Death of warty newt after installation of filter.

[levinas]

Ive had a trio of warty newts living in a tank for 6 weeks now, with no problems.Done water changes weekly so didnt use a filter.Installed a filter 3 days ago and found one newt lying upon filter-small in tank power filter laying flat on tank floor-obviously in distress so pulled her out, she was still alive but seemed to be gulping.She was placed into a container with shallow tank water but i think she's now died.Found a second newt in same place 15 mins later, she appeared to be attempting to purge/vomit-throat distended, tongue protruding from mouth seemingly swollen so pulled her out and placed her on floating land mass and she seemed to recover and returned to water but i thought it best to pull filter out and have now done a 100%water change, replacing water with newly collected rainwater.
The filter did vibrate and as i found both newts atop the submerged filter would the vibration have caused problems?Would the intake of water cause a apulling on the newts stomach that could cause the reaction, the gapeing/gasping, distended throat?Or is it chemical changes in the water due to filtration?The water did change colour, probably due to charcoal in filter.

 

[Neotenic_Jaymes]

How strong is the water flow? Strong flow and high water level could is harsh on newts. Charcoal in the filter? Maybe you mean carbon? I have carbon in a lot of my filters it helps with removing tannins and keeping water clear. Activated carbon doesn't do anything for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite. Its completely safe to use.

A newt found floating or at the bottom motionless with the tongue visible sounds very much like a drowning. I had it happen before and it sucks. Check how strong or how many gallons of water is the filter built for. It could be too strong for your tank.

 

[levinas]

The filter is larger than is required for the tank.Thankyou for the reply, if protruding tongue indicates drowning then i think that may be best explanation.Both newts were found atop the intake vents of the filter and i now think the pull of the water held them on the filter, underwater.The remaining two newts, particularly the one formerly in distress, now look fine with the filter removed.Yes i did mean carbon in the filter.

Thaks again.

 

[Neotenic_Jaymes]

The filter is larger than is required for the tank.Thankyou for the reply, if protruding tongue indicates drowning then i think that may be best explanation.Both newts were found atop the intake vents of the filter and i now think the pull of the water held them on the filter, underwater.The remaining two newts, particularly the one formerly in distress, now look fine with the filter removed.Yes i did mean carbon in the filter.

Thaks again.

Your welcome. Best to use a simple sponge filter or air hose filter of some sort.

 

[Geckogirl88]

Sorry for the loss of your little one.
It does sound like drowning.
Perhaps an under-gravel filter would be better?
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