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Newbie! Pleurodeles Waltl

Vanders

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I am new to newt keeping and Pleurodeles Waltl. Ive read they are wonderful for beginners. I have kept tiger salamders before, but only wild caught and they were only kept for the summer outside of breeding season. Being P. Waltl is almost 100% aquatic (outside of a few floats in the tank) how much water should actually be in the tank? I ordered gravel, big no no as i now know, so if i put limestone rocks, flat and free of sharp edges, could i feed them on that so they wont ingest any rocks? Also, is there such a thing as too many plants for these guys? My enclosure isnt yet set up, but i have ordered 30 sagittaria 10 vqallisneria and 10 pennyqworth, will that be enough for a 20 gallon long tank?? Can they be housed with feeder guppies (I know some people suggest no, and others suggest its ok for feeding purposes)? How many can i keep in the tank at once?
 

Sith the turtle

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Guppies are not reccomend, as most common fish generally carry diseases and parasites that could harm your newt. I could imagine that if the plants hinder swimming that it would be to many, but generally lots of plants are good because it helps stress and water quality
 

Sith the turtle

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And instead of limestone rocks for a feeding area, why not get a dish to drop the food in? It also convinces the newts to eat anything in the dish, including pellets, which are easier in general
 

Vanders

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This may sound dumb, and obviously this is why I havent gotten one yet, but should the feeding bowl be under the water or above? Would you reccommend a juvie, sub adult, or adult? I know a hatchling would be impossible for me to care for based on its dietary needs.
 

Doomus

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Hi for your questions for water fill the tank up at least three quarters full of not a bit more. for the gravel I would highly suggest not useing it and useing sand instead p waltl at least mine are ravenous eaters so getting them to eat on a designative spot will be extremely difficult and I can easily see gravel being ingested in a feeding frenzy.
They love plants so the more the better. I would say no to guppies or any fish cause they can carry parasites that can harm the newts. In a 20 gallon tank I would keep no more than three


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Doomus

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Feed bowl goes under water and I would say a young adult for a first time keeper


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xxianxx

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Fill the tank with plants and you won't need any hides. Fill the tank to a couple inches from the top, more water will help maintain water quality, caudata culture says they should be kept at 6" of water outside breeding time but I keep mine in 12"-18" depending on which tank there in.
 

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ChristineB

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Great choice, I love my P. waltl!! Only put one in a 20-gallon, and fill it all the way, just an inch of space in case they want to haul out, which they won't unless they're stressed by a tank change, in my experience. They eat and poop a ton and you need a lot of water volume and plants to hold a good cycle. I use a bare substrate, but it's a textured foam background I glued down with sealant for a faux rock bottom, and I use potted plants and floating plants. They are strong and will mess up plantings unless the roots are well established. My 50-gallon tank is heavily planted and houses 3 newts comfortably. I use an external Fluval filter rated for 50 gallons, with ceramic media, and cool the tank to 68F with a fan.

Start with a juvenile; they grow shockingly fast so it'll be adult within months. My captive-bred three are from two different sources and none are able to catch fish, or even interested. They are happy with a few Hikari Carnivore pellets each, per day. I do house them with some small, peaceful guppies and platies. They are fry from my other established, healthy aquariums, so no disease risk. I've never seen even the newborn fry get eaten. I also have cherry shrimp for clean-up, they are also way too fast for the newts. I really do love these newts, so cute and entertaining. Once your tank is cycled well enough to quit scooping poop (took me 6 weeks) they become extremely low maintenance, too.
 

Vanders

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I am using sand as my substrate, and my plants wont be very well rooted, aside from ordering containers to put them in, is there another type of container that would work? I have a ton of mason jars for canning.... apparrently my tank is closer to 40 gallons (dumb blond math here!) So ive got two sub adults coming my way :)
 

ChristineB

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I use little 6-ounce Pyrex bowls filled with sand, and after planting I covered the sand around the stems with pebbles too big to eat. That worked well for me, except that Amazon sword wants to float, and they kept accidentally pulling up valisneria because I couldn't pile rocks among it without squishing leaves. Now everything rooted seems pretty well attached. I would only use shallow jars; if they are too deep you won't get enough water circulation and might have bacterial growth. Or you could just pile some pebbles around the stems of new plantings right in the substrate. Good luck with your new pets!
 
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