Triturus d. Cage

[caudatadude28]

How big of cage should I use? I have a 20 gallon long and a 29-35 gallon tall. They are the same length and width, but the tall one is 10 inches taller. I am getting 3 of them. They are about 4-5 inches long.

 

[blckkeys]

The 20 long should do fine. Here is the caresheet.

http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Triturus/Triturus_sp.shtml

 

[caudatadude28]

I read the care sheet, thank you. I bought some fake plants today and some clay flower pots for the cage. I will fill it 6-8 inches. Any suggestions on how to clean cork bark so that it wont cloud the water?

 

[blckkeys]

personally I would use some real plants, java moss is super easy. It is extremely low maintenance and helps with nutrient absorption. As for the cork bark, I would just soak it in some warm water and scrub it a but to get any particulates off it.

 

[caudatadude28]

light. I am growing some plants from roots I got from my pet store. How much light will they need. As for java moss. I cant find any.

 

[blckkeys]

It depends on the plant. Some plants need more light than others. Are these aquatic plants or terrestrial plants? Check online or with some of the folks here, java moss is usually pretty easy to get a hold of, it also has low light requirements. Depending on the pet store, some pet stores try to pass off plants that are not aquatic as aquatics. So do som research first. Elodea and water sprites are plants that can be rooted or left floating. Java fern is also non demanding. Java fern needs to be tied to somehting though, like a rock or piece of drift wood, it does not like being planted.

 

[caudatadude28]

These are some aquatic plant roots. It said that it is lilies and some other plants too. It is random plants.

 

[blckkeys]

Can't help you out anymore without knowing the names of the plants. There are terrestrial lilies as well as aquatic. You may just have to wait until the plants have grown before you can ID them.

Check out the plants section on this forum as well. That may be able to answer some of your questions.
http://www.caudata.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=9

 

[xMIDNIGHTx]

These are some aquatic plant roots. It said that it is lilies and some other plants too. It is random plants.

This seems to be a great sale for the pet store but not so good for you. If it is a mix, chances are they need different things. If I remember correctly, lilies for example are water plant that requires a lot of light and slightly warmer water. This does not mean it will not grow in your newt tank, but it will be weak and never be full size (which is good because they grow pretty big.), or not grow at all When I was going on fish forums, people said that they had a harder time keeping the plants alive than the fish! Now this does NOT apply for everyone or all aquatic plants but it gives you an idea.

As the others have stated Java moss and fern along with a few others work the best. If you have problems finding some, post a thread in the "wanted" section asking for some. Java moss is a plant like duckweed, once it gets going you have to "harvest" it or it will take over. If you still have a problems, I have some that I will send you. I can't send you much because I keep on separating small bunches and relocating them to my new setups and have them growing on some cork. It won't be much but it will get you started.

Mitch

 

[caudatadude28]

Ok thanks midnight. At the moment I dont think I will buy any plants. I want to see how the set-up is. It may not need them. I have quite a few fake ones.

 

[Azhael]

Live plants are good for the aquarium. They will provide oxygen, eliminate wastes and compete with algae. A heavily planted aquarium in my opinion is easier to maintain...i would recomend you to use them.

 

[caudatadude28]

Well I got them yesterday, here they are:

My male. He is 4 inches long

My Big female. She is 5 inches long

My little female. She is 4 inches long

The set-up. It is a 20 gallon

 

[Nathan050793]

Wow, that actually looks like a pretty nice setup- Good work! The newts look healthy too.

 

[blckkeys]

Good looking setup. Good job!!

 

[caudatadude28]

I had to get rid of that pot that I broke a piece out of. It is the one in the middle though because the big female got caught in it couldnt find her way out! She was trying to swim through the pot! She would have died but I took it out of there and she surfaced for air. Dobros arent very strong swimmers are they?

 

[oregon newt]

How is your paddletail doing?

 

[caudatadude28]

I gave my paddletail to a more experienced keeper, who can treat him with experience. I also could not provide the right temperature, etc. I do have pics of him on my profile though.

 

[oregon newt]

Well, that's good. Whatever is best for the animal. Good choice.

 

[caudatadude28]

Ya, the animals always come first. It is our responsibility as humans to take care of the animals of the earth.

 

[Jake]

I gave my paddletail to a more experienced keeper, who can treat him with experience. I also could not provide the right temperature, etc.

If you couldn't keep the P.labiatus at the right temp then how are you keeping the T.dobrogicus at the right temp? (not trying to offend you, just curious)