New to fire bellys

Hornwort,floating Anubis,Java fern, most pet store or aquarium shop have like a assorted plant bunch that works well


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Eel grass and Java moss are a good start, but any fast growing plants will do just fine, the bunches of cheap pondweed looking stuff that most petstores sell for a few bucks are perfect. The faster growing they are, the better they are at sucking up waste from the newts, so the better the water quality will be.
I know I already mentioned it, but don't underestimate how much Chinese firebellies hate water movement, deflecting it off the glass isn't normally enough to diffuse the outlet of an internal filter. I would urge you to either fully diffuse it through a piece of filter sponge or similar, or remove it altogether, at least for the time being. Newts aren't like fish, they can vote with their feet, if there's something not quite right with their set up they will sit on their island looking miserable, or spend all their time trying to escape.
 
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I put blood worms in while he was under, still no eating but I guess it's a positive note that he is under water


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Yes. The bigger one will go in the water and stay under for an hour or so and go back up and stay the smaller one is newer (got him Monday) and hasn't gone under yet. I'm just hoping he is still adjusting to the tank. How long does it take for them to acclimate usually?


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Good news guys I got them in the water I picked them up and submerged them underwater and they stayed under


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Its a step in the right direction, but acclimating them can be a slow process sometimes. That said, they aren't the worst looking petstore firebellies I've seen, so hopefully they'll keep improving. The most important thing to watch for now are small areas of sore looking skin anywhere on their bodies. Skin sores are extremely common on imported newts and can strike seemingly at any point after purchase, but are most common in the first few weeks to a month, so keep a look out for anything unusual. I added a pic of what they look like, it is the pinkish round hole in the skin, just below halfway down the photo.
Are they eating yet?
 

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I don't see that on them. At least not yet. I turned off my filter for the time being and not that I know of. I put blood worms in the water when they were under and went to work so they could have but I'm not sure. I also chopped up some earthworms they don't seem to care about them


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