Hong Kong newt questions

C

chris

Guest
First does anyone have a caresheet on these guys? i did most of my research on chinese firebelly newts, but no one had any so i ended up with these, worked out better anyways, second what should i use for substrate? right now i have river rocks but the blood worms seem to fall in between them making it difficult for the newts to get to them.
 
hi chris,
i have to admit mine have been picky eaters since day 1, and have a habit of bullying each other unless given lots of room and objects to hide around in the tank. try this care sheet -it will cover the basics (although hong kongs arent nearly as aggresive-but females can be pushy eaters and hog the food).http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Pachytriton/Pachytriton.shtml
i have a large piece of driftwood going longways down a 20 g tank, this is covered in java moss with some of it above water (water level about 5 inches)-at one end i have a submersible filter that creates a current that flows down one side of the log. this has worked best with me over the years....even had a few dud eggs laid about 2 years back...
 
oh yeah-my tank has a bare bottom so they can find food easily, only a few rocks near the filter (mostly to help hide it)-and i feed away from the filter so it wont suck in the bloodworms right away. occasionally they will eat crickets and chopped earthworms-but it depends on their mood...(and they really seem to be moody!)
 
They are eating fine its just that some of the worms fall between the rocks, yeah a bare bottom would be easier but i don't really like the look.

Thanks for the info
 
That care sheet said i can use sand as a substrate is that correct, i would like to do that if possible.
 
My hong Kong newt is in a 25 gallon...the water level is ten inches, and there is an overturned 4 gallon (tall) in the water, and the "top" serves as an island...does that make sense? (I'll upload a diagram) I have natural coloured gravel on the tank floor, and ontop of his island...the tank floor has about 2.5 inches of gravel, and the island has 1cm. The island has a lava rock (I beleive) on it, and some silk plants to hide under...in the water area, there is a large piece of slate (I beleive) Positioned with another rock in such a way so that it creates a hiding place beneath it. There are also many plastic and silk plants, but I'm going to be switching to live plants as soon as I can afford it. I usually have a filter in the tank, but had to give it to the goldfish when I removed them from the newt tank. When I get paid, I plan to buy an In-tank Whisper Filter.

My hong kong newt is definitley not a picky eater. I hand feed him crickets, and he eats bloodworms out of a tiny dish, on land, that I hold in front of him. He'll eat anything if it sits in front of his face long enough.
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EDIT: That caresheet you provided says that they are fully aquatic, and that if they come up on land, there's something wrong with them.....my newt goes up onto his land area quite a bit, and I'm quite sure that he's very healthy.

(Message edited by ccgerbilclan on March 14, 2005)
 
Yeah mine never get out of the water, i have a piece of driftwood that sticks out none of them go on it, anyone know anything about using sand?
 
the care sheet is for pachytritons they are exclusively aquatic as adults, these are paramesotritons -but they're similar in some ways, just for the basics its fine
mine will spend about half their time resting at water level with the head out, about 1/5th the time they come out of water fully and rest on the log

(Message edited by paris on March 14, 2005)
 
yes-finer sand is better though cause its easier to pass if accidentally ingested.
 
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