What kind of newt should I get?

[EvilGizmo]

We had newts when I was younger and since moving out of my parents I've been wanting to set up a tank with newts (and some kind of fast moving cool water fish, my friend mentioned some kind of mountain minnows). The only kind of newt I've had was a japanese fire belly, which is probably what I'll be getting, but I was wondering if there are any others that I should look at before making a decision? I'm interested in a newt that will spend time both in and out of the water (thus not looking for a chinese fire belly) as my tank will be half in and half out. I would be interested in one that has different colors or patterns possible. I figured this would be the place to ask, oh and the tank I just got is a 29 gallon.

 

[Azhael]

The ideal species for beginners are Pleurodeles waltl, Triturus dobrogicus, T.cristatus, T.karelinii, T.carnifex, Tylototriton verrucosus, Ambystoma mexicanum or Hypselotriton cyanurus. All of those are very easy to keep, hardy, fully aquatic, which makes things easier, and available from breeders.
The majority (by far) of species available are either 100% aquatic or almost 100% terrestrial.
I´d strongly advice you to consider captive-bred animals rather than wild-caught, it will make things SO much easier and you´ll avoid many potential problems, plus you won´t affect wild populations or participate of a market that costs lots of caudate lifes.

 

[EvilGizmo]

I actually specifically, don't want one that's fully aquatic.

 

[Azhael]

Then as i say, your options are extremely limited.
You might want to take a look at Triturus marmoratus.

 

[Jennewt]

I wouldn't say that the options are so limited. Many of the species that Azhael listed can be kept in a semi-aquatic setup. Most people prefer to keep them primarily aquatic, but this is because they are easier to feed, but it's not really required for them to be aquatic all the time. I would say that P. waltl and A. mexicanum are the only ones that are truly aquatic, the others could be kept semi-aquatic and would make some use of the land area.

A critical question is whether you need to be able to buy the animal locally, or would you get it by mail? If you give the region where you live, someone may be able to point you in the direction of a breeder who is local. We generally recommend avoiding pet shops, but if that's the only option, then wild-caught Chinese firebelly is likely to be the only newt you'll find.

 

[Azhael]

While i agree that many of the species i mentioned can be kept terrestrially, if provided with adequate aquatic conditions they are very unlikely to ever touch land at all. You can certainly take them out of water, nothing bad will happen to them, but if left alone to choose, they are going to stick to the water area, so in the end what you have is a fully aquatic animal that is not going to display a 50-50 behaviour.

 

[EvilGizmo]

I'm looking to hatch some, might you know where I can locate some for the marbled newts?