stitchpunk
New member
Well, I haven't been around in quite a while but thought it was time for an update and especially some info on my tank set-up as this does seem to be a confusing issue with regards to the juveniles.
My 6 juvies are now about 6 months old and are all doing well as far as I can tell. I've experimented on them rather a lot with tank set-ups, but it seems as though they enjoy (for the most part) changes in scenery - its great to see them out exploring every time I change things around. So I shift things regularly now just to keep them stimulated.
Substrate - well-rinsed fine gravel. I probably wouldn't use this again as it does stick to their skin which looks uncomfortable. However it does stay nice and damp.
Ground cover - I picked up a whole lot of moss from the back yard and this covers most of the gravel and seems to stay alive on the moisture that's in the gravel. I also have two large artificial rock platforms, driftwood, and small houseplants - the soil in the pots is covered with rocks and the containers sit inside weighted plastic cups. This way the newts can't knock them over and they don't need much watering.
Water - currently a shallow ceramic plant dish that is tilted so it is very shallow at one and a little deeper at the other (but still only wading depth). The bottom of a plastic bottle acts as a float at the deeper end. The newts lounge around this pond like sunbathers next to a swimming pool! They seem to like going for a wade and then climbing the side of the tank - maybe the water gives them better adhesion to the glass? I would like to have a bigger water area but this is dictated largely by their diet
Diet - mainly wingless fruit flies, supplemented with occasional pinhead crickets. White worms are only available from 1 supplier here in NZ and they have been unavailable since last year. I was able to get a grindal worm culture going, and while these are much smaller I've found that if I smear them on the sides of the tank with a toothpick the newts will eat them. The fruit flies are adept at falling into water and drowning, hence the limited water area at this stage. As the newts get older I hope that they'll start showing interest in the frozen bloodworms. (note: live bloodworms and blackworms are not available in NZ).
Cleaning - The pond water gets changed every 2-3 days, and about every 5 days I use a wet paintbrush to pick up any poop and remove gravel. Once in a while I wipe the sides of the tank.
Lighting - I don't have an aquarium light as yet, so am using a Daylight lamp that I bought originally for doing crafts at night. This on for 12 hours a day and the live plants seem to be fine.
Conclusion: this is not the kind of tank that you would want if you are breeding/raising a lot of newts. With so many places for them to hide it is hard to see them all at once and cleaning is a bit fiddly. But I'm happy knowing that they are in a somewhat natural environment which is attractive to look at!
And now the photos!
My 6 juvies are now about 6 months old and are all doing well as far as I can tell. I've experimented on them rather a lot with tank set-ups, but it seems as though they enjoy (for the most part) changes in scenery - its great to see them out exploring every time I change things around. So I shift things regularly now just to keep them stimulated.
Substrate - well-rinsed fine gravel. I probably wouldn't use this again as it does stick to their skin which looks uncomfortable. However it does stay nice and damp.
Ground cover - I picked up a whole lot of moss from the back yard and this covers most of the gravel and seems to stay alive on the moisture that's in the gravel. I also have two large artificial rock platforms, driftwood, and small houseplants - the soil in the pots is covered with rocks and the containers sit inside weighted plastic cups. This way the newts can't knock them over and they don't need much watering.
Water - currently a shallow ceramic plant dish that is tilted so it is very shallow at one and a little deeper at the other (but still only wading depth). The bottom of a plastic bottle acts as a float at the deeper end. The newts lounge around this pond like sunbathers next to a swimming pool! They seem to like going for a wade and then climbing the side of the tank - maybe the water gives them better adhesion to the glass? I would like to have a bigger water area but this is dictated largely by their diet
Diet - mainly wingless fruit flies, supplemented with occasional pinhead crickets. White worms are only available from 1 supplier here in NZ and they have been unavailable since last year. I was able to get a grindal worm culture going, and while these are much smaller I've found that if I smear them on the sides of the tank with a toothpick the newts will eat them. The fruit flies are adept at falling into water and drowning, hence the limited water area at this stage. As the newts get older I hope that they'll start showing interest in the frozen bloodworms. (note: live bloodworms and blackworms are not available in NZ).
Cleaning - The pond water gets changed every 2-3 days, and about every 5 days I use a wet paintbrush to pick up any poop and remove gravel. Once in a while I wipe the sides of the tank.
Lighting - I don't have an aquarium light as yet, so am using a Daylight lamp that I bought originally for doing crafts at night. This on for 12 hours a day and the live plants seem to be fine.
Conclusion: this is not the kind of tank that you would want if you are breeding/raising a lot of newts. With so many places for them to hide it is hard to see them all at once and cleaning is a bit fiddly. But I'm happy knowing that they are in a somewhat natural environment which is attractive to look at!
And now the photos!
