catch, i live in NY almost no one breed them here. I put 2 in a 10 gallon tank, with 2 very small neons, a typical fish. And when i feed my newt for the first time, i put the frozen bloodworms in a small cup, and they came and ate the worms that came out around the cup but not in the cup. Anyone have any idea why they not eating the worms inside the cup? i put half of the cube in the cup, so it should be a good amount, but they just wont eat the one inside the cup but tey scavanger hunt for the one outside, they even fight for it =.=. If anyone got any idea would be great! hehe. :rofl:
 
Being that they are new to the setup and WC they are not use to eating out of the cup. If it is very swallow cup they will probably learn that there is food in there much faster. I would be patient and continue to put food in and around the cup and eventually the newts will come to understand cup = food.

On a side note, I see you have a couple neons in with the newts. I would watch the fish closely. Fish have a tendency to nip at the newts which can cause stress. Along with this they will eat the food given to the newts. I assume you don't use a heater for your neons correct?

Mitch
 
Nah i dont use any heater, they cost fairly cheap, im just adding them into the tank for looks, they are not aggressive, they get along with the newts. Well, is like fish on one side and newt on one side, the neons are really scared of the newts. Is it normal for a newt to bite a other newt during feeding, and a little after breeding, and one of my newt tend to hide more then my other one. And one tend to go on rocks more then water. Are these act normal?. My tank is on around 75 degrees, trying to cool it with iced bottles. Well it is summer peak here, very hot, room temperature is around 79 80. So yeah ;/ In the shop the newt were aquatic , so idk rather should i put them semi aquatic? or full
 
First, remove the fish from the tank. They dont mix well. If you are intending to kill both animals, you are exactly doing the right thing. And yes, you dont need a heater, b/c your tank is hot enough for the tropical fish and also hot enough to kill your newt very soon.

You will need a cover for the tank to make sure it is sealed from escape. When it is hot like this and the newts stress like this, they will try to escape. You should try to get your newt in an air conditioned room and try to lower the temperature to below 72F. Their is detailed info page about how to take care of fire belly newts.

When they are being heat stress like this, they might not eat well. The fish will compete with the newts for food.
 
Your firebelly newts should be kept aquatic as adults with only a small place for them to get out of the water if they choose to. If your newts are constantly staying out of the water then that usually indicates a water quality issue and in your case would be the temperature of the water. Here is a caresheet on Cynops orientalis (Chinese Fire Belly Newt) which you should read over carefully. It has all the information you will need to house these guys correctly.

As for the biting, it is quite common in caudates to nip at each others extremities during feeding time, if it moves they think it's food. Some species tend to be more aggressive than others but as for orientalis, they seem to be very passive.
 
Yep, the dont really go up on the rocks alot, but they tend to hide inside it, and they are fine in the water right now, i dont see much struggling or any strange action. Everytime i go near it and move my finger around, they tend to seem like they want to eat. Does this mean they are hungry? Last night i fed them frozenbloodworms they only ate the one outside of the cup but not inside, then walked away. So i assume they are full. Should i feed them again this morning? or at night?:eek:
 
If they are really aggressive, I wonder if you have Chinese fire belly newts (gentle newts), or if you were sold paddle tail newts (aggressive fighting newts). Many times the pet store people don't know the difference. If that is the case, you should only house 1 in the tank and buy another tank for the other newt, and a third for the fish. The fish need a different temperature than your newts. The fish need it warmer and your newts need it cooler.

You should take a picture of your newts and show us so we can help you tell what kind of newts you have, or look at all the Cynops care sheets. If you take pictures, we can help you with your tank and give you more suggestions too.

As far as food goes, you can offer them food, but if they don't eat, they are probably stressed from being in with the fish and being too warm.

Hope this helps,
Critter Mom
 
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Well heres a few picture of the newt and the tank. The water bottle in there is to cool off the tank. Was about to get it down to about 70 degrees at summer peak. And need more decor on the tank. If anyone got suggestion would love to take them!
http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad208/itzchow/Image0058.jpg
http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad208/itzchow/Image0059-1.jpg - this newt tend to be more aggressive a little during feeding.
http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad208/itzchow/Image0060.jpg - this other newt tend to hide behind the filter as the other one is on the other side of the tank.
http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad208/itzchow/Image0057.jpg
http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad208/itzchow/Image0056.jpg

Sorry picture not that clear! Wasnt able to get access to my camera so i used my phone :D!
thanks!
 
Those are Pachytriton labiatus. They are a territorial and agressive species.
Some individuals tolerate company as long as there are many hiding places, visual barriers and enough food. Others are completely intolerant and will harash and attack any "intruder".
Also, the tank needs quite a lot of remodeling. You need more water, a decent filter that creates quite a current(these species inhabits fast flowing brooks), and a lot more hiding places and visual barriers(decoration, plants...).
Watch out for agression and separate if needed. They can kill each other so this is nothing to joke about.

Read the caresheet for this species.

Another thing...they are wild caught and look like they have had a rather hard time during the whole process. It´s very important that you provide excelent care to them, otherwise problems might appear(specially infections) as their inmune system is most probably in bad shape.
 
Yes i do indeed, i tend to feed the smaller one first since the aggressive one alway come and bite the smaller one , which not allowing him to eat. So the small one get treated a little better =) This filter if i put it high enough or more above water, it creates a quite strong flow, because at times i see rock on the bottom moving in places because of the filter, and if i want to decrease it i just put it lower. Yes i got this tank like 2 day ago, need to find more tree bark type of stuff, and more rocks. Definety gonna decorate it more=) more suggestion? :lick: thanks!
 
Well, you really should have cycled the tank first...now you have to take extra care not to let amonia and nitrates rise to dangerous levels. Increasing the water level is specially important, because the bigger the water volume the more difficult it is for those substance to rise to problematic levels. It will also help maintaining temperature.
Gravel is also not your best choice at all. It traps a lot of dirt, and the food gets stuck between the pebbles.

I strongly recomend live plants, they will provide valuable visual barriers and will help a lot with maintain water quality.
For decoration you can use apropriate wood, stones, etc. Make sure you have at least 2 hiding places for each newt.
 
As i read more about caresheet for the species i got. I noticed alot of things. Yes soon i'll remove these small gravel, and probably just put a little layer of sand on the bottom on one side. And the other side will be feeding. Also probably gonna plant some live plant when i find a shop that sells around here. Still looking for a good tree bark =) thanks!

Oh btw i cycled the tank for atlest 2 - 3 days before i acutlly went and got the newts
 
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2-3 days is not even remotely enough hehe. It´s a process that usually takes about a month to be completed.
Make daily 20% water changes for a month or so, or until the levels of amonia, nitrates and nitrites are as they should be. Also keep a neat cleaning schedule of left overs. That should prevent amonia from rising too much.
Also, make sure you use dechlorinated water(treat cloramines if your water has them too).
 
Yep bought the stress coat type of decloranator, Doing a daily change of 10 - 20% water as u said. Just did one this morning. Also just added more water so the tank is almost 60% full of water. Will do more improving as i go out later in the day hopefully more success in finding decor and ect.:animal: thanks!
 
I am glad to see that things are starting to get better over there. It looks like you are on the right track now.:happy:

Please keep us updated,
Critter Mom
 
Haha thanks! hopefully they wil grow bigger=) and as i learn more about them, probably ognna get more specie of them! not bad for a 2 day newbie right? im really young compare to most people on here. And set up and bought everything my self ;/
 
I strongly recomend you learn how to care for the ones you already have before considering getting any more animals. You rushed into getting the Pachytriton, not even knowing the species and making a few mistakes...
Good thing is you want to learn, which is brilliant, and i´m sure you´ll do whatever you can to ensure your newts are well cared for, but really, you still have lots to learn, and all the time in the world ;)
 
Yes indeed, i will learn. Being a newbie, and in new york theres no way to find any salamander / newt around here. So only way i can get it is at the pet store. At least im trying my best to give them a better home then those horrible petshop they live in ;/ thanks for the advices =)
 
Wether you live in NY or a tiny little village in Croatia, there´s always the possibility of getting animals shipped to you. It´s by far the best option, as you can buy CB animals from respectable breeders knowing the exact species, that they are healthy, and that you are not contributing to the whole WC market, which is just dreadful....
I believe this was already told to you though...
 
Still young cant afford to do all those process ;/ i would if i could!
 
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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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