What type of animal to get?

[AaronBurr]

Hey All!

I am a long time fish keeper and I recently acquired a 55g aquarium. I thought it would be fun to branch out a little so I am going to turn it into a planted paludarium. I would love to put something in it that will utilize both the water and land sections and I thought newts would be great! But I know very little about them. What are some good hardy species that will utilize both the land and water? What type of land to water ratio should I use? How many can I house together?

I've also read that newts sometimes eat fish? Are there any species that can cohabitate? Or should Newts be the sole inhabitants?

Really any advice or thoughts are appreciated! Thanks.

 

[MnGuy]

Most species as adults are fully aquatic and just need a log to haul out on, or, are fully terrestrial and just need regular misting or a shallow water dish.

A true paludarium is wasted on newts. Maybe some salamanders will make better use of them. Frogs are most likely to utilize a true paludarium the best.

I keep alpine newts, which are aquatic, and marbled newts, which are terrestrial. Personally, dividing up their tanks into land and water would be a waste and would not provide them the most habitat/space possible.

Good luck.

 

[AaronBurr]

Most species as adults are fully aquatic and just need a log to haul out on, or, are fully terrestrial and just need regular misting or a shallow water dish.

A true paludarium is wasted on newts. Maybe some salamanders will make better use of them. Frogs are most likely to utilize a true paludarium the best.

I keep alpine newts, which are aquatic, and marbled newts, which are terrestrial. Personally, dividing up their tanks into land and water would be a waste and would not provide them the most habitat/space possible.

Good luck.

Thanks for the input! Are there specific frog/salamanderv species you'd recommend for populating a paludarium? (I know very little of amphibians) My wife has migraines, are there species of frogs that aren't super noisy?

 

[MnGuy]

Fire bellied toads are a good option.

I don’t have experience with tiger salamanders but they MIGHT make use of a paludarium from what I’ve seen online. But I really don’t know. They would need very shallow water.