Question: Gravid C. Pyrrho

[JillianCK]

So I recently bought two newts from a pet store, I believe one is C. Orientalis and the other is C. Pyrrho but they're both female. My larger newt is swollen and I believe pregnant, but the last couple days the swollen spots on either side of her lower abdomen have shrunk significantly. However, I can't find eggs, so I don't know if she's good at hiding them or if my smaller girl is eating them..
Also, would either guppies or tubifex worms be a safe food to cultivate in the tank?

 

[Asevernnnn]

If one is H. orientalis and the other is C. pyrrhogaster they shouldn't be housed together(pics would help to ID them), And my H. orientalis always eat all of their eggs(they were infertile anyway), but eggs are usually found on or wrapped in plants. Newts don't usually enjoy having fish around and they would have to be quarantined for like a month anyway, and I have heard stories about tubifex having a disease of something so I personally wouldn't do it. What's the setup like? Water temp, how much water, how much plants, etc. I think separating the 2 species would be best though

 

[Chinadog]

I don't know about the tubifex, but personally I wouldn't bother with the Guppies. In nature these types of newts choose water bodies where there are no fish so keeping them in a tank with them can potentially stress them to a point where they'll be constantly trying to leave the water and escape. Are you sure you have C. pyrrhogaster? It's quite rare for them to show up in the pet trade nowadays.

 

[Azhael]

First things first. If one is an Hypselotriton orientalis and the other a Cynops pyrrhogaster you should separate them. Female pyrrhogaster get much larger than female orientalis an that could potentially result in harm as well as the larger female outcompeting the smaller one. Also, since both are pet-shop bought, they are both wild-caught and have been through a terrible process of importation where they have been exposed to all kinds of stuff. Keeping them together implies a risk of exchanging pathogens as well as everything else.
So, in short, the optimal choice would be to keep them separate.

It´s fairly common for WC females to be gravid when they are bought. If she is and she is laying eggs the eggs should be wrapped in folded leaves. If there are no folded leaves, then there are no eggs and whatever is causing the swollen abdomen is something else. Some females will eat eggs, but it´s unlikely that every egg will be eaten before you can spot them.

Neither guppies nor tubifex are good staples. Tubifex are fine as an occasional addition to a diet based on earthworms. Guppies are a pointless food choice, there are far better options. Definitely wouldn´t advice to breed guppies in the same tank. Most newts actively inhabit bodies of water that contain no fish and will abandon those where there are. They can detect the chemical pressence of fish and this can cause stress and make the animal abandon the water. Also, fish urine is pure ammonia which is highly toxic to caudates. As you can see fish are not good tank mates for caudates and they are not good food choices either except for a handful of species that are specialists (which is not the case for either species mentioned).

 

[JillianCK]

I don't know 100%, I'm judging by their size difference and my assumption that they're roughly the same age.

Also, I know as a fact that my newts were captive bred and were in great conditions their entire lives, my guess is that they're from two different shipments. But I would never support a store that takes animals out of the wild, as I worked in one for quite a while and still get sick when I think of the things I've seen shipped out.

My plan was to breed and keep the guppies in my (seperate) fish tank, add some guppies, then take out any uneaten.

I'm pretty new to this, I've been slowly perfecting their aquarium. They started out in my fish tank because I was told it would be fine, but they were clearly miserable so I got a new set up.

The water is approximately 3 inches, kept between 19-23 degrees, has a few fake plants but I'm getting some floating live plants soon, I have a bubbler (air stone) until I can get a proper filter,

Also, most of the stories about Tubifex are either because of bloodworms or because where Tubifex can be found. Tubifex can live in sewers and whatnot, but I'm not planning on feeding those ones to anything. The Tubifex I can get comes as eggs, thus preventing the spread of most diseases. Tubifex help keep tanks clean because they eat most 'waste' that fish produce, and they don't create any kind of toxin of discharge that is harmful in any way, I was hoping to find someone who had tried it

 

[Azhael]

How do you know for a fact that they are CB if they come from shipments ordered by a pet-shop?
All asian newts shipments that pet-shops receive are of WC animals.

How big is the tank? You should have a bare minimum of 10 gallons of water, but more is always better.
You don´t need a filter and in fact it´s best not to use one since both species prefer still waters and can be stressed by currents. You can completely substitute the filter by biological filtration through live plants. You should have A LOT of plants...particularly near the surface forming thick mats. They really love that.
Have you seen the caresheets? Check the link in my signature. There´s also hundreds and hundreds of threads where the care for these species is discussed in detailed.

If you upload a couple of pictures of the newts we'll identify them for you.

 

[Chinadog]

Maybe you could post some pictures, It will help to properly identify them and give them the correct environment. If they are C. pyrrhogaster or H. orientalis three inches of water is nowhere near enough Both species are almost completely aquatic when healthy so its best to go for as much water as possible, the higher the volume of water the more stable it will be in terms of temperature and chemistry.
If they came from a pet store it's 99.9% certain that they are wild caught, If they are it brings on a new set of problems, If you could post pictures we could be certain one way or the other.

 

[JillianCK]

NOT all are wild caught. Sadly I have to assume mine are. Yesterday when I came home, one of my newts had died. I did a PH test since I recently cleaned the tank and thought maybe the nitrates had started building up or something because my other one didn't look to great either, but it was normal. I feed them bloodworm cubes and recently I've been taking more and more out the day after. The tank is ALWAYS between 18-24 degrees, I try to keep it around 18. I don't understand what I did wrong, which is why I assume they were wild caught or somehow sick in some other way. Also he was in the middle of a shed, but was covered in little white mite-like bumps.. VERY worried!!
I can post pics later

 

[Chinadog]

It may well be that you did nothing wrong, many wild caught fire bellies are so stressed and ill that they are on death's door by the time they get to a petstore.
You can safely say that all Asian petstore newts are wild caught, it's just not economical to sell captive bred animals as cheaply as they do. It can take up to three years to raise them to a saleable size, during that three years someone has to spend time and money housing and feeding them, there's no way a petstore can buy them from a breeder, then sell them for a few dollars and make a profit, it just doesn't add up. not when wild caught adults are always available from tropical fish wholesalers for 50 cents each.
If you could post some pictures of the newts and their set up, we can see exactly what species they are and hopefully help you perfect their environment and give them the best chance of recovering and adapting to captivity.