What to have

I am a science teacher in the Houston area and have a 45L tank. I want to put a Caudata in the tank. I have gravel which I have built up out of the water on one end with a submerged pump. The water is returned to the other end, which will have around 6" of water. I am using the gravel as a filter. I would like to keep plants in it to keep nitrates low. I also raise red wigglers, Eisenia fetida, that I can use for food. What do you suggest I put in the tank that could live over spring break (with food stores) and be interesting to watch by my high school students. As a biologist, I find a lot of things in nature interesting that my students do not. The water is medium hard to hard, slightly alkaline and temp ~72 F. Tank has been cycled. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Hello kdowell,
you want to just put a newt in a tank that size? I think it's a waste when you could put at ease a little group of 3 to 5 as the kind that you will choose?
It's a look: Caudata Culture Species Database - Salamandridae (The genus Cynops is the best to start)
And here also: Caudata Culture Articles - Setups (I suggest you a fully aquatic tamk with only one escape)
By the way here: Caudata Culture Articles - Aquarium Substrates (Almost sand or sand is best)
I have helped!
Boa sorte!

I have found that all of the species I kept were interesting and hardy. I really enjoyed watching my Taricha torosa pair hunt around for food on their land areas. When I kept Triturus karelinii I got to see them performing their mating rituals, however your classroom will probably be too warm for them. I kept some Ambystoma and they did a lot of hiding in the dirt- so not as mush to pique interest for students possibly. My little paddle-tail was fun to watch but he was a dedicated escape artist as well. Be sure that you have a completely escape-proof setup.

Best wishes, hope I gave you a few things to look into. The Triturus show really neat sexual dimorphism during breeding season and were very cool to observe. Just be sure you can provide correct temperatures for them.

Thanks for wanting to introduce young minds to the fascinating world of caudates and biology in general!

obrigado

The gravel slope is a danger...debris trapped in it will rot, anaerobic conditions will appear and then your water quality will collapse. Ideally, one should never use layers of substrate deeper than an inch or so. The undergravel pump would mitigate this, but still, it´s a risk and a tremendous waste of water volume.

I would recomend getting rid of the gravel..it´s a bad substrate anyway (traps dirt and can be ingested with dire consequences). You can use fine sand or no substrate at all.

Those temps are on the higher range of most caudates tolerance..could be a serious problem. Either look into getting those temps to drop below 20ºC or consider a heat tolerant species such as C.ensicauda or C.pyrrhogaster.