Is my tank ok for my Chinese Fire Belly?

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justin

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I just went to the store today and finally took the plunge to buy a Chinese Fire Belly Newt. I spent a total of ~$120 for the tank, rocks, gravel, etc. I just wanted to make sure everything I have is "ok" for my newt. I plan on adding another newt when they get another shipment in (two weeks or so) and adding another rock for dry land. I have a bunch of pictures you guys can look at and tell me what I should change.

http://www.darksyntax.com/newt/ (they are big images)

I think the gravel I have is too small, but I am not sure. Also the pump they gave me is FAR TOO BIG and overpowering for the water level even on low (but i am not sure). As a temp solution, I have moved the tank forward and pointed the nozzel to the corner wall with a small gravel pile in order to stop any current. I want to find a different filter/pump. Can someone find one online that would work well for my setup? I looked at all the documents on this site and they say what "type" but I just want a direct link on something I can buy. Also, exactly how much of the frozen blood worms should I give my newt? The guy @ the store said about "dime sized" portion but that seems like too much for his size. Also, when should I expect the newt to become more "active" and "aquatic"? Right now all he seems to do is sit in one spot and move every 10 min to a slightly different position. Is he not moving/swimming very much because one of his arms is "regenerating"? If I try to push him in the water, he will franticly try to swim to the nearest solid ground, is this normal? Also is my water level ok, or should I raise it?

Sorry for all the questions but many people are telling me many different things.

(Message edited by serox on May 30, 2005)
 
Hi Justin,

Since your newt is missing a leg, the water level is okay for now. When he regrows his leg, I would slowly raise the water level to at least 7" high.

Add A LOT more plants (live ones preferably). Also more land area such as floating plants, or a lily pad with cork backing (which you can get at Petco.)

Put a dish on the tank floor. This will be his food dish. Put thawed, frozen bloodworms in the dish using a long spoon, or tweezer. This will keep the mess isolated. Give him as much as he will eat, remove the rest. This will give you an indication on how much food he will eat at this time. (You can remove waster, and uneaten food, with a turkey baster.)

The filter looks like a Cascade internal. These are good filters, but too powerful for a 10g tank. You might try a Duetto internal filter.

I currently have a small female the I purchased who was missing one front leg. I keep her in about 3.5" of water with lots of elodea. She is in a small critter container. She rests on the elodea. I have hand fed her until she got her strength, and more arm growth. She now feeds on the container floor.

Good luck.
happy.gif
 
I am not sure what the temp of the tank is at exactly since I do not have a thermometer for it. However when I touch the water is it cool to my hand. To me I would say it is about 70 degrees but I cannot be sure.

Also, the leg is not "missing" it is just the fingers on the hand. If you were to compare it to the amputation article posted here, it would be similar to week 5 or 6. Just his fingers are missing.

Today I thought of another question, when I woke up I had dew on the inside of his cage. Is this normal/ok? I keep my window open @ night as it gets cooler and it is cheaper than running the AC (I am a poor college student). Would this be solved it I kept the hood open @ night? And how do I clean off the inside of the glass? I know not to use glass cleaner since it will put chemicals in the water, but what else do I use?
 
The condensation's nothing to worry about, it's just from the filter causing water vapor to escape and condensate on the side of the tank. I wouldn't use a hood because in addition to holding in condensation, it can hold in heat. Wipe it off with a dry towel. Once you raise the water level (if it has most of its leg, I'd raise the water level right away, at least a few inches), this won't be as much of a problem, especially if you remove the hood.
 
Hi Justin,

As Joan said, raise the water level, and wipe tank windows with a towel. DO NOT use glass cleaner, or any other chemicals.

Replace the hood with a screen lid if you can. Otherwise screen off any open areas that are on the hood. Your newt WILL climb out eventually.

Keep window shades down during hot weather, and use cold water bottles in tank should the water get to warm. You can get a cheap thermometer for 1.99 at Petsmart, or Wal-Mart. This is a must have. I have family in Iowa City, and I know that the summers can be beastly hot there. So you will have to be vigilant with the tank temps. Mid 70's water temps may not be avoided in the summer, but over that is very dangerous.
 
The "dew" is normal, it happens if the temp inside is warmer than outside the tank. Just use plain water and a paper towel to clean the glass.

Do not remove the hood until you have some other kind of cover in place. Newts will climb out. It might be OK to leave it open if there is a large rim. See:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/escape.shtml
 
Ok I went out and got a new filter today. It is a "Fluval 1plus". It puts out about 50g.p.h. which I am not sure if that is still too much. I have the pump setup to make a stream down a rock into the water. I am not sure if this is too strong or not for the newt. There is small surface ripples near the base of the rock but barely any current reaches very deep into the water. Also, is the water still getting oxygen even if there is no air bubbles @ the top of the water? I can position the filter to make more of a "plunge" into the water to cause some surface air bubbles. Does this help? I have uploaded new photos of the tank at the link below.

Another question, I got the thermometer at Petland today and placed it in the tank. Do I want the thermometer submerged in the water or out of the water? Right now I have it setup so that the bottom of the thermometer is in the water and the top half is out, is this ok?

Thanks in advance for all the help! I really want my newts to be happy and energetic! :D

New setup pics:
http://www.darksyntax.com/newt/new_setup/

(Message edited by serox on May 31, 2005)
 
Hi Justin,

The Fluval 1Plus is just fine. You do not need to see air bubbles, nor do you want much current in the water. These newts prefer still water. Completely submerge the thermometer also.

Doing good!
 
Ok, it has been almost 5 days since I got my newt and he has yet to eat. I have tried feeding him frozen blood worms and now I just tried the little processed "newt bites". I have tried feeding him with FBW in the water and on land, still nothing. I have not tried putting the "newt bites" in the water since he does not seem to like swimming very much (he is very non-mobile).

Am I doing something wrong? How do you guys feed your newts?
 
Try something that wriggles to get his appetite going. A small earth worm perhaps.
 
Yeah, most caudates won't eat anything that isn't alive, or wasn't alive recently. Newtbites are a great example. They're just not good. Try small worms, or small crickets.
 
I feed my Chinese firebelly live earthworms (small ones about 1/2 his size) 3 times a week with some newt pellets. They only eat live or moving things so i touch the water overhead to attract him. then i put in the food when he looks up & i keep tapping d water & he swims up & eats it. U have to keep tapping d water to make it look like its alive.
 
Problem is mine does not swim.
 
Hi Justin,

Get a tweezers and handfeed him. Dangle a few thawed bloodworms in front of him, and over his head a bit (try the small earthworms also). Hopefully, eventually, he will start taking a few bites. Once they start to eat, their appetite should resume to normal after awhile. You probably won't have to handfeed him then either. You can get the long rep/amphib feeding tweezers and Petsmart, or the bamboo ones at Petco. Good luck.
 
Could there be just something wrong with my newt? I am going to be getting 2 more tomorrow and I have only had him for a week so I am not that attached to him. Could it help to have another active newt to help him get his "spirit" up or to follow by the new example? (I know they arnt companion-type pets, but maybe they follow others examples)
 
If your newt isn't swimming at all perhaps you should give him a chance to hide a bit. The land area in your tank looks pretty small with no room for hiding.

As for feeding, once he feels a bit more secure
Just try holding a wriggling worm in front of him (not pushing his nose with it or anything).
Even if he doesn't grab it the first few times, try it a few times a day. Dropping one of the ground in front of him probably means the worm will get away but no harm done then either.

Getting a 2nd more active newt is not likely to improve eating habbits of this first one. Also, if this newt isn't eating because of some unseen illness, a 2nd newt might get sick too.

Give it a little time and see what happens. You can always buy a few more newts later too.
 
Ok well I figured that something was wrong with my newt and I was apparently right. I got 3 new newts today, put them in the tank, and they eat, swim, etc right away. (Exploring) So I decided to give my newt a good home and sold him back to the pet store. We will see how these ones go. Looks promising!
 
heheeh we all start off with one and end up with many! I started off with one and now got eight! Seems as though this hobby is contagious .... Good luck with the newbies
happy.gif
 
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