My Newts are starting to Fight :(

I am really worried on what may happen

I have two fire belly newts and one is always trying to fight the other. The first sweetheart is Mr. Newton, he was our first newt. We thought he could use a friend so we went and got a second newt (we call him Grumpy because he looks mad all the time). Well Mr. Newton is always hiding under the rocks and when ever Grumpy comes by him he moves. Today I seen Grumpy attack Mr. Newton, I stopped the fight right away and took Mr. Newton out for a min.

HOW CAN I MAKE SUFRE THEY DONT FIGHT? THEY ATE TODAY SO IT CANT BE THAT GRUMPY WAS HUNGRY? I NEED HELP PLEASE PLEASE..... I LOVE THEM BOTH AND WANT THEM TO GET ALONG.

Are you sure they are not paddle-tails? This behavior is unusual among the Cynops spp, and the two are often confused for another.

Post a picture so we can see what species you were sold.

Yeah, this is not Cynops/Hypselotriton behaviour. You most likely have a species of either Pachytriton or Paramesotriton. From what you say, you´ll need to separate them.

omg I will post pictures asap, I seperated them for now. thank u all so so much, i really appreciate it

Hi there,

I just took a look at the pics that you posted, and your newts are definitely Paramesotriton - most likely P. Chinensis. These newts are territorial and can be aggressive. Multiple newts can be kept in the same tank, but I would suggest that you make the following changes first:

1. Raise the water level. P. Chinensis are almost completely aquatic. They should have deep water with a bit of current. A land section is often not necessary at all, although a piece of floating cork bark or other island type area may be appreciated by some individuals.

2. From the pictures, it was difficult to tell how large your tank is. For 2 P. Chinensis, I would recommend a 20g "long" tank. The smaller the tank, the more your newts will be forced together and the more conflict will arise.

3. Try introducing a visual barrier in the center of the tank in order to divide their territories. I have 2 aggressive females of this species who were constantly fighting. I placed several large rocks (about 4 inches tall) across the centre of their tank, and after doing this they have been content to view the rocks as a territory boundary and no longer fight.

4. The more plants and hides that you have in the tank, the better. These help to create blind spots where newts can safely hide.

Hope these tips help!

Help with feeding our Newt

We feed our Newts bloodwarms. I placed ghost shrimp in the tank because I thought they would look nice (I didnt know they ate shrimp lol its my first time having newts) but one of my Newts (Grumpy) is just not eatting anymore. I am a little worried about him. Does anyone have any other ideas on good food ideas

Re: Help with feeding our Newt

ashleymonae1 said:

We feed our Newts bloodwarms. I placed ghost shrimp in the tank because I thought they would look nice (I didnt know they ate shrimp lol its my first time having newts) but one of my Newts (Grumpy) is just not eatting anymore. I am a little worried about him. Does anyone have any other ideas on good food ideas

Click to expand...

Hi there, not sure on what type of newt you have but the staple diet for them should be earthworms / night crawlers. They love these especially being live and you can still feed bloodworms etc to vary the diet! Some people also use newt pellets and the occassional wax worm as a treat know mine love them! Good luck!!

p.s. have you also tested your water conditions to make sure they are good, not sure on what type of set up you have which is obviously dependent upon the species of newt

Re: Help with feeding our Newt

Hi again,

Earthworms are definitely the best food for P. Chinensis. You can buy them at most pet stores. You will need to chop them into a suitable sized portion (about 1/2 to 1" long). Its often best to offer the worm bit to your newt with feeding tongs or large tweezers.

Other options for feeding these newts are wax worms and butter worms. Wax worms are a tasty but high fat treat, and you will probably want to make a slight nick in the worm to allow its tasty insides to touch the water. That way your newt can "smell" the food and know that its good. Wax worms would be a good way to help fatten up Grumpy, who is looking very skinny. Earthworms will also be fine for fattening though, and are very nutritious.

I would also recommend checking your water parameters though, if you haven't done this already. As you just added a lot of water to your tank, its important to conduct frequent water tests for the next week or two to make sure that you aren't having any ammonia spikes.

Best,

Lydia

Re: Help with feeding our Newt

Just been on your profile to see your newts and have to agree with Lydia, Grumpy is looking on the skinny side so waxworms would be a good shot if he will take them!!

Also again on the water parameters I would say be careful with all those stones in there, if you are feeding them bloodworms they get everywhere and can quickly get lodged under stones etc and will foul the water quickly!! Sand is a much better substrate as its easy to clean especially when it comes to seeing and hoovering up bloodworm!

I have Japanese Fire bellied Newts and must admit avoid bloodworms as I did with my axolotls due to how quickly they foul the water and the nightmare they are to clean them all up Worms all the way.....

Re: Help with feeding our Newt

I agree with Zoe re: sand as best substrate. I also started out using river stones as a substrate with my Chinenses, and even though I was tweezer feeding them earthworms, the substrate still managed to hold a lot of pollutants. I switched to sand, and have been happy ever since!

Re: Help with feeding our Newt

Of course, keep those big rocks for visual barriers. But the smaller substrate stones could be replaced with sand.

Re: Help with feeding our Newt

Here's an example of a set up that seems to work well for 3 of my Chinenses:

ashleymonae1, I have merged your two posts together, and moved your two posts to the Newt section of the forum. This is so you get the best advice

Re: Help with feeding our Newt

Thank u everyone, for some reason I wasn't getting access to reply but they both are eatting very well now and I check the water daily and the temp daily. Grumpy was super skinny when I got him from ther pet shore but he is getting his weight up now. He is a big eatter now. I really appreciate all the advice. And I love that tank. I am still adding in plants and taking plants out because I just really want them to have a fun stressfree place to live. Again thank u all so so much.

So glad to hear that they are feeling better!!

That's great to hear!

Keep in mind that if you don't have the sand ready yet, you can always use the bare-bottom method until then- or keep it that way! Some members, me included, have had success with this method. Rooted plants are attached to wood or rock, or even planted in pots/containers and placed inside the tank. Floating plants are usually added, and some media for the nitrifying bacteria as well, be it some netted up gravel, to filter sponge media, which I use in the form of sponge filters.

I have both substrate types, and there are pros and cons for each method. This site is a great resource.