Fire Belly Newt Tank

[MurphysLaw]

Hello everyone I haven't posted anything in quite a while. I have a couple of questions, but first I'll tell you what's been going on. I have had a fire belly newt for a little over a year now. I've had it in a10 gallon tank along with an axolotl and a small fish. The pet store guy said this setup was ok, so I didn't worry about it. Everything was going great for about a year, but as I started doing more research, I realized my newt needed a land area. So a couple of months ago I fixed up another 10 gallon tank just for my newt. I'll post a pic of that in a few minutes... Anyways, after I put my newt in its new tank, I noticed it wasn't getting in the water. It would just hide under the moss all the time. I thought maybe a friend would help, so I went to the pet store and got another newt. I kind of wanted a pair, but I didn't know how to sex them at the time. Pet store guy said he knew how and after showing him a picture of mine, he decided I had a boy and I needed a girl. So he picked me out a nice healthy female newt. After I got back home, I did some researched and found out my new "girl" newt was actually a male and my original newt was a female. Either way I was happy because my new male would stay out in the open, even coming to the glass when I came up to the tank. My female stayed hidden for a LONG time. I didn't know whether she was gonna live or not, but finally, a few weeks ago, she started getting in the water and eating again. A few days ago I was getting ready to clean their tank and I found 2 babies! They are so cute! So now I am planning on fixing up a 15 gallon for my expanding newt family. Right now I am feeding the babies tiny pieces of chopped up earthworm, and I am going to try to find some mosquito larvae for them later today. I have put the babies in a net hatchery inside the tank. I figured that way they would be in the same water they are used to, but safe from getting eaten by their parents. I think the male ate all the eggs except for these two babies. I was wondering why he was so fat... I had no clue there were eggs in there. :-( Anyways, I am looking for feedback on the new setup (the bigger tank will be set up pretty much the same way), and suggestions on how to care for the babies (is chopped up earthworm and mosquito larvae ok for them? And how often do they need to eat?). Thanks in advance!

 

[MurphysLaw]

Here's a pic of the new newt tank. They have 3 1/2 inches of water, an internal filter that flows over the waterfall, and sand substrate. I have the waterfall sitting on a piece of plexiglass that I siliconed to the side of the tank so they can go under it. I added wood, moss, plants and rocks that I found on a river bank for decoration and hiding places. The adults are fed sinking pellets. I put a clear glass tea cup in their tank and that's what I feed them out of. Keeps the tank cleaner. I also posted pics of the male newt. These were taken when I first got him.

 

[MurphysLaw]

This is a pic of the female right before I moved her to the new tank. I haven't really been able to get any good pics of her lately because she's become kind of reclusive. She's staying in the water now, but she stays in the back of the tank a lot. And of course the babies! They have grown since I took these pics. This was when I first found them, about 5 days ago.

 

[Asevernnnn]

I think you should increase the water level, with right care H. orientalis would be fully aquatic. The water area should be like 10 gallons of water minimum and heavily planted. My H. orientalis aren't even provided a land area anymore because they never used it.

 

[MurphysLaw]

Thanks for the suggestions! I was planning on raising the water level, but I'm going to keep the land area because the female does still get out of the water once in a while. I've never seen the male on land. I'm planning on adding more plants, too, as soon as I get the bigger tank set up. I am kind of reconsidering which tank to use... I have a 20 gallon long tank that is 12Hx12Wx30L (I thought it was 15 gallon until I just now measured it) and I have a 29 gallon 18Hx12Wx30L tank. With the 29 gallon I could make the water deeper... Would my axolotl be ok in the 20 long? I was planning on putting him the the bigger tank...

 

[Asevernnnn]

An Axolotl should be fine in a 20 long with lots of hides, As for the newts, there should be a minimum of 10 gallons of water so its easier to keep a good water quality, and only a floating piece of cork bark would really be needed for these newts.

 

[rboles]

I had a fire-bellied next for several years, and a couple of attempts to give it a friend/mate ended badly with the newcomer being fatally attacked overnight. Thus, this newt lived to old age, alone. I have another fire-bellied newt now, and I am afraid to add another.

 

[Asevernnnn]

I had a fire-bellied next for several years, and a couple of attempts to give it a friend/mate ended badly with the newcomer being fatally attacked overnight. Thus, this newt lived to old age, alone. I have another fire-bellied newt now, and I am afraid to add another.

If you ever do try to add another, the new one should be quarantined for a minimum of 30 days, more would be better though. Do you know exactly what type of newt it is? If its attacking tank mates it sounds like it would be a Paddle-Tail or a Warty Newt, which are often sold at pet stores as 'Big Firebellies' or just 'Firebelly Newt'. If you do ever decide to get a new one, I would try finding a breeder, although CB fire bellies are hard to find, since almost all petstore newts are WC and are in bad condition. And newts aren't exactly social animals, especially if the newts are paddle-tails or warty newts, they can live a happy life alone, and if they do get tank mates, several hides should be used to prevent any attacks if any were to occur, having a lot of plants also helps too. What are you feeding and how often, and whats the setup like(temps, overall, etc)
Aaron

 

[teddyballgame15]

If mosquito larvae is hard to come by, baby brine shrimp are an option as well. I was only able to find bbs eggs at locally owned pet stores and nothing at chain stores like petsmart and Petco. I personally think they are worth the effort to find, and my fire belly larvae loved them. Towards the end of the larval stage, I fed frozen bloodworms and sometimes bbs and that worked fine. Be careful not to put the larvae in too close of quarters, as a size difference may lead to one being nipped at. I had more then two, but I put them in a separate tank and tossed in a lump of java moss just in case they needed a hiding spot. I had a pinched airline, but no substrate. Good luck!