Ideas needed for 55 gallon semi-aquatic tank

[corey]

I am new to the forum and I can't believe I found a site with so many people with my same interest. I currently have a 55 gal tank with 8 Fire-bellied toads and 2 Paddle-tailed newts and 3 Eastern newts. My love if truly for Fire-bellied newts, but I haven't been able to get any this season in the pet stores in my area. I've read the horror stories able mixing species, but I have successfully been able to mix the species moving up from a 10 to a 20 to a 40 and finally to my current 55 gallon tank with the mentioned species along with various tetras. I'm looking for ideas to change and improve my tank. I would like to do a natural tank with a land area and plants. If anyone can help me I would appreciate it. I'll try to add pictures later. Thank you.

 

[joan]

Eastern newts are quite toxic, firebelly toads are also toxic, and paddle tailed newts will eat anything they can get their mouth on! It's a general rule of thumb in caudates to never mix species. http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/Mixing_disasters.shtml is a good start as why mixing is bad. It may be successful for a while, but in the longrun is going to be bad for everyone involved. Not only do these animals have different environmental requirements, but the toxins already mentioned is going to pose a problem eventually.

 

[jeff]

Joan is quite right. Quite frankly, with the animals you've got mixed, I'm shocked that nothing bad has happened already. My advise: keep the toads in the 55, move the paddle-tails to the 40 and move the easterns to the 20 (assuming you still have those tanks). You'd probably be surprised at how much better they'd be doing in separate set-ups.

 

[jennifer]

In addition to what Joan and Jeff have rightly pointed out, the temperature required for tetras is a bit too warm for the well-being of the newts in the long-term.

 

[corey]

Although I have read all of the posted stories about mixing newts, toads, and fish. However, I have done this for some years with great success. Nevertheless, this site is filled with years of experience, so I will separate them. Now that that's settled. I will move the Eastern newts to a 10 gallon for now. The Paddle-tails to a 20 gallon and the Fire-bellied Newts to a 40 gallon while keeping the Fire-bellied Toads in the 55 gallon. So now my question is for ideas for a 40 gallon Fire-bellied newt tank. Any ideas....?

 

[benjamin]

Move the paddle tails to the 55 gallon, the toads to the 40 gallon, keep the eastern newts in the 10, and when you get Fbns move them into the 20 gallon (If you had added these to your tank the paddletails would make a quick snack of them and perhaps the toads would eat the left overs). The reason why I say put the paddle tails in the big tank is because not only are they the largest of the animals you have mentioned they are very terretorial, perhaps they haven't shown this side of their behaviour being under the constant stress of sharing their tank with animals from other continents.

Remember just because your animals are alive doesn't mean they are doing well, you could show us a few pictures to give us an idea of how your guys are doing. Also often do the toads enter the water? How often do the newts enter the water? I have heard of one person housing a firebelly toad with a paddle tail and the toad rarely entered the water. As soon as the animals were seperated the toad began to spend most of its time in the water, and the paddle tail became much more active and less secretive.

 

[corey]

Thank you everyone for your post. I have taken the Eastern newts and put them a 10 gallon tank. I have the paddle tails in the 55 gallon and I have 5 Chinese fire bellied newts in a 20. Just for now until I get a new 20L tank I have 2 Rough-skinned newts. All will have their own tanks soon, I trying to make nice set-ups for them. Thanks again everyone!