Question: GH and temperature questions

I'm new to keeping amphibians. I have 4 of what I believe to be Chinese fire-belly newts.

I've included an image of the current version of the tank they are in.

The volume of water is about 36L.
This water is at room temperature before introduced to the tank and also treated with a water conditioner that is supposed to neutralise heavy metals and remove chlorine and cloramine. The water is further
supplemented with beneficial bacteria.

The tank is kept at room temperature which during the summer is between 68F and 72F degrees. During the cooler months it is between 64F and 68F degrees.

Every day I remove with a turkey baster any waste or uneaten food.

Every week I replace about 2/3 of the water with fresh and treated water as described above.

When testing the water these are the readings I get:
GH 120 ppm (mg/L0
KH 40 ppm
ph 7.0
NO2 0
NO3 20

I have concerns about the high GH reading and would like to know what would be the ideal range for my newts.

I would like to know, as well, the ideal temperature range for my newts during the winter and during the breeding season.

Any other observations and advice would be appreciated.

Thanks, Susan

The temp range is fine. I wouldn't worry about the hardness. I don't think anyone has defined an ideal range, but they seem to be very tolerant of hardness parameters. I would say the ideal winter temp would be in the 50sF, but even if their coldest is in the 60s, they may still breed.

I would recommend adding lots more aquatic plants if possible, particularly fast growing ones like Elodea and Java moss. The newts like climbing amongst a raft of plants and the plants themselves will help to maintain water quality.

Good luck with them

C

I would recommend doubling the water level. It will be better for the newts (more chemical and thermal stability of the water) and for you (less cleaning). Although this could mean that you might have to reconfigure the tank, it would be a shame not using the full volume. You could leave the rocks and just add a floating island (like cork bark). If the tank is cycled, you can just change 1/4 - 1/3 of water weekly and if it's heavily planted, you can get away with less frequent water changes.

Yes, more plants and more water, H. orientalis will happily stay aquatic in captivity so a small floating island is fine, you can get java moss or java fern to grow on a cork raft it you want it to look more natural. By the way those newts look very plump and healthy! Are they captive bred?

Definitely fill that tank up! The water parameters will be a lot more stable 36 liters is a little low for 4 newts. Also add more aquatic plants, preferably branched stem plants that reach to the top. They prefer this, and maybe a floating mat as a way to stay near the surface. The bamboo will eventually die fully submerged like that. The leaves must be out of the water. Other than that, the tank looks great and the newts look healthy!

HI!
Thanks to everyone for the feed-back!
I bought the newts from a store that got them from their supplier - I don't know if they were bred in captivity or not. I do notice some slight malformations which suggests to me that they are rather in-bred. (A breeder that is continually breeding from the same genetic pool?) One of the males has a jaw with a slight indentation in it. It doesn't seem to adversely affect him. One of the females rear right foot looks like a club foot with only 4 large toes. She seems fine, too.
I will definitely increase the volume of the tank. I started with that depth when the newts were much smaller and I was worried that they would have trouble reaching the surface.
I've got a source for Java plants that I intend to install in the next day or so. You may be able to see in the photo that I have Moss balls that the newts like and they DO help to keep the algea down.
I will re-configure the tank with your suggestions in mind and see what I can come up with to keep the bamboo growing.

Again, thanks!
Susan

You could keep the bamboo in small pots in the water. As long as the leaves are in the air, the rest of the plant will do fine submerged. Just be mindful that the newts can climb to the top of the plant and attempt escape so prepare against that

Where did you get the moss balls?

If I pot the bamboo do the leaves have to be completely out of the water?
I can picture that the first thing they would do is try to escape...

I got the moss balls from my local pet shop but I have seen them advertised, I think, at aquariumplants.com. I believe they ship anywhere. Once you get one you can propagate them.
I cut mine in two or four pieces so I can spread them around the tank. They should become round once more when they grow bigger. They starve algea because they compete more successfully for the same nutrients. The algea does begin to grow but then dies. It will be a brown and fluffy deposit at the bottom. The more moss balls, the less dead algea deposits.

Susan