Firebelly Care, Am I Doing It Right?

[KaekoKim]

Hi, all. I am so happy to find a forum dedicated to these creatures. I inherited my firebelly a week after my husband and daughter picked him up at the petshop. That's been a little over 16 years. = )

My newt, Kaeko, lives in an old gallon goldfish bowl (half filled -- using tap water that I keep in a gallon jug that has Tetra AquaSafe in it) on my desk. I feed him frozen bloodworms about once-twice a week. Clean his bowl out when needed. I have an old climbing rock inside his bowl 1/2 in 1/2 out of the water, and also a decorative fish statue that he can crawl inside. He's never tried to escape, though as I was reading through your general care threads, I see they might.

I've kept a knitted cover over the bottom of his bowl for warmth from the cool temps in my room, but I see after reading, newts prefer cooler temps....He's pretty cool, and comes to the surface when called.

 

[Cliygh and Mia]

He needs a larger tank at least a five gallon, but preferably a ten gallon and from my reading, they every now and then need a land perch, like a rock or a stick. Otherwise, I think you're doing great!

 

[sde]

Take a look at this care sheet, it has a lot of great info on housing this species ( if it the common pet store H. orientalis ). Caudata Culture Species Entry - Cynops orientalis - Chinese firebelly
It would be wise to cycle your aquarium ( which is preferably 10 gallons ), here is a article on that. Caudata Culture Articles - Cycling
I would recommend feeding him chopped earthworms, they are far better nutritionally that bloodworms. Here is a article on nutritional values of food items for amphibians. Caudata Culture Articles - Nutritional Values I would recommend browsing around that site, it has a ton of info just waiting to be discovered. -Seth

 

[KaekoKim]

Thanks! Since he's been in this goldfish bowl, and has done so well, I do worry about putting him into something else.

I've been reading through the care threads and love the wealth of info here, that petstores don't seem to have. He is a picky eater. 15 years ago, I tried the crickets, and he didn't like. Then I tried guppys because the petstore told me he'd eat them, however the guppys picked on him. We've gone to frozen bloodworms because he's crazy about them--however I must hand-feed him using toothpicks or he won't eat.

I would love to get him some company. After 16 years, I think it would get pretty lonely for him. Suggestions?

 

[Asevernnnn]

Tbh I'm surprised its lived as long as it has in a fishbowl, there are some changes that should be changed if you want a healthy stress free animal.

I wouldn't recommend getting a tank mate until you get the setup fixed, and the diet fixed. The best thing you could feed are chopped or smaller whole earthworm/nightcrawler, everything you have tried feeding are either aren't very healthy or recommended, or are nutritionally incomplete.

The tank of a healthy firebelly newt of most species usually goes along the lines of this:
At least 10 gallons of water, rinsed sand, bare-bottomed, or siliconed down substrate, water temp below 73F at all times, heavily planted, with a piece of floating cork bark or two. More detailed info can be given if needed.

Now as for tank mates go, you need to decide what specie your "firebelly newt" is. The most common petstore newt is H. orientalis. And the general rule for caudates is that you keep them in same specie tanks, with some exceptions like snails and small shrimps. And if you want another newt, finding a breeder is best compared to buying from some online "store" or petshop that sells stressed wild caught newts. Finding captive bred specimens of any of the firebelly newts can take some time but is worth having healthy animals in the long run.
Something also worth mentioning is that newts don't feel loneliness, they will be just fine in a tank by themselves.

 

[Chinadog]

Congrats on having such a long lived newt! I'd love to see a picture of him.
Although he's survived in the goldfish bowl, it's far from ideal. I'm sure he'd thank you for a nice home for his retirement and it's actually quite easy to provide.

I'll assume he is a Chinese/Japanese Firebelly, (I can tell you for sure if you post a photo of him) they are both species that seem dependent on dense plant growth to e happy, so all he needs to be really happy is a ten gallon aquarium with a tight fitting lid of some kind to stop him escaping. Fill it almost to the top with water and cram it with live aquatic plants, regular pond weed (Elodia) is ideal, but any will work. No filters or heaters are required, although depending on how much natural light his aquarium gets you might need to pick up a cheap aquarium light like an Arcadia arcpod or similar.

After the tank is set up there will be a period of time where his waste will cause ammonia and nitrite levels to peak until the tank cycles, so regular small water changes will be needed to begin with. You really need to pick up some ammonia and nitrite test kits from the petstore, they are easy to use and take all the guesswork out of setting up a new aquarium.

Once the tank cycles and the plants start to grow he will never need his tank fully cleaning ever again, just a partial water change once every couple of weeks or so to keep things fresh.

After all that you should have a happy, healthy newt that hopefully still comes out the weeds when you call him!

Hope this helps.

 

[KaekoKim]

I'll try to upload his pic.

 

[Asevernnnn]

Yeah, looks like H. orientalis.
I would recommend taking into account all the info you were given above.

 

[KaekoKim]

Thanks, Chinadog and ThoseNewts, and those who responded above. I will definitely look into bigger housing, nutrition and care to make this little fella's life better. You've been a huge help.

 

[Chinadog]

Aaron's correct, he is a Chinese firebelly.

 

[KaekoKim]

, heavily planted, with a piece of floating cork bark or two. More detailed info can be given if needed.

.

Hi, Aaron, what plants would do best, and where do I get the floating cork bark? = ) Thanks!

 

[Asevernnnn]

Some petshops carry them, but if you can't find one, a floating turtle dock works just as well, but they cost more.

 

[Cliygh and Mia]

And also, I don't mean to be rude, but lose the gravel. He can eat it and get impacted, and die from not being able to pass the loose gravel

 

[KaekoKim]

Thank you, I'm 'losing' it today. = )

 

[Asevernnnn]

And technically gravel would be "okay" as long as it's frequently cleaned out to prevent the build up of waste and if feeding is done by hand or in a separate dish or gravel free area, but yes, it is usually recommended to use sand, a siliconed substrate or no substrate at all