SockBear
New member
So, to cut a long story short I was handed a tank of red bellied newts by someone who needed to get rid of them, and I've never owned amphibians before (had fish though).
I have four newts, currently in a 64litre tank with a mild filter and some floating bark and plastic plants. I'm planning to move them to a longer tank with sand substrate, live plants and a bigger piece of cork. My current questions are:
1. I was reading newts do not like bright lights, which contradicts the live planting advice I've read. Are there plants which don't need an over tank light? What's the best thing to do here?
2. I have some driftwood for the tank with long thin branches sticking out. I'm worried the newts are going to swim into them face first and injure themselves, is that actually likely? I spent an hour sanding any vaguely pointy bits off the body in a fit of paranoia
3. There are no suppliers of live earthworms near me, but they did have dried earthworms- would those be ok? Otherwise I'll have to order live ones online weekly
4. Currently I'm feeding them live blood worms. They don't eat them immediately, but they do stalk them around the tank and are definitely eating them. I can't tell if the little one is eating though, should I take it out the tank and feed him/her in a tub? She's the one who likes to escape so I'm not sure how that will work
Any other advice welcome
I have four newts, currently in a 64litre tank with a mild filter and some floating bark and plastic plants. I'm planning to move them to a longer tank with sand substrate, live plants and a bigger piece of cork. My current questions are:
1. I was reading newts do not like bright lights, which contradicts the live planting advice I've read. Are there plants which don't need an over tank light? What's the best thing to do here?
2. I have some driftwood for the tank with long thin branches sticking out. I'm worried the newts are going to swim into them face first and injure themselves, is that actually likely? I spent an hour sanding any vaguely pointy bits off the body in a fit of paranoia
3. There are no suppliers of live earthworms near me, but they did have dried earthworms- would those be ok? Otherwise I'll have to order live ones online weekly
4. Currently I'm feeding them live blood worms. They don't eat them immediately, but they do stalk them around the tank and are definitely eating them. I can't tell if the little one is eating though, should I take it out the tank and feed him/her in a tub? She's the one who likes to escape so I'm not sure how that will work
Any other advice welcome