Help please, complete novice!

Basically i've found that my sister has two firebelly newts that she's had for 2 years now, they are kept in a fish tank with other fish which they got told was ok! They barely ever go in the water and she says they dont eat much at all, there just fed on blood worms and nothing else.

I know realise it is not ok and in an ideal world i think these guys need re-homing which she is quite happy to do, can any one advice me the best way to go about this?

I Have a lot of rescue pets myself and its really important to me to find good homes for these poor mites, the temp in there tank is far to high and they are tiny compared to some of the pictures i've seen on here!

I really want to impove there lives ASAP but dont really know how to....
I have an old fish tank but i really don't think its sutible though may be better than what they have?
Cool 21ltr Blue Goldfish Aquarium Kit by Marina | Pets at Home

this is the empty tank i have but its empty for the reason i dont think its sutible for anyting?!
Please help!
ETA she go them from this place that advised her it was ok to keep them with fish http://www.tropicalfish.org.uk/ do you think maybe i should contact them and question why they are giving the wrong advice?

this will tell you what are suitable conditions for housing CFBs and also feeding too:

Caudata Culture Species Entry - Cynops orientalis - Chinese firebelly

Hope this helps xxx

thank you claire, ive had a read of that already but it doesn't give me any idea on size of the tank, i' jus wnderig if basicall anything is better than being with fish in a too warm tank?

It appears to me they like floor space under the water? Which the tank i have won't give them much off....

There doesn't seem to be any articles giving a step by step guide of how to up a tank , unless im missing it?

Hi,
if they are in a small tank, the water quality will suffer. Also if you put in a filter, it will raise the temperature and create strong currents which the newts hate.
You should get a bigger tank for them. If you don't want to buy a new tank have a look at this: http://www.caudata.org/forum/f49-ad.../69294-very-cheap-fishtanks-available-uk.html

This website could also be useful:
www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk
You could also buy a plastic storage box with a lid and use that. You will need to cut holes into the lid and stick some mesh over them.

Another thing is to make sure they can't escape. The best solution would be a screen lid. If your tank has a hood then you need to provide some ventilation (replace the flap with mesh, for example) and make sure there aren't any holes (use duct tape if there are some) Get them lots of plants (java moss and java fern shouldn't need artificial lighting if you haven't got any). Make sure they have a land area - I think a piece of cork bark should be enough (from a fish shop, shouldn't cost much) or some stones that break the surface. If they don't spend any time in water now you might want to give them more land to start with and then change the set up to encourage them to swim more.

I think it would be a good idea to take plants or decorations from the tank they are living in now to seed beneficial bacteria in the new tank. Look at articles about water quality on Caudata Culture.

To cool the tank you can just fill pet bottles with dechlorinated water (to 2/3) and freeze them. Then you just put one in the tank.

Hope this helps.

Thank you, thats ever so helpful. I rang south down just a moment ago but it went to answer phone so ive left a message and will be seeing if i can get an affordable second hand tank for them, my main worry now is getting the water conditions right for them ASAP so they can get moved from that other awful tank, reading up all i have now i have no idea how they have survived for two years, i’m pretty sure the tanks around 24 degrees.
How big should they be at around 2 years old exactly?

Also can anyone give me a basic shopping list of everything i need so i can place an order online today and get everything i did to set up the tank etc, any good websites for ordering stuff? Also is there a step by step guide for setting a tank up as i dont have a clue on things like dechlorinating water? Sorry if this info is on the site but ive read so much, and im trying to do this while at work!

Spoken to the Very nice guy at south down and hopefully if we can arrange delivery down to here we should have a 3ft x 15in x 18in tank next week, is this big enough? And will the newts be ok until then? Considering im guessing it’ll be a week or so after i get the tank that it will be ok for them to move in?

that is un less i can find a nice new home for them before then!

I think it might be better to just leave the newts where they are until you have their new home ready. Moving house is very stressful for animals and if they'd lived somewhere for so long they will be ok for a couple more weeks.

The tank will be very big for them. Have a look at different set ups (semi or fully aquatic) on Caudata Culture and in the forum gallery http://www.caudata.org/photoplog/category-aquariums-terrariums-vivariums-85/
and read about substrates and filtration. The easiest way is to have no substrate in the tank.
For decorations, you can buy some wood and stones in pet shops but they tend to be very expensive. Bricks and terracota plant pots are very useful and cheap.
Get them plenty of aquarium plants - if there will be no lighting then you will be very limited (java moss &fern as far as I know, good thing is these two don't need substrate to grow).
Think about how you will arrange a land area for them and how you can escape proof the tank.
These will be your main worries in the beginning. There are articles explaining everything on Caudata Culture.
Next thing is cycling the water - it shouldn't take long if you use materials from the old tank to bring in the bacteria.
Look for more information on Caudata Culture and Google stuff - there are loads of aquarium related web sites.

Try to get hold of earthworms to feed the little guys. They are very healthy and will help them gain some weight. Also get some frozen bloodworms - they are very handy when you can't get any live food.

That tank would make an excellent home for the newts. With such a big volume of water for just two C.orientalis, you probably won´t ever have to worry about water quality and stability.
Evut has given you great advice, and for any other doubts, there is a vast wealth of information on this species here in the forums.

I would just like to say that if they are currently terrestrial, perhaps it would be a good idea to move them toa fully terrestrial, temporal set-up until you have the tank fully set up and cycled. The easiest way to provide a terrestrial housing is to use a smallish tupperware, with good ventilation (cut a whole in the lid and cover it with mesh), and unbleached, moist paper towels as substrate. Add a couple of pieces of bark or wood for cover.

As Evut said, get hold of some earthworms, they are the ideal food. If they are thin or picky, waxworms will help them regain weight and stimulate a good feeding response. Bloodworms alone are a poor diet, you can still use them as part of a varied, complete diet, but never as an staple.

in think i've got my head round it all now!thanks ever so much for all your help its really appreiciated!


I don't think they are competely terrestrial as they go in the water a little but spend longer out on there rock

The way to tell is to look at the skin. If it´s non-shiny, slightly granular and hydrophobic, then it´s a newt in terrestrial phase. If it´s shiny and very smooth, it´s aquatic.
Good luck!

The guy hasn't go back to me about the tank, i presume he cant deliver down here so i shall have to find something else....can anyone reccomend anywhere affordable to get a sutible sized tank for them both?

Just a suggestion, but you might want to consider getting one of those really big tupperwares in the meantime. They are very cheap, and you can find some that are quite large, even 90l or so. That will give you a lot of water volume! xD
They are of course, less aesthetically pleasing, but work just as fine.

I think you can get a new 60l tank for about £60 with everything...including stuff you don't need like heater and filter if you're not going to use it... (Juwel and Eheim make something like that).
Otherwise look for Clear seal (just tank, you'd have to make a lid) or 2nd hand tanks (www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk). Sometimes on Gumtree people advertise cheap or even free tanks. You'd have to be very lucky, though.

In the meantime, maybe - as Azhael already said - a plastic box. It will be a much cheaper option and the animals don't mind. If you do get a plastic box try to get one which is see-through so you can see the newts well. If it has a lid then replacing a part of it with mesh is really easy.

Hi Shannon,
any news about the little guys? Have you got a tank for them yet?

Hello, well i have the newts at my house now, they are in a small tank ( the one i linked in my first post) temporarily whle i keep looking for one, as obviously they aren't actually mine so i dont really want to buy a brand new expensive tank for them! Its not ideal but its much better than the tank they where in that was 26 degrees, mine is staying a 20 degrees and hasn't changed in the last week while i've had it set up, they only got moved in last night and haven't really eaten anything yet, the only thing they eat apparently is blood worms, though i'm trying to find some non live wax worms as one of them is about half the size of the other one and clearly underweight

can someone link me to a place online to get earthworms/wax worms or anything else thats good for them, non live preferably!!

thank you

I don´t think anyone sells non-live waxworms....why do you want them dead? I don´t understand.
The good thing about waxworms is that their movement creates a strong feeding response.

Azhael said:

I don´t think anyone sells non-live waxworms....why do you want them dead? I don´t understand.
The good thing about waxworms is that their movement creates a strong feeding response.

Click to expand...

Because im a strict veggie and im not sure im up for live feeding....but if its the only way to do it then i dont have much choice.
Is there anywhere that sells them in small quantites, with only two newts without huge appitites i don’t really want 40 or 50 sitting in my draw!
How long do they live for and what do you do when you don’t want them for feeding, just let them die? Do they just starve to death as even as a worm this doesn’t seem a very nice way to go?
How many will they eat and how often?
Thank you

Aaaah i see.
With all due respect (and i do respect veganism, believe me) i think personal philosophies can´t be applied here. You are a vegan, but the newts are strict carnivores. Not only that, but they also eat live foods, it´s the natural way. Since this are not tamed or domestic animals, you can´t expect them to be submitted to human morals.
I doubt that offering dead waxworms will succeed, although you could try if it is important for you (you´ll have to kill them first, though, and i doubt you´d like that).

You can store waxworms in the fridge for quite a long time. That will also prevent them from completing the metamorphosis. If they do metamorph into adults, make absolutely sure none scape (they can break havoc in bee colonies). Adults live a short life anyway (1-3 weeks).

Local bait shops for fishing will sell small tubs of earthworms which come from chemically untreated soil. My local one sells a small tub of 15 for £1.90. I go there as I live in an apratment and am not allowed to dig up the communal garden to source any beasties out for them.

We have a local reptile shop that sells meal worm, wax worm etc...for £2.20 a tub. I have a mini fridge set up to keep my beasties in...it sits in the livingroom next to my tanks. I used to keep the meal worms etc secure in the fridge in the kitchen but that lasted a couple of days before the hubby went mad and told me to sort that out haha.

My mini fridge was on sale for £19.99 in Argos. (it is also hot pink which rocks heeheehee)

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I understand your problem with live food. To look after the newts well you'll have to overcome this. It gets easier after time. If you have access to a garden or park which is not treated chemically (probably easier to tell with a garden), get a spade and feeding tongs (something like this:
Reptilekeeping The Online Reptile Shop, Selling Livefoods Reptile Accessories and Equipment.
and go digging! The tongs are great for feeding but also for catching the worms - no need to touch them
If you buy any live food, keep the containers and then you can put a bit of soil and the worms in to keep them.
Hopefully you'll be able to find some little earthworms which you won't have to chop for the newts.
You can also buy earthworms. I just got some form insectsdirect.com - they were advertised as "A variety of different sized earthworms" but all were the size of small snakes so I wouldn't recommend them.

Another interesting food type might be lesser wax moth larvae. They are kind of like little caterpillars (which I personally found less disgusting and as far as I know they are fattening like the normal wax worms.
Dartfrog - Livefoods