C. cyanurus and C. orientalis

Hello everyone. I was just wondering if C. cyanurus and C. orientalis could be housed together? I have the Chinese now and was given the opportunity to adopt two BlueTailed. I wanted to put them in with my Chinese but wanted to make sure that they would be okay housed together beforehand. Thanks for any help!
~Jenna

I'm not an expert like some of these people on here are, but I think no. Most newts naturally excrete a toxin through there skin and each newt has a different one. Mixing the two species could cause them both to be under constant stress or even get sick. Both of these newts are also from different parts of the world which give them two unique natural habitats that arent native to the other. I'm sure you can mix them, but you may be endangering them.

Well, they are both from China/Japan areas and need cold water. I see where you are going with the toxins though. Thanks!

jennamae93 said:

Well, they are both from China/Japan areas and need cold water. I see where you are going with the toxins though. Thanks!

Click to expand...

Dont take my word for it. I thought one was from Japan and China and the other from Spain.

I just looked it up and they are both from China! Haha, but no worries, I still appreciate the input.

I've seen similar questions before, and its generally advised not to mix species (yes, even similar/related ones). I don't know them exactly, but there are some valid reasons not to mix c. cyanus and c. orientalis.

Being so similar they probably need the same environment and wouldn't poison each other. They definitey wouldn't eat each other. You can probably keep them in the same tank peacefully provided there is enough space for each species to establish a territory, though you'd need more than twenty gallons and a tank several feet in length. Issues might be hybridization, disease and parasite transfer, and the overall stress of being kept with another species will result in lower quality of life and shorter life span. Just get a ten gallon tank and spare the newts the stress:happy:

Thanks everyone for the info.

Hypselotriton cyanurus (blue-tailed newt) prefers warmer water to H. orientalis (Chinese fire-belly). Although there is some overlap in temperature requirements, it would be ideal to house them separately so that they can be kept in the middle of their respective optimal ranges. I seem to recall reading a thread about H. cyanurus x orientalis hybridisation, the risk of which should be strongly borne in mind if you have mixed sexes.

Additionally, it would be unwise to add new newts directly to an existing tank - you should quarantine new animals for at least a month or two before doing this in case they are carrying any diseases.

Essentially, the newts may do fine if mixed, but it would be advisable to house them separately to avoid undue stress, hybridisation and potential disease transfer. If you are setting up a quarantine tank, which would be a good idea, you might as well just use it long-term and keep the species separate.

C

I currently have the two Blue Tails in a quarentine tank. I am going to eventually put them in with my Chinese, but watch them like hawks. If anything seems off, I am going to separate them immediately.

Considering that there are certain potential risks, why is it that it is so important to mix them? We see this kind of thing in the forums every now and then and i always think the same....what is the benefit? what is there to be gained?
I would advice you to consider that question and weigh the answer you come up with against the potential risks.

I have put them together after a quarantine period (they came from an established tank with no known parasites from fecal testings) and everyone is doing fine. They swim together, rest together, and eat together without fighting.Right now it is saving me space. And yes, if I didn't have space, why accept them? I work in a small animal lab and we have an overabundance of the species and I figured I'd alleviate the amount of animals. Currently nothing bad is happening. I just wanted some opinions and I thank everyone for providing them. If this makes me a bad keeper then so be it, but since they are acting fine, I see no issues with it for the time being. Sorry if I come off as rude, I surely don't mean to be.

I've raised H.orientalis and C.e.popei larvae/juveniles together, put seperated them when the popei reached a bigger size. I don't keep adults together, because I don't want any hybrids. Raised them in a setup with a heap of gravel sticking out of 3 cm of water.