What's easier: aquatic or terrestrial?

[electronfusion]

Re: Moderate preference towards terrestrial

I strongly prefer aquatic. I admit I haven't tried raising any terrestrial caudates, but I think that's because I know myself pretty well and didn't need to try it to find out.

I really don't like dirt in my house. So my houseplants are all hydroponic and my pets are all aquatic.

 

[Mac Myers]

I used to make a lot of dual set ups when I kept darts. It was fun and easy to maintain (not counting the fruit flies). I'm going aquatic now because my Axolotls will be Aquatic.

 

[Tappers]

I was a 'no preference either way'. Aquatic phase newts are very much easier to feed and grow but then my fire sals are very happy in a 'forest floor' style enclosure without heat, filtration or artificial light - what's easier than that? Plus last night they played another ace and deposited their larvae in a 1" deep water dish

A judgement on the differences may be the fact that I'm contemplating keeping water dragons again after my iminent move and one of the most useful things is the fact that they defectate in the water and keep the land area nice and clean - much easier to do water changes than scrub branches and clean plant leaves..

 

[vanillaXtiffy]

Aquatic for me. I keep fish too so it's second nature for me. I love everything about aquatic set-ups, and they're so simple to maintain. As long as you keep up on your water changes there's almost never a problem.

 

[deliriah]

I voted moderate prefference toward terrestrial based solely on the amout of work needed for upkeep. But I really have to agree that aquatic setups are well worth the work that is put into them. I love both my terrestrial tank and my aquatic tank species equally, I just feel the terrestrial ones take a considerable amount less effort and money as well. I did my terrestrial tanks with soil substrate and cleaning is easily kept up with. I once tried soil in an aquatic tank, and my water stayed murky. That didn't last long. The most natural substrate I can manage in my aquatic tanks is leaf litter or large pebbles. So I opt for storebought sands and decor and tend to spend more money on the aquatic setups as well as time.

 

[achiinto]

I voted for aquatic. Mainly because of easier feeding and observation. Anyhow, some terrestrial salamanders looks beautiful and I observe them in the wild.

 

[eldaldo]

I can't believe I saw this post. I was just thinking about how my opinion has changed over the past year. I used to only use aquatic setups for triturus and Notos. I have always been very happy with them over the years and was a little reluctant to try the terrestrial setup. But last fall I got juvie marms from Michael Shrom, and put them in my very first terrestrial setup. At first it was a huge pain to feed them, but as they grew they began eating from my hand just like my aquatics do. I have been really pleased with the whole experience. I voted no preference, here's why:

Terrestrial
I kind of like the way that newts look when they are terrestrial (drier skin), maybe because I am not used to it. Since i have larger newts I can feed them easily on land or in water. If i need to take them out of the tank for some reason, it is so much easier to catch them on land than in water. As far as maintinence goes I honestly haven't done much except spray once or twice a week (depending on humidity in the house) and replace the substrate twice since last fall (which is really just dumping out and then dumping new stuff in). The newts seem pretty healthy and happy to me.

The major con to this setup is you see the newts much less. (mine do come out however when the lights are really dim).

Aquatic
The main plus here is being able to see alot of action from your newts. No matter what time it is I can usually look at my aquatic tanks and see a newt hanging out somewhere. As far as maintenance goes, I have been using plants as water filters since the fall and haven't had to worry about water parameters since then. I check them every once in a while and they are always fine. I change water once every two weeks or so, not a big deal. Feeding in aquatic setups isn't a big deal, but my karelinni have been known to chomp each other in feeding frenzies so i usually separate them for feeding, which brings me to the cons,

Catching newts in the water can be difficult sometimes, really difficult. Also, algae is annoying. I usually just scrape it off the glass whenever I change water, but it keeps coming back . . . it always does. So that is an annoying part of aquatic setups.

but as far as i can see, both types are really rewarding. I am interested in trying to mimic the newt life cycle by keeping them aquatic during breeding and terrestrial the rest of the year.

Cheers,

eldaldo

 

[Case]

Re: Moderate preference towards terrestrial

I personally prefer Aquatic, but I have really liked how some terrestrials turn out.

 

[cellowithgills]

Aquatic all the way, I've got 5 other fish tank in the room, so I just have to switch some hoses around and wait, 50% water change in a 40b gallon takes about 10 minutes.

 

[kwarzym]

I voted moderate preference for terrestrial setups, as you don't have to do water changes, and I just let the tank grow as it will. However, in terms of "enjoyment factor", I like semi-aquatic setups best, as I think they look the best and have the funnest creatures that like to swim and then walk around. Not to mention, as many other people already have, aquatic creatures seem to be more active...

 

[Niels D]

I've tested the two methods with N.viridescens. At first it seemed that the aquatic noto was doing better, but at this moment the terrestrial one is even bigger. I'm offering them both tubifex, bloodworms and sometimes daphnia.

 

[methodik]

I agree that terrestrial setups are a little easier - throw in some mud, mist rom time to time depending on animal, throw in some isopods for garbage collection and everything is fine. I still voted "moderated" preference, because if you make a nice planted / walstad tank, it is quite easy to maintain as well, whilst being a little bit more beautiful in my opinion.

 

[GraffLife]

I vote moderate preference for aquatic setups....IMHO the animals can be fed easier, and they are more visible...

 

[newtkidontheblock]

well it all depends...I lIke them all i started with and backyard caught tiger sal which was easy beacuase i could just grab stuff from my yard i mean hat was where he lived! so then i got CFBN and i prefer aquatic for them now im getting FBT and I CANT WAIT IN MAKING A VIVRARIUM AND ILL POST PICS LATER

 

[emmyk]

I'm gonna go with aquatic. I haven't done terrestrial, because I prefer aquatic animals, but sometimes I wish I had something to hold. Aquatic is easier to clean, I believe.

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[AeonMapa]

Aquatic for me, since I haven't kept terrestrial yet. I would think that aquatic is a bit harder to maintain, but I just love watching things swim around. I keep 5 Chinese Fire Bellied Newts with 8 White Clouds and some red cherry shrimp. My tank is very heavily planted to the animals can easily hide from one another, and the plants to a great job of keeping the water quality stable!

 

[HMontross]

This is tough to answer!
I enjoy terrestrial tanks for the lack of worry about equipment failure, and I find them easier to clean. On the other hand, I love axolots!
I vote "moderate preference for terrestrial setups" because I will never be able to not keep an axolotl.

 

[sde]

Very strong preference for aquatic. Seriously, I find aquatic ssooooo much easier!

 

[Vern5384]

I find aquatic is way easier. Feeding is MUCH simpler, as terrestrials pretty much only consume live food. The animals are more visible, and I like the higher tail fins for aesthetic reasons. Water quality is easy to manage with a halfway decent filter and not overfeeding or overcrowding.

 

[adam15229]

Another vote for terrestrial for many of the same reasons already mentioned. No water changes, no testing water quality, and terrestrial is easier to clean.