Hardware

[Hindered]

My Michigan basement is nice and cold, should I need a chiller?
I really want a fountain or two, and I'd like to keep the water clear. If I mod an external filter to have two outputs acting to be the fountains would that effect the temp? I'd also make it have a buffer pond so that it doesn't effect the flow of the main body of water.
Are fire salamanders a good beginner salamander? The more I see of those... they start growing on me!

 

[Jennewt]

It's impossible to say whether you need a chiller unless you say what species you are keeping in it. A fountain will usually make the water slightly cooler.

Yes, fire sals are a good beginner species, but with the usual caveats. Be sure to buy captive-bred and if you get healthy ones they are easy.

 

[Hindered]

What exactly is a caveat?... I'll do my absolute best to buy captive bred, though I still haven't found any around me. They are pretty hardy and can deal with a wide range of temperatures right?

 

[Otterwoman]

"caveat" means "warning."
It comes from the Latin, "let him beware" from cavēre.
It also occurs in the phrase "Caveat emptor" ("Buyer beware").

 

[Tappers]

Fire sals are great but very terrestrial - my females give birth in about 1" of water and it's rare to see them in their water bowls otherwise. Beautiful and very undemanding animals to keep as long as you have good supplies of cold and damp! Thankfully living in the UK I have plenty of both

 

[Azhael]

Amazing species indeed, but it won´t do with the waterfalls and water, they can in fact drown. They are fully terrestrial except for the short period in which the females lay the larvae, as Tappers said. and it´s done in VERY shallow , preferibly still water.

I see the appeal of waterfalls, i really do, i used to create tanks with them when i was younger, but in the end they only add aesthetic value...these days i give much more importance to practicality.

 

[Hindered]

I'm really set on a filter though... my water in the tank I had when I was really little always got murky very quickly. I was planning on keeping a fair amount of water in the tank though so I can see why the fire salamanders wouldn't work. I didn't want the axi's because they just don't remind of a salamander for some reason :/. Are there really none that look partially similar to that and go on both land and deeper water?

 

[Tappers]

I believe there are some of the more obscure North American natives such as Seal Salamanders that are semi-aquatic but I'm not sure how you'd stand on the legalities etc of owning these.

Many of these creatures fall into the category of 'come out to feed and then hide again' and that's why axies are so popular - they just get on with it in the open. Have a look at the poll on aquatic v terrestrial and you'll see some useful comments there.

There is the perfect animal but on the wrong scale - Chinese water dragons (ok, they're very much not a salamander!) will do everything you want but get 3' long and climb trees as well..

It may be a case of starting with something like firebellies (Cynops) and then after a suitable apprenticeship work up to Neurergus which might be more what you're looking for but not for the less experienced.

 

[Hindered]

Yeah you're probably right, I'll go buy a 20g at petco or something to get started in my salamander keeping career. I'll set the other tank up to be what I want it to be, and only once I'm ready I'll add an amphibian.

 

[Azhael]

Good plan, you won´t regret it. Start with an easy species (P.waltl is highly recommendable), and build up experience.
I don´t recommend Cynops unless you can find captive-bred animals (C.cyanurus and C.pyrrhogaster would be the easiest to raise). If you intend to breed, there are other much easier options than Cynops too.