Question: Are these salamanders or newts?

[hcq33]

This little fellow was "hatched" from eggs and is 4 months old. The eggs were found in a local overflow pond connected to a small neighborhood bird/pond sanctuary. The largest one is just now 2 inches. I live in western Washington if that helps. They are very fast swimmers and it is very hard to get a clear picture of them. I need to know what type of animal it is, so I can care for it correctly. Right now I have 4 of them living in two divided betta bowls. They did not like being together, we had some bitting issues. Any advice would be great. Thanks for a wonderful website!
hcq33:wacko:

 

[Kaysie]

I'm afraid I can't offer you an ID, but I would suggest trying to find a guide book for local herps at your local library or university, and seeing if they have larvae keys in them. One general book that is pretty good is Petranka's book Salamanders of the United States and Canada.

 

[Otterwoman]

I think it will be exciting to watch and see what it grows up to be! When it gets larger you can post more pics and maybe we'll start recognizing something.