P.waltl tank set up help!

[NeekaLovesYou]

Hi all,

I'm rehoming a spanish ribbed newt next week and wanted to ask a few basic questions. I'm fairly new to newts having only fostered cfb's on a rare occasion for very brief amounts of time but I've never kept ribbed newts before. My first question (probably a silly one!) is do they need a filter? I know it's best to keep them in about 6-8 inches of water out of breeding season but I'm finding difficulty finding the answer to this one. Either way I've got a sponge filter and an under gravel spare, I've been cycling both just in case.

To this point I've always thought they were semi aquatic until someone told me otherwise. I had it in my head that I would buy some floating islands this week until somebody told me they're fully aquatic and wouldn't need any land space. Is this true?

Thanks in advance! :happy:

 

[Jennewt]

The sponge filter is probably your best bet. I would recommend NOT using gravel for this species, as there is some risk of ingestion.

Although ribbed newts are often 100% aquatic for long periods of time, it is still recommended that they have a land area of some kind available. They may occasionally want to emerge.
Caudata Culture Species Entry - Pleurodeles waltl

 

[NeekaLovesYou]

The sponge filter is probably your best bet. I would recommend NOT using gravel for this species, as there is some risk of ingestion.

Although ribbed newts are often 100% aquatic for long periods of time, it is still recommended that they have a land area of some kind available. They may occasionally want to emerge.
Caudata Culture Species Entry - Pleurodeles waltl

Don't worry, I never use gravel in my tanks! I was going to use large river rock as I have many in supply due to my axolotls. I have an undergravel filter already in one of their tanks and have never had problems with trapped waste. Sponge flter it is! Thanks for the info :happy:

Also, regarding water changes, is it best to do partial changes like that of axolotl tanks? If so how often. I currently do 20% weekly on my tanks.

 

[GraffLife]

I have four pleurodeles waltl in two separated tank....i prefer use very fine sand, because i think with the large river rocks you can't clean the dirty under the rocks.....with the fine (river) sand all the dirty remains on the surface and you can easily clear it....

I do the same partial changes like you...