Thinking about firebelly newts as new pet

[ladygodiva35]

I'm researching fire belly newts as a potential pet. I have several questions.

1:Are they like taking care of axolotls?
2: I read they need ice cold waters so would the frozen ice bottle method work? I use those for my axolotls.

3: Would they need a basking area or are they fully aquatic?
4: Any certain type of filters to avoid or certain gravel/rocks/decorations to avoid? I personally use slate tiles for all my aquariums so would that be okay for a newt?

5: How large do they get and how many would be okay for a 10 gallon aquarium?
6: What do I feed them and how much?
7: Are they fun to watch or just sit there doing nothing like an adult axolotl?
8: Why do you personally love them?

Any other tips to help me decide if a fire belly newt is right for me will be greatly appreciated!

 

[evut]

Have a look at articles and caresheets here: Caudata Culture Home Page, most of your questions will be answered.

The most common firebelly newt species people keep is Hypselotriton orientalis, which might be unsuitable if you live in a warmer area. Some Cynops species are more warmth (not heat) tolerant. There is an article about aquarium cooling to give you an idea of what it entails.

Whichever species you decide to go for, please avoid buying newts from a pet shop - these are usually H.orientalis, caught in huge numbers in the wild, transported and kept in horrible condition, until someone buys them and then posts here in the help section about newts who don't go in water, don't eat, get sick and eventually die. There are dozens if not hundreds of cases like these and few end well. By buying these newts, you are not saving them, you are encouraging this trade to go on.

I personally keep C. pyrrhogaster. They are lovely lively animals and they breed every year.

 

[AuSu]

I agree with Eva. About those two last questions, I think they are fun to watch even though sometimes just sitting on the plants near the water surface I have only had mine less than a year now so I' m really no expert but maybe c.pyrhhogaster is a bit more energetic than h.orientalis (or then it's just that I have them in different rooms and see pyrrhos easier...
About WC, I have one example; we got our first pyrrhos from an old schooltime friend of mine. Then saw a little "pyrrhogaster" in pet shop and since I have three kids and they all wanted to have one, I thought why not. I hadn' t yet read the discussion about WC/CP and stupidly believed it came from a breeder from Sweden. We bought it and luckily it all went well but soon noticed it's absolutely no pyrrhogaster! So here we are, with a couple of tanks but it might have lead into serious troubles if I'd put it with the big ones. So be careful and try to find a CB! Breeders even give you good advice and you can call them later for help if some troubles occur!