Paddletail dilemma

[Linus]

I saw two paddletail newts at a shady local petshop a few weeks ago in 80 degree water in rough shape (couple dead ones etc). I decided to set up the old 26 gallon fishtank in hopes of giving these guys a better home. Water has been dechlorniated, started a nitrogen cycle with feeder fish and added already cycled water to the tank.. tested water..water is perfect across the boards.

Probem:
One newt is hearty and eating fine,
the other one ate once in the last 7 days and regurgitated it overnight, and hasn't eaten since.

I'm offering room temp water, about 55 degrees, offering bloodworms, small chopped earthworms, and even floating newt pellets.

I did read the newts temp RANGE on the caresheet, just inquiring if there is an 'ideal' temp for the paddletails, I apologize in advance if this is a redudant question.

Also this newt that isn't eating doesn't look like there are any other problems with it.. I'm at a loss, any help is much appreciated. Willing to upload pics/vids if requested

 

[Azhael]

Given the conditions you found them in at the shop, i´m actually surprised they haven´t developed infections.
I know you wanted to save those poor newts...and that´s a noble thought, but the result is quite different.....the result is that the pet-shop knows that they can even sell those newts when they keep them in horrible conditions among corpses....so next time they´ll order some more..and more and more poor newts will suffer the same fate... And obviously you cannot possibly rescue them all (and you shouldn´t either).

Temps look fine, and the diet is not bad except for the floating pellets which i doubt will be eaten...these newts are bottom dwellers. If you want to give them an extra boost of fat so that they can recover from the hell they´ve been through, you can complement the diet with waxworms. They are particularly good for enticing fuzzy newts to eat (even aquatic ones). Also, i don´t know how you are feeding them with such a substrate, but you really need to make sure to remove all uneaten foods.
I ignore if you already have one, but these newts need a good, strong current. Adding many hiding places is a great idea, specially considering how agressive and territorial this species can be.

Be patient with the fuzzy one...there are no obvious signs of problems, so it´s likely to be just stress. Provide excelent contidions, an assortment of hiding possibilities, low light and quiet, and it will eat again!

 

[Linus]

Yeah I definitely let the store know that the habitat they had put the newts in was horribly inadequate, this is the same place that my Tiger "Linus" came from that you helped me with (that a co-worker bought as a "fish") lol. I went down there to see if they had any more Tiger sals in waterdog form, and saw these poor guys :\ You're right though, can't keep trying to save all the newts hahaha, but it's hard not too if you have the ability to help ya know

Current is good, have TONS of hidespots (small upside down flower pots) I've been doing small 10-20% water changes to keep up with the uneaten food (i've been consciously over-feeding worrying about the one that won't eat) I took to heart what you said about the lighting.. I DID notice that the sickly one does become more active when I leave the tank with nature lighting as opposed to the flourescent(?) hood light.

Thanks Azhael for all the help, you rock. Always the first one to post back haha And thanks to anyone else that offers support.

Good talk, will update on progress asap!

 

[Babidi]

My paddletail seems to particularly enjoy the occasional freshly-shedded mealworm, so you might even try to entice yours with that. Crickets are a solid choice too, but like Azhael said, waxworms are great for bringing a starving newt back around again.

 

[Linus]

Denied frozen bloodworms and chopped worms again tonight, will try waxworms tomorrow. :/ this is going on 7 days of newt anorexia. Worried.

 

[Azhael]

7 days is nothing, don´t you worry!
The newt looks in good enough shape...it could go a month without food. Don´t stress yourself and don´t stress the newt. Offer food once a day at most, and don´t overinsist. If it refuses it, leave it alone.
You can even give it a few days to settle in (with no interaction), it shouldn´t be a problem.

 

[beefsteak]

Ive had one here for many years and it stop feeding once in a while. Even 3 - 4 weeks sometimes.

 

[audrey]

I would have one other suggestion. Since you read the care sheet I am sure you saw that these newts are territorial. Even if you haven't seen aggression sometimes if one newt is doing well and the other is not there may be some territorial interaction going on. The one that is more stressed may be being even mildly harassed by the healthier one. I would suggest separating them for a time and seeing if this helps the one eat.
I would set it up in a separate tank with a hide and leave a few small pieces of chopped nightcrawler outside it's hide overnight and see if any of them are gone in the morning.
Hope that helps.

 

[Linus]

Ty Audrey I am considering seperation, haven't witnessed any aggression but the male is larger and doing well, and he does tend to follow the female around causing her to change location often. There are tons of hides in the tank and they're sharing about 30 gallons. Anything to lessen her stress though: ) sry for the run-ons and acronyms I'm posting from my Droid.