Newt Community Tank!!!

[mikekowal12]

Hello all!

I was planning on using my 20 gallon to create an amazingly natural paludarium. Which is pretty much a mixture of water and land in one vivarium! I want it to look amazing and natural with a lot of life. I was thinking red spotted newt efts and a tree frog on the land portion, which shouldn't be an issue because the 'tree' frog spends most of its time in leaves and branches rather than on the ground with the efts. In the water I'd their adult forms in the water with some fish and snails. Maybe even some firebellies, I dont know. Would this all be fine? If not what other community tank sort of thing can I have with newts. If this can work than anyone know where I can purchase some red efts from around where I live? (Southern New Jersey U.S.) Thanks!!!!

 

[Sith the turtle]

No. Mixed species tanks never work. It is never a good idea to mix any species, so again, I would say no, but I'll get some other peoples ideas on the matter.

 

[Sith the turtle]

Found this while browsing: Caudata Culture Articles - Species Mixing Disasters

Shows why you should never mix species

 

[Chinadog]

Sith's right, mixing specoes is never a good idea. There are numerous health risks for the animals involved and absolutely no benefits.
Apart from the usual cross contamination of diseaseses and the stronger species continually out competing the weaker ones at feeding times, the breeding behavior of red spotted newts make them a particularly risky species for 'communitys' because of the male's instinct to latch on to anything resembling a mate and squeezing for all he's worth. Female red spotted newts are built to withstand this kind of treatmen, but other newts aren't. In fact it would probably be fatal.
Newts can share an aquarium with a few things like shrimp or snails, but other amphibians will nearly always result in problems

 

[philj]

basically it comes down to all the reasons sith and chinadog have said mean that unless you can guarantee that all the points they raised arent problems with what you are trying to combine then it isnt a good idea. Zoos do have mixed species enclosures but these are normally fairly huge with low densities of animals from the same area which have the same requirements and arent going to be able to eat each other. I dont think any combination of red spot newts/fire bellies/tree frogs with each other would end well.

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[Chinadog]

basically it comes down to all the reasons sith and chinadog have said mean that unless you can guarantee that all the points they raised arent problems with what you are trying to combine then it isnt a good idea. Zoos do have mixed species enclosures but these are normally fairly huge with low densities of animals from the same area which have the same requirements and arent going to be able to eat each other. I dont think any combination of red spot newts/fire bellies/tree frogs with each other would end well.

Its worth remembering that you can't always look to zoos for the best way of caring for herps, especially caudates. It really depends on the experience of the keepers involved and the info available to them. Zoos mix species for a variety of reasons, but lack of space and energy costs are issues for them just as they are for us, so amphibians or reptiles with seemingly similar requirements are often housed in the same enclosure. Things are much better than they were when I was a kid, but they aren't perfect yet...
In addition to the problems already mentioned there is also the fact that red spotted and fire bellied newts are almost always wild caught, so this means they are even more likely to be suffering from all kinds of diseases and stress related problems, never mind the ethical arguments

 

[philj]

Theres always going to be good zoos and bad zoos, but i mentioned it because its where ive seen mixed species exhibits work (the animals seemed in good condition but i suppose its hard to judge with just having one look into a tank). But ive never seen mixes with caudates involved (normally just large tree frogs and anoles but im sure youd also find a lot of instances online where that mix hasnt worked). Im sure it can be done successfully if you have the right experience and knowledge to do it. But if its done without that then its just hugely unfair on the animals involved.

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[Chinadog]

I wasn't really disagreeing, just suggesting that zoos make mistakes like we all do and will hopefully often be revising their enclosures as more becomes known about the ecology of the animals they have in their care.
I think you're hitting the nail on the head by mentioning the unfairness to the animals involved. That's the bottom line, even if a mix of two or more species appears to work, there are no benefits whatsoever for the animals, but there are always risks.

 

[philj]

Exactly, i think we have been arguing the same point but from different directions

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[mikekowal12]

I was not really planning on following what they'd do in a zoo. And now I understand this tank will only be housing one Newt. Thanks for the input guys!