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I need a clean way to feed my chinese fbns live blackworms

Verbone626

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Any ideas? they live in the rocks so it gets a bit messy quick. i have a 10gal tank its about half full
 

Chinadog

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The live blackworms should survive in the tank until the newts eat them so it shouldn't be a problem really? Although some people place a glass jar containing the worms on its side in the water, this keeps the worms in one place until the newts find their way into the jar and eat them.
Hope this helps. :)
 

Azhael

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The tank shouldn´t be half full, it should be full. 10 gallons of water is the minimum volume recommended because of thermal and chemical tamponing reasons.
What kind of rocks do you have? If the decoration is elaborate enough to dificultate cleaning and feeding you might want to consider changing it for something more practical. It´s not like the newts are going to care...
 
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Jennewt

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Get rid of the rocks. Blackworms work best in a no-substrate tank.
 

Verbone626

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Jennewt, so its okay if they dont have a slope to lead to their land area? i only put in the rocks because i assumed it would be easier for them.
 

Azhael

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Not only is it ok, it´s highly recommended. Those slopes accumulate debrish in huge quantities and in the deepest parts anaerobic conditions can appear which will allow for certain types of bacteria to flourish which produce very toxic compounds. If those compounds are released they could potentially wipe out your animals.
Get rid of the slope. If you use any substrate it should be a layer no thicker than an inch to prevent anaerobiotic conditions and it should be either very fine sand, or large enough that it could never be swallowed.

Another reason why the slope is unneccesary is that the land area itself is unnecessary. Healthy, well adjusted H.orientalis behave 100% aquatic if conditions are adequate. A piece of floating cork bark is more than sufficient for them to haul onto if they need to. Elaborate land areas are a waste of valuable volume.
All the newts need is 10 gallons or more of water, ridiculous amounts of plants occupying the water column and reaching the surface and a piece of cork bark just in case. That´s it.
 

Verbone626

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Not only is it ok, it´s highly recommended. Those slopes accumulate debrish in huge quantities and in the deepest parts anaerobic conditions can appear which will allow for certain types of bacteria to flourish which produce very toxic compounds. If those compounds are released they could potentially wipe out your animals.
Get rid of the slope. If you use any substrate it should be a layer no thicker than an inch to prevent anaerobiotic conditions and it should be either very fine sand, or large enough that it could never be swallowed.

Another reason why the slope is unneccesary is that the land area itself is unnecessary. Healthy, well adjusted H.orientalis behave 100% aquatic if conditions are adequate. A piece of floating cork bark is more than sufficient for them to haul onto if they need to. Elaborate land areas are a waste of valuable volume.
All the newts need is 10 gallons or more of water, ridiculous amounts of plants occupying the water column and reaching the surface and a piece of cork bark just in case. That´s it.

How would you recommend i anchor the plants down after i remove most of the rocks? Ive seen potted plands at fish stores, i was thinking of making a little homemade pot. What do you think?
 

Chinadog

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Yes, you could pot the plants. I'm not so sure about the potted plants from aquarium shops, the pots tend to be the plastic ones with holes in the sides that are just the right size to trap newts if they try to crawl through them, also the plants are potted using rockwool as a substrate, I'm not sure if it's harmful but it's horrible stuff, I just don't like the idea of putting it in an aquarium.
Java ferns are a good choice, they can be left free floating or tied to large pebbles or bits of driftwood where they'll take root after a while. Many bunched plants can also be left floating but again I carefully tie them to something heavy enough to weigh them down.
 
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