T. granulosa and C. orientalis

[richard]

is it okay to keep T. Grans and C. Orientalis together? will the larger t. gran be a bully?

 

[ali]

Hi Richard,

Species mixing is really against the rules. See this article:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/Mixing_disasters.shtml

The biggest things with t. grans isn't their size and a bully issue. It has to do with toxins. T. grans are one of (I'm not really an expert here, maybe the MOST) the most toxic newts. That could be quite disastrous for your orientalis.

I keep the same two species though (separate enclosures, of course) and they're both quite interesting on thier own merit.

Another thing is, you have to think, tarichas and orientalis would NEVER meet in the wild. They come from opposite sides of the world.

 

[jennifer]

Even if the newts are not immediately toxic to each other, there are other reasons to keep them separated. Over the long run, their behavior will be different, and the presence of another species (significantly larger) will cause stress. Also, most people who consider mixing species want to do it in a 10-gallon tank, which is too small to allow the newts to avoid each other. I won't say that mixing two species is always absolutely wrong, but it's never something I'd recommend.

 

[richard]

ok. i can see your argument. I prefer the size and the look of the Taricha over the Beauty of the Orientalis

 

[karin]

Anyone know the rule of thumb for how many grans. to how many gallons?

 

[ester]

Hello Karin,

it's better to start a new question in a new thread. I'll give you a quick answer. If you want to know more, please start a new thread.

T. granulosa are big, they like each other but need space to swim, mate and have fun. I am currently keeping 5 T. granulosa in a setup with 20 gallons of water. This is a 40 inches long setup, 16 inches wide and the water height is about 7 inches. There's also plenty of land area for them to explore. They don't make use of the land area much.