Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi, I am thinking about getting in to newts, and have been trying to find info about which speceies I would like, and have pretty much come up with nothing. what I am looking for is a species of newt that is small or medium sized that will live longer then 2 years,and does not have a high toxicity level. can any one suggest a species or know of a site that lists of captive species and how to care for them? I have a 5ft long tank that I think I would like to turn in to a semi-aquatic set-up. also are theyre any two species that could live together? What can I feed my newts? crikets, frozen blood worms? I also want to put some fish in the aquatic area I know that most fresh water fish are not compatable because of high temps, but I have read that lower temp tropicals like dainos and white clouds will do fine with newts. I was also wondering if cory cat fish would be ok seeing as how they do better in cooler temps as well. thanks in advanced for any info.

a good newt to get would be a chinese firee belly newt or a red spotted newt.you could aslo get a manderian newt

Chinese or Japanese firebellies would be fine, and they should be able to get along with other species like Eastern newts, California newts, etc. They're fairly low-maintenance and not very toxic (if they even ARE toxic... it's still a good idea to wash up before and after handling them though ) As for keeping fish with them, you might need to be careful in selecting what kind of fish to use. Some newts eat feeder fish, so if the fishies are small enough, they just might get eaten... some fish might try to nip at your newts too.

A good site to go to is www.caudata.org/caudatecentral. It has alot of information on it.

As for a good beginner species, I would not recommend Chinese firebellies as they are fragile. Also Rough skinned newts, which were mentioned previous to this, although being one of the friendliest and easiest newts, is also the most toxic caudata. The toxins from one newt killed in lab experments more then double the number of mice then any other species of caudata. Mandarin newts are also very fragile, but quiet beautiful to look at. Mandarin newts should be kept fairly dry though, so wouldn't benefit from a semi-aquatic setup.

Also mixing newts of different species is a never a good idea.

Spanish ribbed newts are probably the easiest new to care for and the least toxic, but they grow quite large and fish would become snacks. To fit your desired size, that would use both terrestrial and aquatic halves, and not be very toxic, there isn't a single species that can be commonly found that would fit those three. However, I think your best options would be Japanese firebelly newts or a type of crested newt, with the crested probably having more use of the land area.

As for tank mates. White cloud mountain minnows, zebra danios, and ghost shrimp are great, though may be consumed. Cory cats would probably be a bad idea since catfish species have barbs on their body that would cause any newt attempting to eat them to have it stuck in their throat...killing the fish and the newt. I would not recommend anything else except snails. Snails may become snacks though.

Sounds like you've done alot of research already. Crickets, frozen bloodworms, almost any frozen fresh water fish food, earthworms, mealworms, and the like would all be good items to feed to newts and salamanders. It obviously depends on their size and their preferences, but that should give you a good idea.
Caudate Central

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Hope my opinions help,
Rob