Empty Tank, Ideas?

[Asevernnnn]

During warmer weather(usually 65F+ outside), I usually have a ceiling fan on, and a fan in front of an open window blowing, and always having desk fan on top of the screen lit pointed at an angle into the water, blowing into the water but with creating little disturbance, like this the water is usually around 64, being cooler in the winter/late fall.
Is there any Triturus or Former Triturus that usually has more personality than another, or are they all basically the same personality wise?

 

[Asevernnnn]

Enough plants? They'll grow out some more by the time I can acquire newts, and I think I'm going to go with T. dobrogicus.

 

[Azhael]

Those plants should be enough to create a lush floating mass if you let them, as well as an area of dense vegetation throughout the water column which is something they love to hide in.
The one thing i would personally change are the smaller bits of broken clay pot you have on the bottom. They serve no purpose but to trap debris and food underneath. Also, make sure there are no sharp edges, the newts will dart away on occassion particularly after being accidentally bitten by another newt the second there's a whiff of food and they can hurt themselves if they dart into a sharp edge.
Other than that the tank looks perfect and the choice of species is an excellent one, i'm sure you'll enjoy them inmensely.

 

[Asevernnnn]

So, I don't know why but, the tank keeps getting cloudy and a weird clear film/fungus/I don't really know covers all the plants, and its difficult to get it off the plants without like removing all the plants and rubbing all of it off the plants. I tested the water and its all at good levels. Any Ideas?

 

[Chinadog]

Sounds like a bacterial or fungal bloom to me, It can sometimes happen on a newly set up tank. Tanks with drift/bog/mopani wood seem most prone, but it can happen in any set up. I'm not quite sure what the exact cause is, but they almost always burn themselves out and disappear once the tank properly cycles.

 

[Asevernnnn]

So the cloudiness went down, but any ideas on removing the filmy stuff off the plants? Just removing them all and cleaning them one by one? I don't really know lol

 

[Azhael]

It should degrade and disappear on its own, but having a cleaning crew would help. Snails and shrimps would accelerate the process.

 

[Asevernnnn]

So this tank is currently driving me insane,
It seems it develops the film over everything when theres a fan over the tank, and now there looks like theres of what I'm assuming to be snail waste everywhere. Any ideas on how to remove it without completely taking everything apart again?

 

[Asevernnnn]

I ended up just basically removing everything and cleaning it because I'm going to do it differently overall.
I think im going to go with C. pyrrhogaster cause theyre more temperature tolerant just incase anything happens to the temperature in my room. And after look at picture I noticed how different they are from H. orientalis and I would feel better about feeding them better cause I feel like T. dobrogicus would accidentally eat eachother while feeding.
I'll have pictures up of the tank in a few weeks or so though. I think I might try to do something like what Chinadog did with his Alpine newt tank, having a divider to create a space for feeding and a planted area.

 

[Asevernnnn]

So far, but I need to buy some more plants, I want to get some longer strand like plant like some vals and maybe some fern or sword like plants, and let these grow out more, etc. The wall thing isn't very pleasing to the eye but its whatever. I need to remove the coco fiber on the sides of the tank once the water evaporates a little, then I plan on raising it a little bit.

And some of my H. orientalis larvae are approaching over an inch, what size do these usually morph at, I haven't decided whether I'm going to raise them terrestrially or aquatically, I'm leaning towards terrestrially just because of the fact that I have whiteworms still.

 

[Chinadog]

Looks pretty good for pyrrho's to me, Like you say, a few more plants that reach up to the top and you're done! Mine are defiantly happiest with some clear areas at the surface where they can swim up to breath without clambering through plants or having to spit out duckweed on their way back down!

 

[Azhael]

It looks good and when the plants douple or triple in volume it's going to be a great tank.
H.orientalis larvae usually meassure between 2.5 and 4 cm long at the time of metamorphosis. You need to take into account that they shrink a bit when they loose the larval characteristics and develop the juvenile ones. Try to get them tto morph as large as possible by providing lots of good food and cool temps. If they morph very small they are a bit of a nightmare...
You can feed whiteworms to aquatic juveniles but be careful as they are nutritionally incomplete and nutritional deficits at a time of such rapid growth and so many physiological changes can be very problematic. I definitely recommend feeding them mostly earthworms. They learn to eat from tweezers very fast and they can become very eager and aggressive eaters.
I wouldn't recommend raising them in a terrestrial tank with soil or some other substrate. I think the best results and the easiest way to raise them is in a semi-aquatic enclossure compossed of java moss and water. you can start with a very, very shallow amount of water that barely covers the java moss and increase it slowly as they grow.

defiantly happiest

Is there any other kind?

 

[Chinadog]

Is there any other kind?[/QUOTE]

Well, they're born happy aren't they, but given the choice when they're out and about, my pyrrho's will almost always surface for air in clear areas that are free from obstructions, especially duckweed. I must admit I don't know what they do when they're not out and about, I can't see a thing back there!

 

[Chinadog]

defiantly happiest [/QUOTE]

Lol, I see what you mean, I think I must have been half asleep!

 

[Asevernnnn]

Ive decided just to my my H. orientalis into that tank, because I decided to take care of an axolotl thats in not so good condition that my friend "took care of". Its not in horrible condition so hopefully I can get it to fully recover and use the 10g for something later on.

 

[Chinadog]

Looks really nice now, I'm sure your H. orientalis won't mind!

 

[Asevernnnn]

I started setting up a tank for 2-3 H. cyanurus, and I personally think It needs more plants, but anyone know why theres a rusty color developing on the slate/silicone, theres a layer of silicone over the entire tile if that has anything to do with it, and I did try a vinegar test on one of the tiles before using them.

 

[Chinadog]

Is it tannins fro the wood that's in there?

 

[Asevernnnn]

Is it tannins fro the wood that's in there?

There isn't any wood in there, the vine is some artificial thing, someone mentioned that it could be Diatoms though

 

[Azhael]

I would guess iron. Some slates contain iron compounds in them, sometimes in significant quantities.