46 gallon bowfront paludarium

[fishkeeper]

Well, I finally decided that the newts deserved to get a nice looking home due to perserverance on their part. With relatively little care, they have done very well. So they'd be ideal to put into this display tank as I leave for college.

The setup is a false bottom(eggcrate hoisted up to 6 inches by cut pvc pipes and eggcrate pieces). The substrate is a mixture of coconut fiber, Aquatic plant soil(looks like laterite), and in some places sodium bentonite clay(used in parts of the background and on the slope.

Plants would be creeping fig(ficus pumila), Java fern, java moss, rabbits foot fern(Davallia fejeensensis), Kangaroo Paw fern(Microsorum diversifolium...may remove), and some leftovers from the old tank design which may also be removed(Peperomia scandens, Syngonium rayii, Monstera obliqua, Cryptocoryne nevilii and pontederifolia sp.?)

The main issue so far was the water clouding due to the clay and some sediment falling into it during construction. Since these photos it has cleared markedly.


Any critique or suggestions would be great!

 

[Yahilles]

Nice tank. Where do you feed those newts?

I think water is too opaque.

 

[fishkeeper]

Mainly blackworms into the water section. Baby roaches(lateralis) work on land. But the land section has quite a few isopods and I plan on culturing and adding more.

The water is much clearer now after settling. The tank was just put together in those photos.

 

[aghiowa]

Looks deliciously moist and muddy, with lots of nice plants to hide in. If I were a newt, I'd love it.

Angela

 

[Jake]

If I were a newt, I'd love it.

I agree, it looks great! How many newts are living in it?

 

[Lasher]

That looks great, I'm always amazed at what people can do with bow fronts(mine always end up looking terrible for some reason).
Is it filtered?

 

[fishkeeper]

Agreed on bowfronts. But I must say they are a pain in the you know what. You'll have better luck looking for a left handed monkey wrench than a bowfront screen lid.

No filtration as of now. The tank had been set up previously with less water, and the water remained quite clean/clear w/o filtration. A filter could be a nice addition if it could be easily accessible and not heat things up.

 

[fishkeeper]

aghiowa: Thanks! It actually isn't very muddy in most places due to the false bottom, which allows for very good drainage of the land section. In fact, some areas higher up the background are dry to touch. It does get wetter the closer to the water you get as unlike in other tanks their is not real barrier between the land and the water(which IMHO makes them look unnatural).

Jake: five little guys. All descended from eggs from Jennifer Macke. I think they are 3 years old now but are not very big(maybe the size of a small petstore C. orientalis) as they haven't been fed as often as most people feed theirs prior to this(didn't seem to cause them any problems, they just grew alot slower).


What is really interesting is the way the newts use the land and the water sections. The tank is a bit more biased towards land than I expected it to be but both sections provide adequate habitat for them. Some newts were released onto the land section, and some into the water, and after exploring the whole tank they eventually settled down. Currently 2 spend almost all their time in the water, 1 hangs around the edges but goes into the water frequently to feed. The other two so far have spent basically all their time on land after a brief dip in the water section. When I leave for college and this falls under my Dad's care(Thursday)...their will be less food available on the land section and I suspect that the 2 on land will eventually go back to the water. Also, the newts actions in the previous habitat(almost all water but some would crawl up and hide under the lid to dry out)didn't seem to carry over. One of the ones that is on the land section previously spent all its time in the water.

 

[radtad]

Nice home for your fellows. hope dad takes care of them while you are away

 

[fishkeeper]

Thanks radtad. He's done well on shorter occasions before. He's willing to, which says alot!

 

[fishkeeper]

An interesting update.

I was a bit worried about the water after doing a water change. Seems a bit of anaerobic decomposition was going on. But last I heard from Dad who did a water change today, although the water is pretty tannin stained no smell.

 

[fishkeeper]

Ok, latest report is that Dad doesn't see much of these newts...they are spending most of their time hiding(I'm going to assume they are either out of the water or behind the background). Part of it may be that I've instructed him to add blackworms about once every two weeks so the newts aren't really being fed they are simply foraging.

I'm hoping the will be more visible with age.

 

[fishkeeper]

I am home briefly for break...and I daresay things are turning out quite interestingly.

First off, the leftover plants from the old tank which I didn't really want to leave(Syngonium rayii, Monstera, Peperomia scandens) have all sprung back very well and are quite noticeable. One part of me wants to remove them to keep things more biotopical looking, the other is pleased at how well they sprung back and wants to leave them.

The 3 fern species appear to be doing ok. All the old leaves of the Kangaroo's paw fern have died...but a new leaf has been produced. Rabbits foot fern needs some trimming to remove dead old leaves but it too has sent up some new leaves since I left based on how it looks.

Creeping fig has basically sat their for 2 months and appears to be finally starting to grow. I can only see one of the crypt species which is doing well...the other might have keeled over.

The newts have grown somewhat, but it is clear the bigger one is hogging most of the food and he/she looks much larger! They still use the entire tank. I generally can spot 2 newts on land, one of them seems to like lounging on the corkbark way in the back of the tank. The newts are pretty tough to spot in the water due to the tea coloring and the plant growth. They also enjoy hiding under the false bottom...which was something I would rather not have happen but I felt it was best to give them open access to for safety reasons.

 

[fishkeeper]

Here are some photos.

Nov.

Dec.

Syngonium rayii. An excellent terrarium plant. It keeps popping up everywhere by underground runners. Definetly not biotopically accurate but it makes for a real natural look.

The biggest newt, a male.

One of the little ones on land, hunting springtails.

One of the passages to the water section under the false bottom. Newts spend most of their time in these.

Going in to hide from the camera.

Their are some problems with this tank, however.
-The window screen/eggcrate construction is starting to show through on some areas of the bank. Will have to figure out how to cover them.
-Monstera obliqua plant grows up to the light and burns itself on the lid. Clearly meant for a taller tank, and it also looks very out of place here.
-the aquatic newts seem to really enjoy squeezing themselves through eggcrate holes. I worry one will get stuck.
-easy access to the dark grotto made by the false bottom means the newts spend most of their time hiding. It is pretty uncommon to actually see them out and about!
-Will be adding red art clay to make the substrate more natural looking and also make the newts stand out more...they blend in well on a mix of coco fiber and bits of HD Aquatic plant soil(clay gravel bits)

 

[fishkeeper]

Tank has been coming along without much change at all except for the newts maturing and displaying lots of tail fanning behavior. No signs of breeding yet, however.

However, the fern(rabbits foot) has died off. I wonder what could have caused this. Seems like it rotted from the bottom even though the area around it seemed well drained. All other plants seem to be fine. Guess it is time to refresh the substrate?

 

[eldaldo]

Wow I really like that tank! you have lovely newts as well! I think the tank looks very natural. some of those photos look like they could have been taken in the wild.

 

[terryd]

that a nice looking tank