Question: Easy to breed newts?

[formericequeen]

Hi I'm new to this forum

I have a lot of experience keeping various tropical fish and african dwarf frogs...the other day I was in my LFS and saw some spanish sharp ribbed newts. I came home and started reading about newts and salamanders on the net and I've decided to get some. I have four tanks running at the moment, so would only need to do a bit of shifting around and adapting of a tank.

I'm not sure which type of newt I want to get...can only find so much info on the net and I keep coming back to the same articles so thought I'd ask the experts!!

I would like to get 2-4 smaller newts which are easy to breed. I've been reading up on the different types of fire-bellied newts, which I like, but there's so much contradicting info on breeding them - is it really difficult?

I'm thinking I will probably house them in my 64 litre (around 17 US gallons) tank in my living room, on their own, and create a land area or put some rocks and platforms in there. I initially wanted to keep them in my 29 gal tank but can't lower the water level as it has an inbuilt filter, and I have a large ruby shark in there who I can't bring myself to rehome I've had him since he was small.

So yeah, (sorry for the rambling!) what's a smaller newt that's easy to breed?

Thank you!

 

[evut]

From my own limited experience, I'd say Cynops pyrrhogaster (Japanese FBN) could be right for you. I had mine for about a year when they started reproducing and so far the little ones are doing well. I think in a couple of months I should even be able to supply some juveniles when they've grown a little.
This species is great fun, I would really recommend it. They are also supposed to be a lot hardier than the Chinese FBN (Cynops orientalis).

If you do get captive bred newts (that should be the only option, really - avoid getting wild caught animals from a pet shop at any cost!!!), they will probably still be terrestrial for a while. An important thing to consider before you get them is the temperature requirements of a particular species.

I don't know if you found http://www.caudata.org/cc/index.shtml but this website should give you all the information you need (together with this forum of course).

With regards to Pleurodeles waltl, I think your tank would be too small as these grow quite large.

 

[Azhael]

I second Eva´s comment about CB animals.
The problem with Cynops is that they breed very easily, but raising them is not as easy. The morphs are not the easiest, and if you have no previous experience with small terrestrial morphs, it can be a pain.
Also quite easy to breed (although you need the right temps here) are the genus Triturus. The advantage of this genus is that the larvae and juveniles are a lot easier to raise. These grow larger, to about 15 cm long (on average).
P.waltl, as Eva says, grows substantially larger, but is otherwise very easy to breed too.

Before you get any animals, make sure to read as much as you can!!!! You need to learn about their requirements year-round, their diet, the possible problems they might have, etc. Don´t jump right into it, take your time.

 

[Jennewt]

What is the coolest temperature (winter/summer) that you can maintain in the tank? This might limit what species you should consider. For example, I. alpestris (alpine newt) is commonly available captive bred, and they are small and pretty, but they need to be on the cool side. The ribbed newts and Japanese firebellies are somewhat more temp tolerant.