Starting a Newt Aquarium, Help! (plus, Hard to find Marbled Newts?)

Ravenous-
1. My lid uses a regular fluorescent light for the live plants. You can get them at pet stores, but I think you can get them cheaper at places like Walmart, Target etc. There are some good, hearty live plants that you can get that don't require tons of care or a green thumb.

2. For gravel, use a size that is too large for the newts to swallow. My gravel is like large pea or lima bean size. Some here prefer fine sand as an alternate. Still others use a bare bottom, but I like the look of gravel.

3. I haven't had a problem with my duetto 50 at all but there are plenty of good filters out there. I would just definitely get one that has an adjustable output. (My first filter, a fluval, was very good but fidn't have an adjustable output and my newts hated the current it produced.

4. I made an island from 2 pieces of acrylic (or plexiglass)....one was cut to a rectangular size of about 4 inches long by 3 inches wide by 1/2 inch high ....the other piece was a 5 inch long solid cylinder. I glued them together (silicon glue). For the top I glues a large plastic rock and covered the rock with java moss. The newts love it. I'm trying to enclose a pic.

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(Message edited by jennewt on September 19, 2006)
 
For the tank light you should get a flourescent strip light as the incadescent ones throw a lot of heat.
If you are really planning on doing a fair bit of live plants you may want to consider a twin tube flourescent strip light.

With respect to the firebellies at petco, these are fresh imports so unless you really work at it (possibly requiring vet assistance) don't be surprised to lose most or all of them...

Ed
 
Regarding the Duetto filter, it's biggest advantage, in my opinion, is that it has the lowest wattage of any submersible filter. Wattage is directly correlated with heat production, and since keeping the temp cool is often so difficult, the Duetto is the best choice IMHO. Cheap too
wink.gif


We don't have a page that is explicitly called "beginners go here", although I've thought about having something like that. One problem is that beginners with terrestrial species need different information than beginners with newts. If we did add a page for beginners with firebellies, it would include most of the info here:
http://www.caudata.org/people/JM/firebelly.html

We do have a question in our FAQ "What do I need to properly house an aquatic newt?"
http://www.caudata.org/cc/faq/FAQhou.shtml
Do you think we need to add more information to that? Have you read all the FAQ?

snip "I cannot find a SINGLE website that reccomends how to clean the tank." That's in our FAQ too.


(Message edited by jennewt on September 19, 2006)
 
Great pics Karen! I love the island. It gives me some ideas. What kind of glue did you use? Those are awesome newts too, what kind are those?

My cousin told me about Mangroves for live plants? Do those sound like a good option?

Jennifer, I read all the Faqs when the links were supplied. I guess Im one who likes alot of detail. Some things I looked for (I can admit maybe I missed it) was maybe certain brands of food you should buy or avoid. Maybe stuff like "dont give it fishfood, or it can eat turtle food" Kinda like the filter one. Its a great page that shows pros and cons. This might be good for stuff like the types of food, light fixtures, decorations (like certain materials used in making it as some could either be toxic or grow mold/algea easily). I dunno, Im just a newbie and maybe I havent explored the site enough, but I have read all the Faqs.

I got my tank and light. Its a $50 set up that my cousin is giving to me. Its a former salt water tank (he uses 2 50 gals now) so I guess it needs some serious cleaning.

Where do you guys get all your newts? Local dealers, the website, or just plain luck?

I guess I'll do a post on the wanted forum, but if anyone here reads this and can help, I AM INTERESTED IN MARBLED NEWTS!! Id like to get these before settling on firebellies (though I still like them alot as well). I know Petco and chain shops arent reccomended, but if no one helps out with other means, I truly see no other option. My town simply isnt one full of pet enthusiasts. This is the time, fall, when species should be readily available right?
 
My first newt was a pet store newt, the second a rescue from a friend and my two fire sals were purchased from a private breeder at a Herp Convention.

I don't think you are going to be able to find much of a variety in newts at regular pet stores. Usually they will carry a small selection including Notophthalmus sps. (Eastern newt), Taricha sps. (Oregon, California or Rough-skinned newt), and various asian species including the firebellies, paddle tails and some random others (Cynops, Pachytriton and others)

Best luck for finding something like marbles would be a herp show in your area or online as most of the European species don't show up very often except for from private breeders. At least that is my experience.

As for food you will probably want to avoid prepared foods and go with live earthworms, blackworms or possibly frozen bloodworms. There is a food FAQ also:

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/foods.shtml

and a more worm specific one

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/worms.shtml
 
Hi Dan,
For glue, i just used regular silicone rubber (aquarium) glue....picked it up at a pet store. The biggest pain is the vinegary smell it emits as it cures, which takes about 3 days.

My newts are notophthalamus viridescens or eastern (red spotted) newts. They're great! Ever since I got my digital camera a month ago, they've been excellent models.
 
Went to Petco today and they had about 8 fires in a huge 50 gal tank. They looked good. Real small though. Im guessing they had alot more and these are the last bunch. Im assuming theyre the fighters and have a good chance at survival. Is it possible to sex the fires at an early age.?

I found my island at Petmart. But its $25. Why are these damn things so expensive? They also dont seem to sell gravel anymore. Odd. I also couldnt find the damn duetto filter. It looks like I may have to find some other brand but the 2 stores I visited seemed slim.

What do you say you guys level with me? What are the odds of me finding a Marbled Newt soon? I know we dont get herp shows here and my search online for breeders is turning up empty. I know I bring em up alot, but Ive liked them for over 10 years. When I was a kid I bought a HUGE reptile encyclopedia book and they had a picture of these guys and Ive wanted them since.

Ill be searching the private petshops in the next few days. If Im lucky theyll special order some stuff or be a help.

Thanks for all the help so far everyone!
 
Their is at least one person on here who is breeding marmoratus in the US and may have some available soon. Good luck in your search.
 
What kind of island costs $25? You seem to be "on a budget", so I really think you can devise a decent island for less than that. You can use bricks, orange clay flower pots, rocks, etc. Even a piece of overpriced cork bark would cost less than that.

The best way to get a Duetto filter might be by mail order. Even with shipping cost, the online places sell them for less than stores. A store might ask $20 for Duetto DJ50, while an online place might sell it for $12 plus $7 shipping. I would try:
thatpetplace.com
petsolutions.com
bigals.com
herpsupplies.net
petsmart.com

Realistically, when you do find marbled newts for sale they are likely to be captive-bred juveniles. At that age, they cannot be sexed, so you need a group of at least 4 to have a good shot at having both sexes. Perhaps this dream needs to wait until you can afford a larger tank, as well as the cost of the newts themselves.

It usually *is* possible to sex the small C. orientalis they have at pet shops. See:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/sexing.shtml
 
I went petshop hopping this morning and got some interesting tid bits. I found 1 that can specail order for me, but to call on mon when they get a list of the 5 species to choose from. Theyll quote me there. Another told me just to keep checking as they get EASTERN and SPOTTED newts and sell them for $5 each! Than another told me I could special order but to wait for cooler weather. Basically I gotta keep calling in.

Im not really on a budget per se, Im just a cheap basterd who hates to be overcharged. I can defenatley make an island cause I had newts before and what I had was cool (old tree stunp island, rocks stacked, etc). Thing is I want to do something different here. Bascially a sunken jungle look. The island I found was at Petsmart and was like a cliff wall and had steps going to a flat top, it had 2 caves and plants all along it coming out. Very cool. I want white gravel and live plants as well.

ONE question I have is, does mixing different types of Eastern Newts count as mixing species? I like the dorsalis & viridescens alot.

Actually another I have is do they make flourescent bulbs (for live plants) for all types of light fixtures or do I need a special one?

I also found the tetra internal filter for $12. However it looks like it has to sit above the water line whereas the duetto can be completley submerged.... right?
 
Dan, mixing diffrent subspecies of notos should be fine.

the bulbs vary depending on what they go into, a flourescent 10 gallon hood will accept a wide variety of different spectrum bulbs.

As far as a filter goes, I would be the best one for the money, spend an extra 4-5 bucks beacuse you may have it for years and if it's not good or hard to clean or just cheap overall, you will regret it. I like my fluval. And most sub. filters can be partailly out of the water if set up correctly.
 
Well thats good to hear. Having mixed notos may be more fun than just having 2 of the same breed.

For the filter, I got lost where you said "I would be the best one for the money" lol. Ive never heard of a fluval; but I'll look into them.
 
if you're cheap(and I absolutely understand that), you might want to look at raising newts from eggs. I know eggs of a few species are commonly available for much less than what you'd pay for juveniles. In the case of Triturus karelinii in 6 months you'd end with sizeable newts.
 
Although they will get along OK, there are still some potential problems with mixing eastern newt subspecies. One is that they will be coming from different places and possibly carry different diseases that could be a problem for the group not previously exposed. Another problem is that eastern newts can vary widely in size; adults can be anywhere from 2 to 5 inches. And the final problem is that if they ever breed, the offspring will be a mixture of two subspecies; if you don't care about ever breeding them, then this isn't an issue.
 
I have no problem getting some eggs, only thing is no one is knocking on my door offering them away.

Yea disease and size could be a problem and a worry. But the odds of me finding anything other than a fire is 100:1, Im getting no where on the market and online. And them breeding is no problem; might just get something cool!

After a week with a personal problem, Im bak on track and got my tank and light and bulb. Just need the rocks and filter and I can start a cycle
 
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