A 10 gallon tank stocking question

[gabby]

I have a 10 gallon tank that is filled with 6" of water and has a land area with a coconut husk for a newt/salamander to hide in and lots of live plants. In the water is some dwarf hairgrass and 5 White Cloud minnows...

I was wondering if I could have either 1 or 2 japanese fire-belly newts in the tank with the WC minnows or 1 or 2 Dunn's salamanders...

What do you suggest? I feed the fish tubifex worms and bloodworms and I plan to feed the newt/salmander mealworms... are any other foods needed for newts/salamanders?

Thanks!
Gabby

 

[benjamin]

Two C.o.s would probably be best, as for food, mealworms aren't the best infact frozen blodworms and live earthworms are great for them.

 

[gabby]

First, aren't chinese red bellies bigger than japanese red bellies? So could I keep like either 2 chinese red bellies or 3 japanese red bellies?

Also, I've seen lots of people say that mixing amphibians and fish is bad... is it still ok to put 2 c.o.'s in my 10 gallon tank with the white cloud minnows?

I already have frozen bloodworms for my fish so it's easy for me to use those for food. Can I just use any earthworms from my backyard and should I wash them off or something? Some earthworms I see get huge! Is there a smaller variety i should use?

thanks

gabby

(Message edited by Gabby on April 17, 2005)

 

[pamela]

Hi Gabby,

The Chinese Fire Belly newts are slightly smaller than the Japanese variety. Also the Chinese Fire Belly are the species more likely to be sold in petshops today. You can house 3 in a ten gallon. The Whiteclouds are okay with your newts. Just be sure that the tank has cycled. Bloodworms are a good food source for your newts (forget the mealworms). The earthworms would have to be very tiny (and yes, wash them off). It is a good thing that you have lots of live plants in the tank. Your newts will appreciate them, and the plants will provide a healthy environment. I would suggest raising the water level to 8". More water will support a greater bioload.

I am not familiar with the Dunn's salamander, but I think that they are terrestrial. You can find out more about them on Caudata Culture. (In fact I am going to look them up right now.)

Sounds like you are off to a great start! This is an excellent forum, and you will learn much.

 

[gabby]

Thanks, Pamela

I plan to feed whiteworms, frozen bloodworms, woodlice and chopped earthworms.

The tank is cycled.

1 White Cloud appears to no longer school with the rest of the WCM so I put him in a 1 gallon hex nano planted tank with no other fish in it. I think the fish was just not popular so he couldn't get to the food... This leaves 4 WCM in the 10 gallon tank.

I upped the amount of water to 8" and added 2" of gravel to the land area so the newts would still have an area to come up on.

I'm interested more in the Chinese Fire belly newts rather than Dunn's salamanders (i just heard dunns were small so that why i was asking) and I plan to get 2 of them for my 10 gallon tank.

I feel like I might need some sort of clean-up crew... could I get 1 cherry shrimp or 1 ghost shrimp or 1 otto for the tank?

Here's my water parameter:

Ammonia=0
Nitrite=0
Ph= 7.2
Temp= 68-72 degrees room temp for fall, winter and spring; summer can get to 85 F so I would need some way to cool down the temp and water during this season.

Thanks,
G.

 

[pamela]

Gabby,

Everything sounds good. Do watch those temps. C.o. must have the cooler temps. As far as a clean-up crew, the Otto can be quite fragile, needing warmer temps, and a constant supply of algae. (Although I do have an Otocinclus in with my goldfish, and it has been doing fine for 2 years now, but the tank remains at 68F, and has algae.) I have also had a Rubbermouth, aka Bulldog, Rubberlipped, pleco. They are very small (1.5-2") and in my experience GREAT little algae hoovers. They also like warmer temps, but then again, I have one in another goldfish tank that has been doing great for 2 years now also. I did have this pleco in with a newt tank at one time, and everyone got along well. Other pleco species will get WAY to big. I also have the true Siamese Algae eaters - although they will prefer fish food to algae if there is a choice. But, my opinion is that you don't need anymore fish in with your newts. It will just increase the bioload, and those types of fish leave a lot of waste themselves. Just do a gravel vacuum occasionally, partial water changes, and things will be fine.

As far as the shrimp go, I just haven't had any luck with them, but I only tried them out once.

PS: If you must have a cleaner fish, try some of the above mentioned, but STAY AWAY from the Chinese Algae Eater. They do not eat algae, and are highly aggressive. They can be downright "killers" of other inhabitants.

Someone on this forum may well have better ideas for you. Do lots of research!!!!

 

[gabby]

hmm... i'll still with the white clouds and newts then... don't want to overload the bioload...

might have to get another 10 gallon just for breeding cherry red shrimp though cuz they are too cool!

are there any methods for keeping water temps down in the summer? Should i like float an ice cube in the water or something?

maybe not then...

thanks!

mobern

 

[gabby]

sorry... signed with my last name

in case you were wondering...

and thats stick instead of still at the top there--spelling error...

gabby m.

 

[benjamin]

I wouldn't recommend putting crustaceans in, I've read that ghost shrimp will attack and kill smaller newts and can be offered as food to larger ones, so I've stayed away from them all together. Most crustaceans smaller than the newts will be eaten. They do not need to eat tiny earthworms I give mine earthworms any where between 1 inch and the length of the newt I'm feeding. Once for fun I put in a six inch worm, and after being attacked and weakened by several different newts it was eaten. Don't put algae eaters or catfish in as newts may try to eat them and get impale on their spines. Woodlouse are not very good food for aquatic newts, they will float on the surface for a while then sink and after a while drown. You might want to feed them Hoglouse- Aquatic woodlouse instead.

 

[rachel]

Or they may just eat the algae eaters...

Sid, supernewt.

 

[gabby]

Ok... I'll keep just the white clouds and newts then.

If its not recommended, I won't feed woodlice but I had seen on many websites that they were a good food for Chinese Fire Belly Newts and my LFS has them so I do have access to them if I do end up using them for food...

Also, how can I keep the water temp down in the summer? Are there any known effective methods??

Thanks,
Gabby

 

[gabby]

Is it okay to have bright light in a newt tank? With really bright light bother them? It will be from flourescent bulbs--not sunlight.

thanks
g.m.

 

[gabby]

1) How can I keep the tank temp down in the summer?

2) Are N. viridescens viridescens okay for beginners? I know they have a aquatic larvae stage than a terrestrial eft stage than an adult aquatic stage... Are they hardy? What other common efts could i get for a 10 gallon tank?

thanks,
gabby

 

[jennifer]

Hi Gabby, there's a list of suggestions for keeping tank temps down in the FAQ:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/faq/faq.shtml
Also try searching this forum, there have been many discussions of the methods listed in the FAQ.

The light should be no problem. Most people's newt tanks have fluorescent lamps on them.

Adult N. viridescens are OK for beginners, assuming you get healthy ones to begin with. They can be fairly long-lived. Personally, I have had very bad luck raising them through the eft stage, so in my opinion they are not the best beginner newt for breeding purposes.