Contradicting setup info fire belly oriental

[carlyjane]

Hi there

I am getting rather frustrated with contradicting information on the setup required for fire belly newts...

Basically I have bought a 60L aquarium and was planning on having full of water

very heavily planted (I have come to realise this might be difficult with the lack of CO2 in the water)

I have bought a large sized turtle/terrapin dock

Floating plants also


I kept fire bellies as a child with my father but we always had a half water/land set up but this time I would prefer a more attarctive looking tank if possible..

So yesterday at one of the aquatic stores selling the fire bellies I confirmed the above enquiries with the shop assistand and he said that was perfectly fine and that they were a more aquatic species anyway... Today i have bought floating plants and turtle dock from a diffferent aquarium and the lady this time round said my set up would be forcing the fire bellies to be aquatic - making me feel rather guilty!!!


I keep reading/hearing contradicting information can someone please advise as I don't want to stress the little guys out! Thanks

 

[Azhael]

Don´t listen to the pet-shops...for the most part they don´t even know what they are talking about..they just want you to buy stuff.

If you want quality information, check this caresheet:
Caudata Culture Species Entry - Cynops orientalis - Chinese firebelly

There is also a large amount of information on this species around the forum and in the Cynops section, so take a good read. Read as much as you can before even thinking of getting new animals.

Also, you should know that all Cynops that are sold in pet-shops are wild-caught in China. The importation process is harsh and many die...those who survive have to deal with the negligence of the pet-shops. The "lucky" ones who make it, are terribly stressed, often ill.
If you want quality animals, that won´t give you problems and haven´t been torn from their habitat, try to find captive bred ones. However since this species is sometimes a bit hard to find as captive bred, you may want to consider other species such as Pleurodeles waltl, or any Triturus, which are easily available, and make brilliant beginner newts.

 

[Jennewt]

Either type of setup can work. My concern with a half land setup is that the total water volume may be rather small and thus difficult to keep the water quality stable. But there is no reason that the tank needs to be "full".

One factor is how large are the newts you plan to get? A lot of the pet shop C. orientalis coming in these days are small/juvenile. The small ones tend to be more terrestrial and do better with a shallow water level.

 

[carlyjane]

Hi there

Both stores I went to were aquatic stores, not pet shops, I thought these would be better I know it is bad to buy from pet shops! The second store sold an awful lot of reptiles and amphibians and insects also so that should have been even better really..

I have done research and like I said in my post I kept amphibians with my father although this was in the region of ten or more years ago so need a little brushing up! The newts I have bought are between 2 and 3 inches long.

I have been looking for adverts of breeders in Edinburgh but have not come across any so this is why I was limited to the aquatic stores to be honest!

Thanks for the links though i'll have a read of those aswel, no doubt it'll just contradict in some way what I have already read about them it seems it might just be up to the preference of the owner but then that does not really always make a happy animal hey!

 

[carlyjane]

Just had another look at them and i'd say the smallest was around 3.5 inch and the biggest no more than 4.5 inches, from head to tail that is...

 

[Azhael]

Mmmmm...the maximum size for an adult C.orientalis is about 10cm long.

Pet-shop, aquatic-shop, whatever...they all carry the same WC newts...

Here in this forum there are people (including myself) who breed this species and offer them for very reasonable prices or for free. It´s too late now, but i just wanted to let you know that the option is there..pet-shops are never the best option, let alone, the only option!

There is A LOT of awful, wrong information in the net...and also many sites with caresheets that are rubbish...
I can tell you from my own experience that the info you´ll find in the CC caresheet is top notch!!

 

[carlyjane]

Hi Azhael

I had already been searching for breeders in my area and have had no luck whatsoever, I also emailed two animals shelters on the very off chance that they might have some rescue newts that somebody no longer wanted even they could not offer me any lists of breeders..

But anyway this post wasn't about my wronng doing of buying newts from an aquarium store it ws about their set up...

I also feel that it is a bit harsh of you to completely dismiss anyone that works in a petshop as a lot of them do maintain alot of knowledge about the animals, especially specialist aquarium stores..

Thanks for the link anwyay

 

[Jennewt]

Please excuse Azhael, carlyjane. He's quite a zealot about captive breeding In time, you will develop contacts with other newt-keepers in the UK and perhaps exchange some newts in the future. There is no need to limit yourself to Edinburgh. Virtually all of us got our start with a pet shop newt, so no one blames you for this.

To some extent, you have to observe the preferences of your own newts and adapt the habitat to their needs. There are discrepancies in the recommended care because young C. orientalis are quite different from the full-grown adults. There is also some component of human personal preference, but these newts are particularly picky about water depth.

 

[Azhael]

I apologize if my post sounded harsh, it wasn´t my intention!
I was just trying to let you know, for future reference that you indeed have options.
I started out just like you, with a pair of WC C.orientalis, so i understand.

My opinion about pet-shops was related solely to caudates....and i stand by it. I´ve yet to even hear about a pet-shop that carries quality caudates and knows what it´s doing with them. I know very good petshops for fish and mammals...none for amphibians!

 

[carlyjane]

Thanks guys, well I have taken in everything you have said. I am going to buy some glass sucker things so that I can lower my filter a little.

I had 25 plants arrive from ebay today and have planted the ones with the biggest roots in soil in tights tied with string and buried under gravel (found that tip on the forum!!) I am so suprised the soil has not leaked out one bit! Hopefully this will help the plants get a few more nutrients if there is going to be a total loack of CO2...

I'm not sure if it is because they are still settling in but none of them seem to be using the turtle dock yet... Maybe they don't know its there! I have seen one clinging on to the floating plants so far..