How many CFBN to get....

[NachoMom]

Hi guys, I am a newcomer to the site and this is my first post (other than an Introduction). I currently have 1 CFBN in a 7 gallon set up housed with a small (4) colony of ghost shrimp he cohabitates quite well with. I am in the process of aquascaping a 40 gallon set up for my little family, with the intention of getting more CFBN for attempts at breeding and just some company for him lol. The tank will be set up with PVC hides and ledges covered with great stuff and siliconed to seal, which I am then thinking of coating with cocoa fibre (I've read some threads from form uses who have had good luck with this). In addition to the banana plants, hygrophilia, and java moss that I will move from the current tank to the new, I am planning to get some anubias, java fern and elodea. The shrimp will make the move as well, and I am considering getting a few white cloud mountain minnows as well (I know I know, most people hate the idea of fish cohabitating with newts but these have been suggested as a safe choice on this site because of their lack of spines in case of ingestion). However this is not set in stone.
My question is this - how many CFBN can safely live in a 40 gallon ( approximately 3/4 full) as a permanent home? I had wanted to get 4 more, for a total of 5, but was looking for some input from the experts haha. Any advice would be greatly appreciated - should I get more or less? Thanks everyone!!!

 

[NachoMom]

Quick edit- 40 gallons is equivalent to a 150 liter tank for conversion purposes

 

[Jennewt]

Five would be no problem.

In my experience, cocofiber on silicone quickly deteriorates if it's exposed to water - the silicone is fine, but the cocofiber eventually washes away. I'd recommend dark colored silicone and small gravel (or both gravel and cocofiber) pressed into the silicone.

 

[Crysta]

It's not really a question of water volume, but rather length and the area of the bottom of the tank, they're mainly a walking about the bottom searching for food stuffs and goodies kind of species.

But with how large your volume of water i'm perfectly sure 5 will be fine, as you must have considerably enough surface area for them to wonder about.

 

[Azhael]

I would like to suggest that you consider finding the new newts from breeders. All firebellies being sold in shops are wild-caught, and by buying them you promote further mass capture, plus as a consumer you are not getting healthy animals, you are getting extremely streshed, very possibly ill survivors.
By purchasing captive-bred animals you obtain healthy, already accostumed to captivity animals without having any impact on wild populations or participating in a process that kills hundreds of newts every year.

 

[NachoMom]

Thanks Jen I have been looking around and decided to try a sand/gravel combination siliconed to the sides instead of the cocoa fibre, for the reasons you mentioned and to avoid leeching the water brown from the fibers. Crysta, yes I know the more important question is area of the bottom I just wanted to give people an idea of the tank size until I can get the measurements for better accuracy. I pick the tank up today so I will post the dimensions and maybe you guys can give me a better idea of the optimum inhabitants I should include!
I plan to document the building of the setup in a separate thread, I welcome any pointers/constructive criticism you guys can offer!

 

[NachoMom]

Thanks Azhael that is the plan, I have posted a want ad in the 'looking for species' forum of the site for anyone breeding in Ontario or Quebec in Canada and am hoping someone can give me some hints! Do you know of anyone in Canada that raises CFBN? I haven't had much luck so far...

 

[Azhael]

Can´t help you there, sorry, but i´m very glad to hear that you are looking for CB. That´s music to my ears! xD