C. orientalis tank setup

[leanne]

Hi all,
I have two C. orientalis that are living in a 10 gallon tank at the moment, but I am in the process of setting up a more natural environment for them in a 20 gallon tank. I would like this tank to mimic a more wild environment, for my own enjoyment, as well as the newts enjoyment. Currently I have it 3/4ths full of water, with a small portion of land created by driftwood, and an assortment of about 12 aqautic plants. The substrate is find sand (play sand), and I am using a Aquaclear 200 filter. There are currently about 7 ghost shrimp living in it as well.

I have had the plants in place for about a day now, and the water still looks a little hazy. I have a feeling it may be from the driftwood I have in the tank. I have two pieces, one for the land area, and another that the outflow from the filter runs off of, so that there isn't as much of a current from the filter. My question is: Is this the same as the stuff that seeps out of corkbark and makes the water acidic, or should I just ignore it?

Also, I'd like to add some white cloud mountain minnows to the tank. Does anyone know if these are actually found in a similar environment to CFBNs? The info I read said they are found in China, so perhaps they could actually be found in similar environments in the wild? Thanks!

Leanne

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[joeri]

Hey Leanne,

if I have the same driftwood in mind you could boil it and then wash it in the shower (no soap of course) with heavy current. After that you shouldn't have to much dirt coming off anymore.

I doubt those fish live in the same places as the newts, as newts and fish are rarely found in the same place. But on top, adult minnows grow up to 5 cm and CFB only grow up to 6-9 cm. I don't see why you should keep them together. They are just to big in my opinion.
If you had the fish in mind as food for the newts, I would keep them in seperate tanks and feed offsprings to the newts.

I do like the looks of your tank hearing your description. Maybe post some pictures later on.

Greetz

 

[i.]

I don't see how the white clouds could harm the newts really but maybe I'm wrong. They do have similar temperature requirement so it does make them interesting to keep with newts.
The driftwood will make the water kind of orangish for a while, washing it will help but it will take a while before that goes completely away. Adding charcoal to your filter will help clear the water. You'll have to be a little patient with it though.
Have fun, it sounds like a great setup!

 

[joeri]

I was thinking in terms of stress. Don't you think "big" fish might cause stress? I may be wrong, still I wouldn't recommend it.

Maybe other people will post their opinion later on.

 

[jennifer]

I would guess that the haziness of the water would be caused by fine material in the play sand, not by the cork bark. Cork bark will not have a significant effect on pH and I've never seen it release any color into the water.

I have a concern about the Aquaclear filter. How will you seal it to prevent escape?

 

[leanne]

Jennewt,
I was a bit concerned about the filter myself, but as I cannot afford a canister filter, I decided to go with it. I already had a made-to-fit lid for the aquarium, and since it had a wood frame, I simply cut out the frame where the filter would be hanging over the side. Since my guys wouldn't be able to climb over the ample underhanging of the filter, all I really did was put a piece of cone-shaped tinfoil (pointing downwards) around the top of the uptake tube. I also put some tape around the connection of the uptake tube to the filter. Sorry, it's tough to explain, I will get pictures.

As for the tank, I couldn't be more pleased. I added my newts a couple of days ago and they seem to be incredibly happy. They have stayed in the water most of the time, and are eating better than they ever were before. I also have 6 white cloud mountain minnows that make the tank more interesting. The newts don't bother the minnows, and the minnows don't bother the newts. I believe I have at least 4 ghost shrimp left of the 7 that I bought. I suspect the smaller ones were eaten or just died. The other 4 are doing well, and are about half the size of the newts! When it's feeding time everyone gathers around. The newts have first pickings of course, with the braver fish snatching an occasional bloodworm. After the newts have had enough, the fish swoop in to finish up the scraps that are left in the sand (seems the newts prefer to eat from the bowl ). The ghost shrimp pick up the remaining leftovers.

Quite honestly, I have never seen the newts so healthy looking. I know they would probably be just as happy without the fish or shrimp, but they are all doing awesome and I couldn't be happier about it.

Leanne

 

[joseph]

The only possible problem is that if the newts decide to snack on the Wcmms. That depends on how big they are, but I usually see them sold at almost full size( 1inch). They might make breeding the newts a bit difficult though.

 

[i.]

I have zebra danios with my pleuros, likewise they don't seem to bother each other. Funny thing is I feed the newts every 3 days and the fish every day and lately the newts have realized the fish pellets are edible and wait around at feeding time to grab some. They hardly get any at all as the zebras are much faster at it but it gets them out and active.