Fire belly newts

[eGGS]

Is it normal for them to surface after lights off?

They have been on the top of my reactor since lights off, its been a few hrs already.

[vinz]

Yes, please provide them something to climb onto. While they are mainly aquatic and can breathe underwater, they still like to come out once in a while. They can climb glass, so you need to cover the edges of your tank, else they will escape and then dry up and die.

You can feed them forzen bloodworms, but they are very much slower then the fishs and shrimps at finding food. Better to seperate them from the fishes.

Search the forum for newt or newts... I've posted several long posts about them. Not hard to find as there aren't that many posts with the newts in it.

[BFG]

They're do not actually look for the fish per se. Just happen that the fish wants to look closer at the newt face, then......Kinda interesting creature these FB newts are. If they come face to face, both will wag their tail at each other. Since your tank is 3ft, watch for them swimming soon!

[Fei Miao]

I feed them with bloodworms and beef heart twice a week they don't need much. Interesting fellas[]

It'll be good if you can provide some area to them to rest above water, like a piece of driftwood breaking out of the water surface for example

[hoonming]

Can you guys tell me where can I buy Fire Belly Newt?

Also, is this the only species of Newt that I can get in Singapore?

Also, what are the differences between Newt and Salamandar?

Thanks.

[vinz]

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On 9/1/2003 11:01:25 PM

Can you guys tell me where can I buy Fire Belly Newt?

Also, is this the only species of Newt that I can get in Singapore?

Also, what are the differences between Newt and Salamandar?

Thanks.
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CFB are the most commonly available. Haven't seen the other species for the last few years after the AVA crackdown on exotic pets.

Newts and salamanders are about the same. Generally, the more water-loving ones are called newts and the land-loving ones are called salamanders. This is not a strict rule and some species have common names that use either terms.

[Fei Miao]

I'd seen emperor newts before and Ben's but that was quite a while ago.

[Justikanz]

Hi!! I am thinking of adding fire belly newts to my hermit crab vivarium. Also, would they be agressive to small fish? I have a wild betta in the water and it is rather small in size... barely 1" in length at this moment...

Can fire belly newts be trained to take prepared food? Couldn't seem to be able to find books on keeping newts... or land hermit crabs, for that matter. Had anyone seen them?

[BFG]

They do consume fishes that can fit in their mouth. I do not recommend adding it to your hermit crab vivarium. They could consume prepared food but you need to place it in front of them. Bloodworm are another option but not for staple diet. You have to give them newts some variety though.

[Justikanz]

Think they will be safe with the hermits but not safe with the small betta? What would be a staple food for the newts then?

[Terryz_]

Think they will be safe with the hermits but not safe with the small betta? What would be a staple food for the newts then?

insects????

[Justikanz]

Great! Cos I just realised that a population of flying insects that look like fruit flies established themselves in my tank!! *Yikes!* *Yucks!* They dun fly out *Heng ah!!* of the covered tank but it would be great if I can find a newt or frog, for that matter, to control them...

[vinz]

Newts will have a hard time catching insects. They don't have sticky long tongues like frogs. Frogs would be a better choice as flying insect control.

Newts have a hard time in Singapore's climate... it's too warm. Most that can take it are those that prefer water (which is cooler and more tolerable). They won't bother with or are to slow to tackle airborne insects. Newts that prefer land (i.e. salamanders) do not tolerate Singapore weather well, becoming inactive and stop feeding... most succumb after months.

Frogs would be a better idea. If you put on a cover and add a few more plants, maybe you can put in one of the local tree frogs.

Most frogs and newts secrete toxins when under threat. Should they feel threathen by the hermits or perhaps even by you, they may secrete toxins that could potentially kill your hermits (residue on surfaces, water, etc).

[vinz]

Oh, I remember hermit crabs being scavengers primarily (let me know if I'm wrong), but I'm wondering if they might try to attack the newts. Frogs can jump, but newts are slow on land, and have limited space to swim in.

On the other hand, I've read about larger newts biting off and eating the claws of juvenile crayfish.

[Franz]

Sigh!!

Firebelly Newts are pretty things to look at but I think they are too troublesome.
1nd) They must be the most retarded feeder in the water kingdom. I've place some food on the water and they like miss it all the time. They move so slowly towards the food and it's amazing how they manage to eat anything in the wild.
2nd) Mine just stop feeding now, now it became so tiny, i think it's just a matter of time before it dies. It must have stop eating for 3 weeks now. I try to give it slice pea, just in case it has consipation :P but it doesn't eat as well. Tried dried shrimps as well.
3rd) My newts now spend more time on land then in water. Think they have identity crisis, thinking they are salamander...

Maybe it is like what vinz said, it's too warm, it just becomes inactive and stop feeding

Any idea how to get it to eat now? Feed it live worms? Or just try to lower the temperature?

[vinz]

Are you talking about chinese firebelly newts?

What food do you feed it? Mine take frozen blood worms readily. IME, they never feed outside water. They hunt with smell and movement. I've had a few that will take live brine shrimp. But you must rinse the brine shrimp thoroughly in freshwater before dumping them into the newts tank. The shrimp will last a number of hours in freshwater, plenty of time for the newts to feed.

You can try live blood worms too.

Newts need cool, fresh, clean water. Change their water with aged water. Never use chemicals like anti-chlorine and other water treatments. Fertiliser is fine, but avoid pouring it over them. If you have lights on their tank, find ways to cool it. One way is to lift them higher, or reduce the intensity. If you need the light for plants, then consider removing the plants altogether and throw in moss instead. Then get rid of the light. Moss will do ok with ambient light.

Having a waterfall also helps encourage cooling and keeps the tank air moist (provided the tank is mostly covered). They might be staying out of the water because they don't like it. You should filter the water.

Shift the tank to a deeper/cooler part of the house (toilet?). No direct sunlight.

Try freezing bottles of water in your freezer and pop them in the tank water every morning. Get a few bottles so you can freeze one bottle while the other is in the tank. I imagine the tank would be small. Maybe a 1.5 or 1.25 litre softdrink bottle completely full can last long enough. Make it stand in the water instead of on it's side. Just bringing the temp down 2 or 3 degrees will make life much better for the newts. Fans are not good if they insist on staying out of water. The fan will dry their skin, and make them feel worse.

Were they feeding before? If you have gravel, they may have accidentally ingested too much gravel and suffering from an impacted stomach. I cover my gravel with a layer of pea sized gravel.

The larger "firebelly" newts, like the paddletail will take baby frogs too. If it can fit in they mouth, they can eat it. Hold the frog by the hind legs and put it in front of their face. Kinda cruel for the frog though.

I've had newts that refuse to enter the water before. IME, taking them out of the tank for a 5 to 10 mins walk usually convince them to get back in the water. I'm not sure why, but maybe the dryer and warmer air outside the tank convinces them the water is a better idea. I cannot think of any scientific or logical explanation for this.

[vinz]

Sigh!!

Firebelly Newts are pretty things to look at but I think they are too troublesome.
...

Not really, IME. I have them in a filtered tank with moss, anubias, some crypts, S. subulata, small (or stunted) unidentified echinodorus, rocks, driftwood, gravel and JBL base fert. The tank is neglected and they do fine... or at least are active and feed well. The tank is 1.5' tall, but only 6 inches or less of water. The one 3' FL light is more then a feet from the water surface.

[Wild Ginger]

Just to add to what Vinz has mentioned earlier, all amphibians in general require cooler temperatures and that includes frogs, toads, caecilians, salamanders etc.

Depending on the native location they come from, these animals live in shaded forests on the bottom floor wherelse some live in high altitude where the temperature is generally 20 degrees plus.

So in order to have them thriving well, have them in a location where there's good ventilation and a distance away form hot places such as windows, and big electrical equipements, to avoid hazard.

Another point to take into consideration is a well covered top to lock in the humidity as well as a few holes to encourage proper ventilation of the exchange of gases within and external of the tank.

As for crabs or hermit crabs, these in nature are scavengers meaning they're omnivorous and will eat almost everything and anything. These include live vegetation or discarded cuttings or simply fish. It's not advisable to have decorations such as plants included in the setup as they'll tear them apart. Best would be an all dry setup consisting of wood and sand as well as coral chips. These would buffer the water to a level of hardness which is good for the crabs.

Lastly, filtration is important for a crab enclosure as ya need to have a good waterflow in between the sand to have it oxygenated and not have them anerobic. Crabs love to burrow into the sand so proper water movement in between the sand granules is very much important.

Regards,
Phillip.

[Franz]

My tank is not covered but the soil is always moist. I do have a 55w pl light tho. The newt have ample places to hide from the light. Under the stones or under the plants.

I have a small filter in the tank. The yamatoes and cories are doing fine in the tank, so I don't think the water is dirty, I clean it regularly as well. I even have a small water feature where water flow into the tank leh. I covered the top of the fine gravel with bigger pebbles.

Furthermore, the tank is under the shade. Problem is, the newts are always out of the water, it's like for hours. One of the newts is still feeding on the dry food. That one is growing fat.

For some reason, it just seem afraid of the water. Even when i put it in clean aged water, it just wanna get out of it. Its skin become dry n leathery already

[vinz]

Ok, I've read that some go through a stage where they prefer land. Though that's unusual. If it's feeding, then I wouldn't worry.

My worry about the light is that it is heating up the air in the tank. It does not matter much that they have rocks to hide under, they are not afraid of brightness but heat. Besides PL does not burn the skin like MH/sun do.

Your setup seems fine. Just put on a cover to keep the air inside moist. Make sure the cover has holes or leave a gap for ventilation.

As for the water, maybe it's the pH or other parameters. Read this and this.