New tank, new newts, new owner, NEED HELP

[Sierra419]

I was recently given a 50 gallon fish tank and stand. I've always wanted fire belly newts so I figured I would make this a communal tank (wife wants fish) and finally get my newts. So heres what I've done so far. I filled the tank 3/4 with tap water, added pool filter sand as the substrate, let it sit for 2 days to settle and let Chlorine evaporate, put in a few decorations, then added Seachem Prime to treat the water (removes Chlorine, Chloramine, and detoxifies ammonia and nitrites). I then added a hanging filter and let it filter full blast for a week.

At this point there are no fish. Its been empty and filtering for a week. My local, independently owned pet store just got in four Chinese Fire Belly Newts. I bought them and added them to my tank yesterday evening but they wont enter the water, move, or eat. I have a large floating turtle dock with a little bit of Java Moss on top and they wont get off of it. When removing them from the bags they came in, one of them was placed in the water and he freaked out until I picked him up and put him on the dock. They wont move a single muscle, they wont eat the live earth worms I cut up and put in front of their faces, they wont do anything. I have four and they're roughly the same size. Oddly, they seem to be coupled into pairs. Two of the newts lay on top of the other two. What do I do? Should I test my water? I added conditioner and let it filter for a week so my water should be safe right? My filter has sponge, carbon, and bio filtering. Maybe its just because theyre stressed? I dont know. I hope theyre alright. My tank has a glass top to prevent them from escaping but it doesnt have very many places for air to get in or out. Do I need to add a air hose / pump thing? I hope I didnt suffocate them.

I've read all the care sheets for them on this site and a couple others. They seem a little skinny and pretty small. Please help, not too sure where to go from here. I wanted to add a half dozen White Cloud Mountain Minnows to the tank today after work. Theyre extremely tiny (too fast for the newts to catch and theyre cold water fish). They would have plenty of room in the 50 gallon tank. Is this a bad idea? They could possibly help cycle the aquarium if its not already.

 

[Sierra419]

Well I got an ammonia test kit and a nitrite test kit. 0 nitrates and 0 ammonia. Idk what the ph is yet. Newts still won't move or eat the night crawlers I put in front of them. I even rub the worm on their mouth and they don't do anything except move their heads away. Any help or suggestions?

 

[AeonMapa]

Hi, it is normal for newts to refuse to go into the water or even eat for a few days after being introduced to a new environment. Just keep making sure your water quality is good and they should eventually enter the water.

If your newts are quite small though, there is a chance that they are still in their terrestrial stage. You should offer them more land area to make them more comfortable.

In time they will adjust to their new surroundings and should start eating. Until then keep offering them food. Try leaving some of the chopped night crawlers in a bottle cap "dish" as they might refuse to eat from tweezers or a toothpick if it stresses them out.

Also don't add the fish until the newts are completely comfortable and thriving. Having fish in the water could convince them completely that they should just stay on land. Good luck and I hope for the best for your newts!

 

[Sierra419]

Well, its been a few days. I got a deluxe test kit and my water quality is perfect. My newts still have not moved. I get them wet once a day so they dont shrivle into raisons (which they seem more than happy to do). They just lay there on top of eachother. I dumped them all in the water the other day so I could clean the turtle dock they're on (covered in dead, chopped up worms) and they searched for all the hiding places I made for them. While they were in the water it looked like clumps of their skin came off. The biggest one's skin came off in a big piece, but the others came off in small clumps. They stayed there for a few minutes and then returned to the turtle dock once it was back in the tank. They sit there, dry up, dont move, dont eat, dont get in the water-
Is this normal?? Will they eat frozen or dried blood worms? They dont sell live blood worms any where around here. They arent eating the earthworms.

 

[Azhael]

Your tank isn´t cycled, that´s going to be a very significant factor in your newts not going aquatic. You need to cycle it properly for water conditions to be stable and optimal. The fact that you get readings of 0 in your tests just means there is no organic matter in your water, but it also means there are no bacteria. You need those bacteria.
Also, make sure to have LOTS of live plants. The newts won´t feel safe in the water if there are open spaces, particularly near the surface. They are very highly stressed as a consequence of the terrible conditions that they have endured during the importation and most likely, at the shop too. They need optimal conditions to recover and have a chance. Don´t bother them, DO NOT manipulate them, just let them be.
They are staying on land as a response to the stress and the inadequate conditions and this means their tails are almost certainly thin and roughly cilindrical as opposed to flattened and wide. While their tails are "shrunk" in this way they´ll be inefficient swimmers which is why open spaces make them freak out and puts them, in fact, in danger of drowning. Ridiculous amounts of plants will prevent this and make them feel secure. This will make it much more probable for them to go aquatic, plus live plants will go a long way in maintaining good water conditions until the tank is fully cycled.

They are not likely to accept bloodworms on land as they are wild animals used to live prey. Dried bloodworms are rubbish, don´t use them. Try earthworms and waxworms, they are the best foods to entice stressed animals to eat and be patient, they are probably not eating because of the continued stress. Give them space and quiet and maybe they´ll start eating.


Edit: The fish are not a good idea. You can find many threads where the issues related to mixing fish and caudates are discussed.

 

[AeonMapa]

Some of my smaller newts were the same. The larger one took to water quickly and shedded properly, but the smaller ones were like yours. Eventually I added many more plants to my tank, Aside from making them more comfortable and keeping the water parameters stable, I guess the plants, having come from an established tank really helped the cycle along.
Keep your water cool and maybe low lights to lower stress and heat levels?

Azhael, it was really nice to see how after 3 weeks in my tanks, the newts began to take on a brand new shape! It really goes to show how bad the conditions are in shipping and pet stores!