Does this look ok?

[sde]

Hi,

I was sondering if my setup looks alright? I have some pics handy. The first one is a whole tank shot. The second one is of my plants. The third is of my two floats, as well as the top of the filter in the back ( which the newt do actually sit on some times ). The fourth is a shot of the plants from above through the mesh.

THANKS!!!

 

[Bellabelloo]

What type of newt is going in there? My initial thought is to add a lot more plants.

 

[sde]

Sorry, yah, should have added what species is in there . T. Granulosa, Rough skinned newt. 4 of them, 3 female and on male. I may get another male though. Yah, I think I will add some more plants, I just did another setup and have some plants leftover, so I will put those in.

 

[AeonMapa]

Yeah put a lot lot more plants. I'd also raise the water level a little bit for more stable parameters

 

[sde]

Yeah put a lot lot more plants. I'd also raise the water level a little bit for more stable parameters

Hmm, you don't think that is enough water? It is a 40 gallon, so I thought it would be enough. But it wont hurt I suppose :happy:. And I am going to go get more plants today, thanks for the info guys! :grin:

 

[AeonMapa]

Hmm, you don't think that is enough water? It is a 40 gallon, so I thought it would be enough. But it wont hurt I suppose :happy:. And I am going to go get more plants today, thanks for the info guys! :grin:

You can never have too much freshwater

 

[sde]

Alrighteyyyy! Thanks man! :smile:

 

[sde]

Ok, so I put more plants in, I got some pics but they aren't the best. I also took a pic of my newts, just to show them off . I have not raised the water yet, I will do a water change and raise it then. I think I must have doubled the amount of plants in the tank. Put a new species in as well. Plus the plants will grow and get bigger, so I will have to be a bit patient......waiting.....waiting.....waiting.....hurry up you plants! XD. Does it look ok now?

Thanks! -Seth

 

[AeonMapa]

Much better! Maybe raise the water just a few inches more, the is to really maximize the space you have in your tank. Ideally you should add maybe 2-3 more of those tubs of plants when you can, for optimal water conditions. but it's looking good now and those plants will only get bigger. Your newts are pretty cool!

 

[Chinadog]

I agree with Aeon, as much water as possible and tons more plants! Being as you collected the newts yourself maybe it would be fun to try and create a biotope tank for them and copy the environment where you found them? You really are lucky to have the info on their chosen habitat, I sure would love to know the exact conditions my newts were collected from so i could try and mirror it in captivity

 

[Otterwoman]

I only keep my t grans tank half full, they are always either on the bottom or on the vegetation, not really in the middle. I have a lot of silk plants in there for them to hide or hang out among.

 

[sde]

Much better! Maybe raise the water just a few inches more, the is to really maximize the space you have in your tank. Ideally you should add maybe 2-3 more of those tubs of plants when you can, for optimal water conditions. but it's looking good now and those plants will only get bigger. Your newts are pretty cool!

Yes, I am going to raise the water level when I do a water change today.

I agree with Aeon, as much water as possible and tons more plants! Being as you collected the newts yourself maybe it would be fun to try and create a biotope tank for them and copy the environment where you found them? You really are lucky to have the info on their chosen habitat, I sure would love to know the exact conditions my newts were collected from so i could try and mirror it in captivity

I am kind of trying to copy there habitat ( well they wouldn't be semi aquatic year round like a am keeping them ), like the plants, they are all WC, I got them from either a pond near me or a marsh where I know they breed. But it is not exactly "natural".

I only keep my t grans tank half full, they are always either on the bottom or on the vegetation, not really in the middle. I have a lot of silk plants in there for them to hide or hang out among.

Silk plant, how cold is your tank? Maybe I will give them a try. My tank is probably around 45-55 degrees, on average, it may get a little warmer. I will add more plants when I can, but the trip to the marsh ( the better plants are at the marsh ) is a little tuff, you have to go through I bit of swamp and prickly salmon berries. Some thick undergrowth, it is not too easy. But I will try to get some more next week.

 

[sde]

Update!

Wow! that's what my tank used to look like? Man it was bare!

Well, I have added a TON more plants. I have added snails, and lots of natural pond life. I like to think that my tank is turning into a mini pond. My newts seem to be a lot happier in it too.

The first picture is of some algae I added ( yes! I want it in there! ) to look kind of like a carpet.
All the others are just pictures of the plants and overall tank pictures.

 

[jpmtotoro]

how come you have plastic containers with substrate in the tank? why not just put the substrate down and get rid of the plastic containers?

 

[sde]

Haha, good question!

The reason is because when i first got the sand it wouldnt settle in the bottom of the tank ( dont buy fine sand! ), so i used a tub and put the sand in that and put the lid on to keep the sand from "escaping". It worked. So i figured i would just continue the theme, even though it wasn't necessary with the sand i bought after that. But on the bright side it makes little tunnels and my newts love to walk through them! But the best part about it is that if i ever need to move the tank or something, i can literally just pic up the sand and plants with basically zero effort, so that's nice.