Chinese firebelly newt questions.

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killking236

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So, I have a ten gallon fish tank that I might want to convert into a newt tank, but I want all the information I can get before committing to it. How hard is it to keep these newts? I read that they are slightly toxic but generally not enough to harm humans without eating a whole newt, is this true? What is the easiest thing to feed them? How is maintanance of the tank handled? I want to make one end of the tank land and the rest water, what should I make the land out of (soil, sand, etc.) and how sturdy will the substrate of the land be with water in it? How should I set up my ten gallon tank for two firebelly newts and how active are they? I want any and all advice and would love to hear about every ones experiences with these newts, thanks every one.
 
10g is fine for a pair of C.o's. As a general rule they are active, easy to care for, and do not require a great deal of time and attention. For an easy 50/50 set-up I would use a few larger rocks as a divider and aquarium gravel on the land side. Cover the gravel with a carpet of moss and a piece of wood and a stone or two and you are set. It is low tech but can be set-up in 30 minutes and requires little care beyond waste removal and water changes. Feed chopped earthworms every 2-3 days and they will do very well. As for the toxicity....all newts have varying degrees of toxicity. C.o's are lower on the scale and unless you plan on putting it in your mouth you should be fine. It is wise however to wash your hands before handling (newts protection) and after (your protection) and ultimately to handle them as little as possible. They are not huggy pets.
 
I make most of my tanks with just a flat rock or bricks as an island, no sand or soil. For ideas, look through the photos in the setups section of the photo gallery on this forum, or read the articles and FAQ on CC (link in my sig line).

Easiest food is frozen bloodworms. Chopped earthworms may be better nutritionally. Don't bother with pellets.
 
Just a few more questions, where can I get the aquarium silicone and how expensive is it? Thanks for the info! :grin:
 
I get mine from the local pet store, but I've seen similar in hardware shops. You need to look for silicone sealent, avoid those with added anti fungal/mould reducing agents as the chemicals may be dangerous to your newt.
 
Is two 10 watt flourescent bulbs good for them? I am going to plant a fern and maybe some other plants on the land to shade them, and maybe even some floating plants if they need that too. Also, for the general set up get som flat, like landscaping stone, and stake them in stairs and then put soil on the top one for the plants. What does every one think? And will this set up be ok for two japanese fire bellies or just the chinese? I am glad I found this sight, this is my first venture into any thing but fish so your knowledge and advice really helps. Thanks every one! :D
 
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The basic setup sounds OK, but I don't think that the soil is a good idea, unless you have a good way to block it from getting into the water. There are some plants that will grow on land with just the roots in water, such as pothos. The lighting sounds fine. You could house two JFB or CFB. Consider getting captive-bred.
 
I was going to completly cover the soil with moss so that it holds it together, do you think that will work? And I was thinking that if I did the flat stone thing I would need them to be just the right size to keep the newts from getting between the glass and the stone, any idea how to fix this? Any suggestions on the set up? I'm keep coming up with different ideas but i keep seeing flaws that I dont know how to fix, so any ideas and help is great.
 
The only way I can envision soil working is with a glass barrier siliconed into place, or with the soil in a pot (w/o drainage). You could use coco-fiber (bed-a-beast material), which can be in contact with the water and not turn the water muddy. But it's not a rich enough medium to support any but the hardiest plants. My advice is to keep looking at photos of other people's setups until you get more ideas for working around the problems.
 
I think I figured out what im gunna do. I'm gunna get like a milk crate looking storage thing form walmart and put it it and put plexiglass on top to cover the holes then put he soil on top of that. Some one else has a picture on here (i believe her name was jeniffer??) but I'm going to use a filter and pretty it up. I'm still going to do moss and plants on the land part, but with the crate structure it will preserve most of the tank for swimming. What do you think?
 
One option I've found which is a bit easier than a plexi divider is to use a free standing container, like a jam jar or tuppaware without holes. If you take a suitably sized plastic pot and cover it in cork bark it would float, giving your planted land area and space underneath.
 
I would suggest you think about the fully aquatic set-up.
If they are healthy and everything is fine it´s likely they won´t use the land part at all. Mine don´t.....ever....
Which means you´re losing valuable space.
By making a land section in a 10 gallon tank i think you´re sacrificing one thing...water depth. A 10 gallon is trickier to keep perfect than a bigger one at least in my opinion, so the higher the volume of water the better.
Just a thought though...aquaterrariums make beautiful set-ups but i´m not sure it´s the best option for that tank, and those animals.
Just consider it n_n.
 
It still sounds quite complicated to me. Take Jennifer's advice. One of the biggest mistakes people make is to over-complicate their set-ups and use unnecessary decor. Think about what the animal requires and work from there.

For Cynops orientalis the best set-up to start with is a tank that is mainly aquatic with a small land platform. Healthy, well settled orientalis are almost 100% aquatic. Unfortunately newts bought from pet shops have been put through a lot of stress and some do become terrestrial because of it. Until you get it home you won't know. The easiest platform is a simple chunk of floating cork bark. If you want something more permanent build a simple structure out of bricks or pots with a flat rock platform. It'll need some hides on the platform, some cork bark or broken crocs will do.

Ditch the fern and the soil. Unless you have a tank that has been specially constructed with a water tight land area you'll be creating a heap of problems for yourself - and the newt.
 
I'm going to walmart today, I'm going to see what I can find then I will let you know what I decide on. I really wanted plants though so I'm going to figure out some way to work that in and still have plenty of swimming room for newts. Thanks for the help so far, I'm sure I will have plenty more questions soon.
 
I have 2 C.o's in a 6 gallon Eclipse tank. 90% water with gravel sloping up to a small islnad on one end with java moss that is thick and terrestrialised. I also submerged a potted selaginella. One of the C.o's never leaves the water and the other never leaves the land. Both are healthy and happy.
 
That setup sounds nice. I got silicone at walmart so I think I'm going to use glass to seperate the land and the water, but im still not sure. Now I gotta find a place to cut the glass for me. I might put the glass and land at the top of the water so its still water underneath like the step by step tank on this site. Still not sure though, I'll figure it out. Thanks, any ideas would still be appreciated.
 
Will miracle grow mixed in the soil hurt the newts? I'm going to have it seperate from the water. I can get the soil for free from the greenhouse I work in on campus but I think it already has miracle grow in it. I think it might mess with the cycling of the tank but I'm no expert...any one know for sure?
 
Possibly. I always err on the side of caution when fertilisation is required. I try and avoid chemicals, use organic ferts if possible(run off from my wormry).
I would advise using top soil.
 
If you are using soil, it really needs to be completely separated from the tank water. Soil will make the water muddy, and the miracle grow will cause tremendous algae problems (and I don' t know if it would harm amphibians).
 
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