Question: Can I keep new Salamanders with old ones?

[PandahHD]

Hi, first time here and I'm glad to meet you all! (I was referred here from a reddit thread where I asked this, however they didn't know and suggested here)

I'll post a background paragraph at the bottom for those who care to read it, but I'll keep the point of the post short for those who don't.

We've got what we believe is a fire-bellied salamander (at least, that's what the shop we got it from thinks it is but they haven't sold them in a few years).

Help me identify the species? - https://imgur.com/a/0HjdvLM
It's had 3 legs for years now. We're not sure how it lost it, but it gets about and it doesn't bother it at all! He swims, walks and climbs just as well as any other Salamander.

It's probably 5-6 years old at this point, but we've got a new tank for it and I'd ideally like to get another salamander/next or two to keep it company.

So...

• Can I get new (probably younger) ones and add them into the tank with it at little-to-no risk?

• Can I keep this salamander with another newt/salamander species (if I can't find the same species)?

Beyond it losing a leg at some point years ago, it never seemed to have problems with any of the other fish, caecilians, plecos, snails or anything else in the big original tank, however if there would be any serious compatibility risks we can certainly put it back in the original tank quite happily, and I could get a new pair of salamanders or axolotls for myself in this new tank.

Thanks in advance for any/all help!


Some context:
My dad has had a freshwater fish tank for years, and unfortunately we recently experienced a bout of White Spot. We did lose a few of our smaller fish and a bigger fish, but for the most part the tank is now fine and the treatment has been completed.

For the treatment however, we were told to put our Salamander and our 3 Caecilians in a different tank, as the treatment may hurt/kill them. We put them in our spare tank together and the Salamander was getting smacked about a lot by all 3 stressed out Caecilians (only natural after moving tank), so we separated them, putting the Caecilians all in a third tank, and the Salamander stayed in the second tank.

Our Salamander these past couple of weeks has been more active and seemingly pretty happy, so we're considering leaving him separate from the other fish and keeping him in his own new, clean and properly set up tank. However it's quite a big tank for such a small creature, and I'd like to get it some friends to stay with it.

Like I said previously though, if there would likely be any big issues putting in a couple of salamanders/newts alongside it, I can put it in the old tank where it had been for years and was perfectly happy, and then use this new tank to house a new pair of salamanders, newts or axolotls.

 

[Otterwoman]

This looks like a newt from this family (link to care sheet). They do not like to share tank space with other newts and often kill each other. But it's a beautiful specimen!

 

[PandahHD]

This looks like a newt from this family (link to care sheet). They do not like to share tank space with other newts and often kill each other. But it's a beautiful specimen!

I think this is it yes, thank you so much!

It seems very likely that it's actually a Chinese Brook Newt / Paddle Tail Newt - the Pachytriton labiatus. Seems the shop got it wrong, but I can't exactly blame them, they haven't sold them for years after all. Also very nice to find out it's actually a newt and not a salamander! Interestingly, apparently "these newts are sometimes mistakenly sold as "Fire Belly" or ‘Giant Firebelly’ newts", which may explain the shop's mistake.

Though I must say I'm quite surprised to find out they kill each other and even riskier with fish, seeing as it was in a tank with many many fish for 5/6 years prior to this, and it never killed or attacked any of them.

Regardless, I'd rather not risk it of course, so I'll keep it by itself for the time being, though we may end up putting it back in the original tank, we're not 100% sure yet.

With regards to its housing, it is fully aquatic, has more than enough water in the tank to be deep enough and has hiding spots (though we'll likely be getting some more). The water is clean and goes through frequent partial water changes, as well as frequent filter cleaning.

My only real concern is that the care sheet you linked suggests keeping them at 18 degrees or lower. For the past several years it's been kept at 26 degrees or so (although in this new tank it's been lower at about 22). Do you think it would be best to lower it down as low as possible in the tank (I believe 18 degrees is the lowest in this tank), or keep it at this temperature, as this is what it's used to.

Regardless, thanks so much for this help already!

 

[Otterwoman]

A newt can live at substandard temps for a while but it's life will be shortened.
I have had these- I had a male and a female in a heavily planted tank for a couple years, many hides, hoping they'd mate, and one day he must have said the wrong thing because she ripped a leg off of him. So they can coexist for years, and the next day she's on an episode of Snapped.

 

[PandahHD]

A newt can live at substandard temps for a while but it's life will be shortened.
I have had these- I had a male and a female in a heavily planted tank for a couple years, many hides, hoping they'd mate, and one day he must have said the wrong thing because she ripped a leg off of him. So they can coexist for years, and the next day she's on an episode of Snapped.

Well the tank has a 'heater' that says it goes down to 18, however I've turned it down all the way and it's not going lower than 21.5 so I guess that'll have to do.

She (at least I think it's a she) has been in the tank for a couple of days now and seems comfortable enough, hiding when she wants to and coming up to the glass when she curious about the people looking at her. However we're trying her on pellets again but she's not really eating, which is a bit problematic. I'll try her on small pieces of muscle again tonight since she seemed to eat that last week.

Hopefully she'll do fine in there, though because the inside of the glass is slightly reflective, she seems to spend quite a lot of time looking at, flapping at and attempting to attack her own reflection. Part of me is thinking she might just be better off in the old tank but I really don't know.

Thanks for your help anyway, it's been very useful!