My newts and tank

[patrick]

hello i just thought i would post some pictures of my newts and my tank. i have three Cynops orientalis, in a 10 gal tank its its about 25%land to 75% water.

my tank

the land portion of my tank,1 rock, 1 store bought hut, 1 self made stream (hose from filter, mustard container).

here are some pictures of my newts on the tree in the middle of the water

these are some older pictures from previous setups

 

[s1ren]

What a cute setup! They look like they're having fun climbing all over everything

 

[patrick]

i asume they are they usually just sleep during the day till about dinner time, so its nice to take pictures when they actually do stuff, they really like the rock and the hut they cram themselves in there in tiny corners so there all squished .... they seem to love that,one of the newts "dj" is the only one i actually ever see eat ... which is weird cuz he is small very small especially next to the others .. but i see him eat so i no thats not an issue, well thanks for complimenting the set up also i usually change it a little every time i clean the tank if anyone has some suggestions for my next look please let me know


(Message edited by atgpat on February 23, 2006)

 

[danny]

Nice setup there Patrick, and glad to see yet another Canadian on the forum! There has been alot of new people joining up lately. Is that a fluval 1 in your tank that you hooked the hose to? Just remember that those submersible pumps generate heat

I use fluval 2's but my tanks are all in the basement so its nice and cool even with the pumps

 

[patrick]

that is the fluval 1, it doesn't really seem to heat the water to much, the water is still nice and cool, and the newts seem to like resting along the edges of the stream and divider with their tails and legs in the water so i don't think its much of an issue so far but thanx for the heads up ill keep an eye out for that, yeah i use another herp message board but have been on this site learning lots of things through articles and such i figured i might as well start using it, thanks for the welcoming message

 

[s1ren]

Patrick, how long have you had these newts?

It worries me that you only SEE one of them eating. When I was new at keeping newts, I had the same situation - I assumed this one newt was eating, even though I never saw him eating, and he seemed fine for a long time. By the time I realized he wasn't eating, that he was starving himself to death, it was too late to save him.

If your newts are new, and you're not seeing them eat, it would be good to make SURE that they are - maybe feeding them by hand, or separating them at feeding time to make sure everyone has equal access to the food.

 

[ali]

Try chopped nightcrawlers if you haven't yet.

 

[patrick]

well iv had them since late november and so far have only seen the smallest "dj" eat, but i have seen the other two eat their skin once each, i am sure they are eating because the middle size one "fi-ya" is growing fairly well and the big one "glory" is a monster and is shedding a fair bit because of the growth, so far for food iv been using small worms dug up from the back yard (i live in an area were this is safe, no chemicals things like that), i also use dried bloodworms and newt pellets and just started frozen blood worms, i have been trying to experiment and see what they enjoy best so far all iv gotten is the little guy doesn't mind small worms from the back yard ...sumtimes, never tried night crawlers ill look into it tho thanx for the advice

(Message edited by atgpat on February 24, 2006)

 

[s1ren]

Good to hear

 

[sian]

<font color="0000ff"> I love that little bonsai tree style ornament.

Cute newts

</font>

 

[kylee]

I'm in love with your tank set-up.. I've been playing with my setup forever to make all my newts happy..
Where did you get the device that divides your land from your water?

 

[TJ]

Nice to see you putting in effort to make your newts comfortable

I'd make sure that Fluval isn't making too much of a current in the water, which could stress the newts. I used to use Fluvals, though not for Cynops, but I now use sponge air filters for almost all my tanks.

Also, I'd recommend you add some relatively hardy live plants like java moss and Egeria densa if your tank gets sufficient light. Good for the water and good for your newts too!

(Message edited by TJ on February 28, 2006)

 

[patrick]

thanks for the advice, the fluval is hooked up to a hose which brings the water to the stream so the current is only in the stream so it doesn't really effect their swimming in the water, also the fluval doesn't seem to be causing to much heat , so im very happy with it at this point in time, i use to have a few live plants but with the plants came an infestion of snails ... so i got rid of all of them and the plants incase there were any eggs left. i will look into getting new plants soon , especially if i start raising the water levels. and kylee the device i used was a peice meant for a turtle tank, its especially made to split land from water, i got it from my pet store, i have seen them on the internet for sale aswell, but i am not sure were. well again thanks for the ideas and comments they are very appreciated, helps me get better understanding of different options and things like that
thanks lot
pat