New to C. orientalis

xxianxx

xxianxx

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I have just purchased two C. orientalis, they are about three inches long and in three inches of water in a one foot tank with large gravel and a couple of stones breaking the surface and a floating plastic plant. Is this set up suitable? It also has a light box, my tank room is quite dim would they benefit from the light on ? Also how often do I have to feed them? Are frozen blood worm, live daphnia and live brine shrimp acceptable food sources ? Sorry for all the questions but the care sheets I have read have not been very explicit or contradictory and though I have been interested in this species for a while my knowledge of them is inadequate, they were a bargain on a Uk pet site and I didn't want to miss the opportunity !. Thanks , your advice will be appreciated.
 
Most responses on here will probably include "get a bigger tank", so I will answer the other aspects.

Is the light close to the tank? You need to keep it at enough of a distance to make sure it doesn't heat the water. They do need a day/night cycle, so giving them some light will be beneficial (although they do not need UV).

The foods are all fine for this species, though I wouldn't give daphnia to adults (too small). Make sure you rinse the brine shrimp in fresh water before you offer them to the newts, so you don't get salt in your tank.

Providing small land areas is good for these guys, I would also include a few underwater hiding places, because in my experience they will frequently look for somewhere dark to 'lurk' in.

Any other questions, feel free to ask
 
Have you read this caresheet? No salamanders 'need' light. They don't benefit from it physically, except for maybe some limited vitamin d synthesis. But in general, salamanders are not baskers like reptiles.

Chances are, if they were a 'bargain', they're wild-caught. Watch out for illness and sores.
 
Kaysie said:
Have you read this caresheet? No salamanders 'need' light. They don't benefit from it physically, except for maybe some limited vitamin d synthesis. But in general, salamanders are not baskers like reptiles.

Chances are, if they were a 'bargain', they're wild-caught. Watch out for illness and sores.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the responses guys, i am not 100% certain but i think many of the C.orientalis in the UK are wild caught , i got these as unwanted pets from a pet site, so who knows ?. I have a two foot tank to put them in once i have rearranged my other tanks. Just put some live daphnia in with them and they are chasing them around the tank, they were only fed frozen bloodworm by the previous owners, would they benefit from some added vitamins if the bloodworm was deficient in anything? I will check the care site out again.
 
Most definitely wild-caught.
Every single adult you will ever find at a shop will be WC beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Watch out for problems, like Kaysie says, because they are sadly prone to them.
Get them some earthworms so that they are the staple. The Daphnia are an excellent addition to the diet.
Bloodworms are not nutritionally complete and if fed exclusively for long enough, they will cause serious nutritional problems. As part of a varied, complete diet, they are a perfectly good choice, but never as an staple.

Make sure to have lots of plants, these newts LOVE thick vegetation.
I wouldn´t recommend housing them in anything smaller than 40l.
 
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Azhael said:
Most definitely wild-caught.
Every single adult you will ever find at a shop will be WC beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Watch out for problems, like Kaysie says, because they are sadly prone to them.
Get them some earthworms so that they are the staple. The Daphnia are an excellent addition to the diet.
Bloodworms are not nutritionally complete and if fed exclusively for long enough, they will cause serious nutritional problems. As part of a varied, complete diet, they are a perfectly good choice, but never as an staple.

Make sure to have lots of plants, these newts LOVE thick vegetation.
I wouldn´t recommend housing them in anything smaller than 40l.
Click to expand...

Thanks, i am researching planted tanks at the moment, i have a 5ftx2ftx2ft axolotl tank build planned and plants will be an integral part of that.
 
I noticed in your first post that you said they are in 3 inches of water? You could raise the water. It might also help what others have said and add some floating land. However, mine never break the surface and remain underwater at all times.

Also how about some pictures?
 
Shadow said:
I noticed in your first post that you said they are in 3 inches of water? You could raise the water. It might also help what others have said and add some floating land. However, mine never break the surface and remain underwater at all times.

Also how about some pictures?
Click to expand...

Thanks, the big stones break the surface so they can get out and the floating plant allows them to do the same. I will increase the water level and add a bit more land area. This tank is the tank they came with and will only be temporary. I would love to post pics but my camera is rubbish lol.
 
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Shadow said:
How big is the tank at the moment mate?
Click to expand...

One foot by eight inches, the newts are three inches and they appear to be rather scrawny compared to the pics I saw on the care site. The only FBN I have seen before were over four inches long and quite a lot bigger in body mass, so probably they were the japanese ones, I will find a shop that sells them and go and have a look, hopefully they will be in a decent state to compare the difference. They are eating well, they haven't stopped chasing the daphnia yet which I put in a good few hours ago, they have no external sores or damage though one appears to have a flattened nose. I have also added a couple of caves to the tank. Thanks, I will appreciate all the advice I can get.
 
xxianxx said:
One foot by eight inches, the newts are three inches and they appear to be rather scrawny compared to the pics I saw on the care site. The only FBN I have seen before were over four inches long and quite a lot bigger in body mass, so probably they were the japanese ones, I will find a shop that sells them and go and have a look, hopefully they will be in a decent state to compare the difference. .
Click to expand...

I don't think you'll be seeing any Japanese Fire Belly's in the shops. From what I hear, there a lot more uncommon here. However what you describe could of been one. If you do manage to find one, don't buy it.

Again I would increase water level and stock it with plants. Feed a variety of foods e.g. Bloodworm, Earthworm etc. That should help plump them out.

I don't get what you mean with 'Flattened nose'? Can you post a picture for us too see? My FBN's have pretty flattened faces, but if your other one's look different, then there may be an issue.
 
Try to get pictures anyway. Quality is not really relevant, even a poor picture should be helpful.
The flattened face you mentioned makes me think that perhaps, you may have bought a Pachytriton rather than an Hypselotriton...which is quite common given that shops have a knack for missidentifying their newts. Several species from up to 4 different genera are labeled as "FBN" in some places...as you can see, it´s very reliable....
 
It's so reliable, we made an article on how to identify what kind of firebelly you have!
 
Hi, i have managed to get some shots of the newts, one has a flattened nose and a bit out of its tail, the other doesnt. Could you identify them for me thanks, i have had them for a couple of months now and they have put weight on and are very active.
 

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those are definitely Hypselotriton (formerly Cynops) orientalis, the Chinese fire belly. Pic 3 is a male, pic 4 looks more like a female from that view. I can't quite make out the "dodgy nose" - maybe a bit of a deformity? Likewise with the tail, but it doesn 't look like a problem. In the pics they look of a good weight and healthy to me.

Good job on getting them fattened up! You could post a pic of the whole set-up. Do they have a place at the surface to hang out, such as floating plants?
 
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Thanks Molch, they are still in a temp tank with plenty of floating plastic plants. I will be transferring them to a two and a half foot planted tank in the next couple of weeks, I have water cress growing in a tank for them. I will get some photos when the tank is set up.
 
I can really recommend a lot of Java moss and Elodea. I'm keeping my FBN with a lot of snails and fire shrimps, which I put in all my tanks. They clean the tank a little and the newts sometimes feast on the recently hatched snails.
 
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