Almost ready, but T. grans???

L

lindsay

Guest
Hey everyone! Thanks so much for all your help in preparing me for newt ownership! I'm sooo excited! I'm home from school now and I'm working on my newt tank. I'm constructing the "divided tank" setup- J.Macke- for them. I was looking around at all the stores I have around me and couldn't find one newt!! Any where! Today I had one last shot at a store that had been closed when I was checking earlier. I walked in today and saw a handful of T. grans!!! I had always liked them better than the fire-bellies but just took them out of my mind because I didn't think I'd be able to find them and thought I should start out with fire bellies. Since the newts will live for quite a while if properly taken care of, I would rather bring home a newt I really want. Would you guys suggest I go ahead and get the T. grans (2)? Am I correct in assuming they'd need more terrestrial area than firebellies would? I can take this into consideration as I'm building their setup. They were all huddled up on a piece of cork bark floating in the tank! help please...thanks! ~Lindsay
 
I know I'm just new but my t.g. doesn't care all that much about land right now. There are three areas for landing and the most beloved one seems to be the top of the little filter. Even when we had a big rock in there it wasn't landed on very often. Let's see what others say about this...By the way, I ended up taking out the rock (because it would topple and I was afraid it would cause a 'disaster.' Now I just have two pieces of styrofoam and, even then, that filter is the favourite perch -- must like the vibrations it causes. Someone else had told me that t.g. spend a lot of time just walking around on the bottom of the tank and I have found this to be true.
 
I'm glad to hear that. It sounds like I'll be okay then. They'll have a good bit of land and a lot of water with water lettuce floating around that they can sit on if they want. The T.g's at the store were absolutely adorable. I can't wait to bring some home. I'll post pics in Common Name/Family, etc -> Taricha when I get them! WOO HOO!!! ~Lindsay
 
Hey Lindsay, I'm curious if you'd be willing to ship me a male. I'd of course pay you for shipping, handling, and the original price for the newt. I've been looking EVERYWHERE and cant find them.
 
Lindsay,

Of the three species of the Taricha genus, granulosas are the most aquatic. I keep 10 in a 55-gallon tank 3/4 filled to the top with water and a basking "log"(it's not real wood) sticking out of the water. I'd say they spend 90% of their time in the water and 10% on the log. When I had them in a temporary 50/50 set-up they were out of the water approximately 1/3rd of the time. A small land area is recommended. I think two in a ten-gallon would be o.k. Three would be pushing the limits.

IMO, they have a much funner personality than orientalis (sorry FBN lovers). Good Luck!

(Message edited by tmarmoratus on May 16, 2005)
 
Joan S. ->When I go pick mine up (hopefully sometime this week, I'll check them out and see if I can find a male for ya' and let you know if I can do it.

Jeff F. ->thanks! I had read that but didn't know exactly how aquatic other Taricha's were to compare them to. That's good to know. I just immediately liked them better, maybe it's the colors or something superficial like that but I really hope I can get them.
happy.gif


~lindsay
 
Lindsay, that would rock. My T.grans has been in an aquatic setup all summer, and I've seen her on the small island one time. They're definately awesome, full of personality and such. Unlike Jeff, I wouldn't keep 2 in a 10gal. Right now, I keep 1 in a 20gal. I'm actually getting a 75gal for my axies and moving the T.grans into the 40long. 10gals, IMO, is too small for these newts.
 
Here's a question: are newts anything like fish in the manner of growth? If they're in a smaller container, will they not grow as large???? Wow, that sounds cruel, but I'm asking because these guys were pretty small. I'm sure they were young, but will they get massively bigger?? ~Lindsay
 
oh and another note, will it be too horrible to keep 2 in a 10 gallon if it's setup up as J. Macke's Divided Tank instructs? They will have the whole length of the tank (20in) and 8 inches of water depth and a large chunk of land to boot. I don't want to be bad to these guys but I would just love to have two. I know of someone who said she wants one really bad. Maybe I can call her up and see if she'd be willing to take one if they become too crowded. (I understand I can't rely on someone else for my mistakes...it's just an idea.)Too bad I can't have a happy medium and get 1.5 newts. Ah well. I'll figure something out...

Any third opinions????????

~Lindsay

(Message edited by lindsay on May 16, 2005)

(Message edited by lindsay on May 16, 2005)
 
Ideally, I'm sure we'd all want our newts to be in huge tanks with elaborate set-ups. Unfortunately this can't always be the case. Keeping two in a ten gallon, while not ideal, will suffice, especially with a land area above water.
 
No newts are not like fish in that respect. That's because they usually reach their full size before or a little after sexual maturity, and often they are very terrestrial during the period between the larvae stage and the adult stage. Chances are any animals you get at the store are done growing. You might be able to make it better by changing the water depth to 10" then would have more space, that is if you haven't already made the land area?
 
Yeah, I'm currently getting the glass cut and polished. I'll make the water as deep as I can without having their land area hitting the screen cover. I will get them into a larger tank as soon as I can, hopefully within the year.
~Lindsay

(Message edited by lindsay on May 16, 2005)
 
A 20 gal tank shouldn't cost more than $30 or so at a good aquarium shop. Look around. And remember that in the winter, these guys usually go terrestrial. So that'll make it crowded.

And drop me a line when you know anything. I'm excited!
 
My T.grans don't have any land area at all. Just a tank full of Java moss so they can "chill" at the top of the tank. I have 5 in a 29 gallon with about 2/3 of the tank deep in water. Its pretty tough to tell the difference between sexes in Taricha.
 
Money isn't necessarily a problem, it's the fact that I have to go back to school in the fall. I'll have to go and check to see if I can have a 20gallon. I'll see what I can do. I have a 30 gallon in the basement that I can use if it's too terrible for them. As far as the land area being crowded, they'll have an area about 7 x 10 terrestrial. I hope that'll be good. Also floating plants.

I'll do my best to search for a male for Joan S. but like Hayden said, I've seen the pics of Taricha females that appear to be males and I'm not sure I'd be able to pick out a male.


Okay, update, I checked for school, I CAN have a 20 gallon. I am already having the glass cut so I'll continue with this 10 gal. At the end of the summer (only ~3 months) I'll most likely get a 20 gallon. I will just have to squeeze in room in my dorm for them. I'm on the second floor of my hall next year so that won't be too bad to carry up the stairs.

QUESTION: On another side note, is it pronounced TarEEcha..or TarEYEcha??? Also, is it anAHHHcharis..or AnACKaris? (pronunciation). I've heard it said many ways and it's messing with my mind!! AHH

(Message edited by lindsay on May 17, 2005)
 
Hello Lindsay,

Congrats on your find.

A 10 gallon for 2 Tarichas is fine, of course the larger the tank, the more comfortable the newt (think of living in a dorm room vs. living in a mansion). You can buy a water test kit to test for ammonia, nitrates--and do this for once a week for a month. You should be able to figure out what is necessary in terms of cleaning up and changing the water then.

Let your first animals get accustomed to the tank before you go searching for males and then raising babies. This way, you can work out the kinks of a new tank before adding too many animals too fast.
 
Lindsay, if you can't find a male, I'd still like another one. And I'd find out soon enough whether it was male or female
happy.gif


BTW: I pronounce it Tar-ee-kah and El-o-dee-ah ;)
 
-->Pin Pin, I'm just looking for a male for Joan S.
wink.gif
and about the cycling, I'll most likely cycle the tank first or be a naughty lazy and impatient person and just keep a close eye on the ammonia/nitrite as the weeks go on.

Any other opinions on the pronunciations?? Maybe one for anacharis?? Thanks Joan, I was wondering about Elodea, too.

~Lindsay

P.S. I should get the glass back today~!
 
Joan S--->
cry.gif
<font color="0077aa"><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica"> Bad news. I went up to the store a little bit ago to check on the newts. I looked into their tank and there were only 2 left! I about died! I went up to the counter and asked an employee if they had been sold or if something else had happened. They said that some guy had just came in this morning and bought 8 of them! They said he seemed to be a newt hobbyist who really wanted a lot of the "California newts" as they were calling them. I had him hold the two left for me until the end of the week. I also asked him they would be getting more "california newts" so that I could try and get one to you. He said that they had placed an order for firebellies after the man had bought so many of them. I still can't believe that he bought 8! Grumble! Big grumble! I'm so sorry, I tried... I'll keep checking up there for you to see when they're getting T. grans again. Did you check at all the places around you to see if they could order them for you? I got my guinea pig that way.

~my apologies...
Lindsay</font></font>
 
No big deal. The shop by me only orders for serious people (I'm not a regular there yet). If more come in, let me know!
 
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