Question: Could someone please ID my newt

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forde1690

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Hi guys sorry if i should not of made new topic for this could not find one. He was sold to me as a chinise fire belly but is way to big and spends all his time underwater. Someone told me he was a padletail but his skin is to bumpy. I looked at pics of hong kong newt and think he looks like one of them but i just dont know. cheers hope someone can help.

http://yfrog.com/madsc00276gj

http://yfrog.com/5fdsc00277rbj



 
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It is certainly of the genus Paramesotriton but i´m unsure of the species, maybe someone else will give it a go.
 
Azhael said:
It is certainly of the genus Paramesotriton but i´m unsure of the species, maybe someone else will give it a go.
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cheers for giving it a go :happy: i have asked lots of people even showed pics to man in pet shop and he said it was paddletail but its skin is rough.
 
If I had to guess, I'd say Paramesotriton hongkongensis, but with the warty newts it's really hard to ID the exact species. I've heard that there are some new species/localities coming out of Asia these days, so it's anyone's guess.
 
Jennewt said:
If I had to guess, I'd say Paramesotriton hongkongensis, but with the warty newts it's really hard to ID the exact species. I've heard that there are some new species/localities coming out of Asia these days, so it's anyone's guess.
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Thanks! I have one other fire belly in with him was goin to get few more as its a big tank i have them in but dont think i will bother now if he will just bully them lol
 
You need to separate the firebelly which i assume is an Hypselotriton (Cynops) orientalis from the Paramesotriton, as soon as possible. You have no idea how agressive they can get.

If you end up getting more firebellies, please consider trying to acquire captive bred animals. ALL the newts in the shops are wild caught, and that´s not good for you as a hobbyists nor for the animals and the species.
 
Azhael said:
You need to separate the firebelly which i assume is an Hypselotriton (Cynops) orientalis from the Paramesotriton, as soon as possible. You have no idea how agressive they can get.

If you end up getting more firebellies, please consider trying to acquire captive bred animals. ALL the newts in the shops are wild caught, and that´s not good for you as a hobbyists nor for the animals and the species.
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The firebelly has been in with him for 2 and a half years now and altho the bigger one sometimes go's for him he always seems to get away. Plus the firebelly spends all its time up on the island i made which is half submerged. plus the other one it to big to get onto the island lol as to getting more i dont know were to get them in Northern Ireland so might just stick with 2.
 
Well...that was a big risk you have unadvertedly taken for years, believe me. Paramesotriton can on occasion kill their own kind, so imagine what they can do to a small peaceful species like H.orientalis.
The fact that the orientalis spends its time on land has a very good chance of being a direct consequence of the mix. The smaller newt uses the land to scape.
In captivity, H.orientalis is completely aquatic, if they go on land it´s either because water quality is wrong or because they are stressed. If you separate them, you´ll see how the orientalis will go fully aquatic and will thrive.
 
Azhael said:
Well...that was a big risk you have unadvertedly taken for years, believe me. Paramesotriton can on occasion kill their own kind, so imagine what they can do to a small peaceful species like H.orientalis.
The fact that the orientalis spends its time on land has a very good chance of being a direct consequence of the mix. The smaller newt uses the land to scape.
In captivity, H.orientalis is completely aquatic, if they go on land it´s either because water quality is wrong or because they are stressed. If you separate them, you´ll see how the orientalis will go fully aquatic and will thrive.
Click to expand...



OK it sounds bad then i may seperate them in nest couple of days and put the paramesotriton in a smaller tank in my bedroom and keep him away from little one. But this would mean i have one firebelly in a 3ft tank by himself. Is there anything else i can put in with the firebelly to make tank in frontroom more entertainering?
 
I´m afraid not, except others of the same species (in which case, as i said, please try to get CB animals).
You can put fresh water shrimp, scuds, snails, etc, in the tank, but not other vertebrates.
 
Azhael said:
I´m afraid not, except others of the same species (in which case, as i said, please try to get CB animals).
You can put fresh water shrimp, scuds, snails, etc, in the tank, but not other vertebrates.
Click to expand...


To be honest i dont think i will bother with more newts as only place i know to get them is petshops and they already done me over once by selling me a warty newt as a firebelly and telling me it was fine to keep with others. I was thinking more along the lines of few cold water fish i read somewere befor if the fish is bigger than the newts mouth it wont bother trying to eat it. This true? I would not bother with anything but its a large tank and looks sill enought with 2 newts in it at the min but with one people would think its empty.

Cheers for the advice by the way found more help here than askin petshops for 2 years.
 
Warty newts (like your big one) do very well kept singly. I have one that has been solo for about 7 years. They don't need company, and if you did get another of the same species, there is no guarantee they would get along; you might end up needing to separate them anyway.

Regarding fish, I like White Cloud Mountain Minnows (Tanichthys albonubes) as tankmates for newts. There are not many fish to choose from; most need warm conditions, or get too big, or are too aggressive.
 
Could you not put a divider in the big tank and then you can keep both your newts in it?
 
dipsydoodle said:
Could you not put a divider in the big tank and then you can keep both your newts in it?
Click to expand...


I was thinking about doing that with a slate but then how will filter reach round other side of the tank? Only way i could think of was a bit of plastic with lots of holes drilled in it.
 
I don't think it's P. hongkongensis as the skin is too granular. I would say it was P. chinensis, as it has the greyish-green skin and red vertebral strip. It could also be in the P. fuzhongensis group, but the wrts don't look pointed or profuse enough. P. chinensis tend to have very small, orange-yellow or yellow belly stripes, while P. fuzhongensis tends to have larger belly markings (more ike crazy-paving), although belly colouration is not a brilliant character to use in isolation.
With only one newt in each half of a divided tank, you could use a single air pump attached to a bubble-filter in each sub-tank. Lots of air pumps have multiple output nozzles and you can get 'T-junction' joining elements to make two outputs from a single filter.
Having holes drilled in the plastic might allow the newts to smell each other, which might not be the best thing. make sure that the newts won't be able to cross the divider (they are suprisingly good at climbing) - you could stick a ledge at the top of the divider on both sides ot use a tight-fitting lid that meets the top of the divider. I would also make sure that at least the H. orientalis' (chinese firebelly) side has plenty of plants - they really like thick vegetation and this might stop it from trying to cross the divider.

The Paramesotriton will like crevices and caves made from flat peices of rock as well as some vegetation.

Good luck

C
 
Thought Id give this thread a bit of an update. 10 years later and this little guy is still going strong! Looks like the original pictures are lost on the hosting site which is a shame. But here are some up to date ones
Bob1.jpg
Bob2.jpg
bob3.jpg
!.
 
Binditheaxolotl said:
10 years!!! Cant believe you remembered this thread!! He’s so adorable! What species of newt is he?
Click to expand...
I believe he is a Chinese Warty newt that someone IDed above he was sold to me as a firebelly that is why I came he for advice. Turns out the advice was solid and he is still alive and kicking. I actually replanted his tank today with some Java fern and moss and removed the old plastic plants.
 
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