Question: Plants? Land? More natural tank ideas please

[AflackMatt]

I have a 10 gallon tank with 3 fairly young C. orientalis in it. I have 3 fake plants that they seem to like, but I want to replace them with real ones/make thier tank more natural. Now its basically gravel, fake plants and an elevated dish for a land area. I wanna make it like some of the other setups I see on here.

I know orientalis should have about 6 inches of water. I also know that sloping gravel that high is not only dangerous but also expensive to buy that much gravel. I want to get like a big rock or big hunk of wood that protrudes from the water. But the last time I had a small piece of wood that got wet, it got all moldy. Do you have any ideas? I have aquarium sealant on hand, but not much else.

I looked at the decor they sell for tropical fish aquariums, and every piece was either too big for a 10 gallon tank, or not tall enough to provide a land area and 6 inches of water. I thought about doing the glass divider project, which I guess would be a good choice, but I would have to move my newts out of that tank. Besides the fact that I checked and somehow my Home Depot near me doesnt cut anything besides wood in their store, so I'm stuck there.

Basically, I need suggestions for a land area (that would be more natural for the newts) and suggestions for plants.

I want easy to care for plants, and the stuff that floats along to top of the water that is like an inch thick (sorry dunno the name, just have seen it) looks really good. Let me know. Also, Ive checked around at pet stores, and they dont have but 10 or 15 aquatic plants to choose from.

Sorry for the length of my post, but I really need help, and I wanted to provide as many details now as possible. Btw, water is about 72 degrees normally. I am seriously considering moving them to my basement though.

Also, found an example of the floating plant I was talking about. See this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4Mt3iZ-L-o

 

[natureneil]

It's great news that you want to upgrade to a more natural setup, so don't worry I does not need to be complex or expensive. Ok so let's look at the land option first. Your newts will easily climb so going to the hassle and expensive of adding a glass shelf and or gravel bank is not needed. However I really to recommend going to your local florist or good pets shop and buying a piece of drift wood normally mopani wood as this will not go moldy and it lasts for years and looks great. Failing that try to find a branch that has been underwater but you must boil it first to ensureyou do not add any viruses etc to your set up! Gravel from shops is pretty but expensive so try your local diy store or builders merchant, a 40lb bag of silversand cost£3.50 compared to £30 from a pet shop!
With regards to the plant try elodea or hornwort, as the water is slightly cooler than tropical tanks use pond plants (oxygenators) as they will thrive rather than fish tank plants that will slowly die off. I hope this helps both you and your newts. I will be posting videos on setting up this kind of tanks in the coming weeks if that helps. Good luck and enjoy

 

[AflackMatt]

Whats the stuff thats floating on the water in that guys video called?

Also, is there any other suggestions for the land area?

 

[natureneil]

I can't view the video at the moment as I am on my phone but at a guess the plant will be salvina molesta a fast growing interesting surface plant, that needs strong uv lighting to grow well.

If you want something other than wood for the land then either try rocks, but be careful as unstable rocks can kill newts or crack the glass always make sure they are on gravel or sand and stable, use sealant to glue them if needed. Or why not use a lump of polystryene that can be carved in to any size and shape then covered in sealant and rolled in sand/ gravel to create a false rock without the risk of real rock, or even a clay Or plastic flower pot/ice cream tub topped with a flat stone or moss, and then use the plants to hide it's base so it looks natural. I will look at the video later and let you know for sure the plant species. One more note make sure your tank is well covered as newts will use land to try and escape from the tank, including climbing shear sheets of glass

 

[AflackMatt]

My tank is covered with a hood. I can get flourescent bulbs if I need them for the plants.

 

[KJ_29]

I have a similar sort of concern; can anyone recommend any good plants/mosses to be placed on the land area of a C.Orientalis tank?
As for the moss, would it be possible to simply grab some from the garden, for use in the tank?
Apologies if these questions seem very simple, just thought I better run it past some people with a good knowledge of the species.

 

[Azhael]

The thing is that in the particular case of C.orientalis, terrestrial areas are pretty much a waste of space. Healthy, well cared animals will almost never go on land. Therefore, the terrestrial area never gets used, so it´s wasted volume.
It´s generally recomended to provide some floating cork (which is generally more than enough)or something of the sort just in case some individual decides to go for a brief exploring of the land, but most animals won´t even use that.....

 

[KJ_29]

Ah, thanks. My land area only really consists of the top of a rock protruding from the surface of the water; I was thinking about introducing moss for aesthetic purposes, mainly.
One of my newts makes use of the land area; hopefully this doesn't mean that she's uncomfortable with the tank as it is.
Thanks for the advice

 

[crazyfishlady]

Whats the stuff thats floating on the water in that guys video called?

Also, is there any other suggestions for the land area?

To me, it looks like duckweed I have it in each of my tanks. It can reproduce itself every three days and takes over the entire surface of the tank. It's a messy little plant that sticks to my arm everytime I make a water change. The only way to take it out of the tank is to remove every little single piece which is next to impossible. I scoop netfulls of the duckweed out everytime I perform any maintanence. Here's some pics of mine: