Bought 2 FB newts a week ago..

[Azhael]

Any recommendations?

Huge amounts of live plants. They won´t drown if the water column is filled with plants and you will never have any water quality issues.

 

[Niels D]

And try some pond or ramshorne snails or shrimp. Most Caridina and Neocaridina species can manage cold temperatures quite well and some species breed in your newt setup (like some species of cherry shrimp). I like to add Gammarus as well, but they can be difficult to come by.

 

[tony1208]

Huge amounts of live plants. They won´t drown if the water column is filed with plants and you will never have any water quality issues.

Thank you...
Do they have plants that can stay in the tubes they come is with? I tried plants potted in soil not in the tubes and that make the water filthy..
What plants u recommend?

Sent from my I337 Galaxy S4

 

[Chinadog]

Java fern and Java moss are very easy to grow, neither needs to be planted in the substrate or a pot, you just tie them onto a pebble or similar and that's it! I think they do well in newt tanks because they don't mind low light levels or cool water. These 2 plants along with Elodea and Hornwort pond weed are really all you need.

 

[tony1208]

Java fern and Java moss are very easy to grow, neither needs to be planted in the substrate or a pot, you just tie them onto a pebble or similar and that's it! I think they do well in newt tanks because they don't mind low light levels or cool water. These 2 plants along with Elodea and Hornwort pond weed are really all you need.

Thanks I will pick these up after work

Sent from my I337 Galaxy S4

 

[AeonMapa]

Great, your newts will thank you! Try getting some scavenger animals. Red cherry or ghost shrimp, and some nice ramshorn snails will keep your tank cleaner and are interesting to observe as well

 

[tony1208]

The shrimp survive off the newts waste?

Sent from my I337 Galaxy S4

 

[AeonMapa]

I've never directly fed the shrimp or the snails. They feed on a combination of algae, microorganisms and any left over food. In a heavily planted tank shrimp and snails will have an endless supply of food. I never worry about worms that escape into the spaces between my rocks because I know the shrimp will get to them. I've seen them dredge up an escaped earthworm and shred and eat it.

 

[AeonMapa]

Some of my scavengers, and pics from my tank might give you some ideas

 

[Niels D]

Many plants "produce" dead material continuesly like old leaves as well. I've got some tanks which I use as a backup for my populations of shrimp, snails and especially Gammarus. In here I sometimes add some fish flakes, algae tablets or a piece of cucumber. This is for creating a great amount of these animals.

 

[tony1208]

Sent from my I337 Galaxy S4

 

[tony1208]

Added a snail java and Elodea.... More water also

Sent from my I337 Galaxy S4

 

[Azhael]

That´s an improvement, but keep going. More water, more plants. Use a piece of cork bark so that they can rest on it if they need to.


Also make sure to have a 100% scape proof lid. Mesh lids are best since they allow optimal ventilation with cero risk of scaping.

 

[AeonMapa]

Good to see you're taking the proper steps to house your newts. Just do what Azhael says and they'll be fine

 

[tony1208]

Good to see you're taking the proper steps to house your newts. Just do what Azhael says and they'll be fine

I only had the plants in the tank for two days along with the snail and the water cleared up nicely... I went to buy a sponge filter but no where around here in my area has a low powered sponge filter.. I found one for a 10 gal tank but was kind of big and too strong..

Sent from my I337 Galaxy S4 now Free

 

[Chinadog]

You can find air powered sponge filters in a variety of sizes on ebay, i bought one the other month for under £2.00. delivery was about a week because it came from Hong kong!! You can see why the advice is to use live plants instead of plastic ones now, they really do make a massive difference don't they!

 

[Azhael]

The difference is so massive that additional filtration is pointless.

 

[Chinadog]

Yes i agree, i could probably remove the filters from my newt tanks and they'd be perfectly fine. I'm more used to keeping catfish, koi and other large fish so it's second nature to want the best filtration and oxygenation possible. I do think a good, low turnover filter gives the water a little extra sparkle!

 

[AeonMapa]

I'm planning on setting up a walstad tank for my newts, hopefully without need for an airator!

 

[tony1208]

Well decided no filter... The snail and plants so far are keeping the tank pretty clean.. I plan on getting a second snail and more plants... I also filled the tank up more and I noticed my newts way more active than ever... Thanks for the advice.. Btw I went to get shrimp for the tank and the store was out but the rep told me that the newts would eat it??

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2