Cynops orientalis: social or solitary?

[Nellie Newt]

Greetings all,

I recently joined, and I wanted to get the opinions/observations of other cynops orientalis keepers about this. Please weigh in!

 

[AuSu]

I think they do fine solitary but if you have more, they seem to gather in the same place many times. But is that due to them sharing the same feeling of which place is the best for a newt or social behaviour, who knows...at least trying to eat your "friends" feet when feeding, doesn't seem socially accepted behaviour to me. One of my orientalis is always alone even sharing the same tank. Do you have a single or more?

 

[Chinadog]

Cynops/Hypselotriton aren't aggressive toward one another, so they can be kept in groups if you want. However, apart from the breeding season, neither do they seek out the company of their own kind, so they are just as happy when housed alone.

 

[Nellie Newt]

Thanks for weighing in! I just have one, and it seems nearly impossible to get any more since the ban took effect. I would like more, but since that seems like a remote possibility for the foreseeable future, I was seeking some reassurance that my singleton isn't feeling too isolated.

 

[Chinadog]

You could post up a wanted add in the trade section on here and see what happens. There isn't exactly an abundance of captive bred Chinese firebellies, but they do pop up from time to time. It sure won't bother your newt to live alone though, just give it fish free, cold, clean water and plenty of live plants and it will be happy as can be.