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What is your opinion on keeping my three little Fire Belly Newts in the following setup. Currently, they are in a 5gal with gravel and some stacked stone. Eventually, I want them in the large "Newt Tank". Here's my setup of the newt tank.

In a 29gal high tank I have 1 adult Fire Belly Newt, 10 feeder plattys, and misc ghost shrimp the newt hasn't eaten yet. I have 5 large leafy plants surrounded by a series of large stacked stone that serves as caves and hiding places for the newt. The stone is stacked in the middle of the tank and rises out of the water to serve as the land portion. The gravel is comprised of med. size gravel from the pet store as well as plain old rocks from a creek near my house. The gravel is about 1 1/2 - 2 inches deep. There is an under gravel filter in addition to a regular aquarium filter. I have a heater. I have a regular aquarium light. The temp is set to 72. The newt seems to be most active and happy at this temp. The over-all water depth is 7 inches (I'm measuring water depth starting at the top of the gravel at the lowest point in the tank)

The newt currently living in the tank has been with others before. He just decided not to climb the tank like everyone else. I've had him for about 4 years. The tank is covered with aquarium glass, fine mest screen, and a wooden hood. The newt doesn't try to get out of the tank but he couldn't even if he tried. This newt is 4 1/2 inches long (roughly from head to end of tail) and is fat from being a bit too well fed.

The "babies" range in length (again, head to end of tail) from 2 1/2 inches to 3 inches. The big difference being that they still have very tiny feet and bodies despite the length. I rescued them from a pet store about 1 week ago. They are eating fine.

Can I put the little ones in the tank with the big one? I did originally and the big one couldn't have cared any less. He was too busy eating shrimp. I took them out because I was afraid they wouldn't be able to swim to the top for air because of the water depth. I do have lots of plants to climb on and these are scattered throughout the tank so it wouldn't be a far swim before being able to climb to the top in some manner.

Any Opinions?

Thanks

It shouldnt be a problem if your tank has enough caves to hide and land area for your young newts to climb on. Good luck with your young newts!
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My forum Caudata Zone

First, you should hold new newts in quarantine for about a month, in case they have diseases. As long as the larger one is well-fed, it is unlikely to try to eat the smaller ones, although there is no guarantee he won't.

Also, it is possible that the larger one is a Japanese firebelly, while the smaller ones are Chinese. The Chinese variety are just naturally smaller and may never get as big as the other.

>>What is your opinion on keeping my three little Fire Belly Newts in the following setup. Currently, they are in a 5gal with gravel and some stacked stone. Eventually, I want them in the large "Newt Tank". Here's my setup of the newt tank.
>>
>>In a 29gal high tank I have 1 adult Fire Belly Newt, 10 feeder plattys, and misc ghost shrimp the newt hasn't eaten yet. I have 5 large leafy plants surrounded by a series of large stacked stone that serves as caves and hiding places for the newt. The stone is stacked in the middle of the tank and rises out of the water to serve as the land portion. The gravel is comprised of med. size gravel from the pet store as well as plain old rocks from a creek near my house. The gravel is about 1 1/2 - 2 inches deep. There is an under gravel filter in addition to a regular aquarium filter. I have a heater. I have a regular aquarium light. The temp is set to 72. The newt seems to be most active and happy at this temp. The over-all water depth is 7 inches (I'm measuring water depth starting at the top of the gravel at the lowest point in the tank)
>>
>>The newt currently living in the tank has been with others before. He just decided not to climb the tank like everyone else. I've had him for about 4 years. The tank is covered with aquarium glass, fine mest screen, and a wooden hood. The newt doesn't try to get out of the tank but he couldn't even if he tried. This newt is 4 1/2 inches long (roughly from head to end of tail) and is fat from being a bit too well fed.
>>
>>The "babies" range in length (again, head to end of tail) from 2 1/2 inches to 3 inches. The big difference being that they still have very tiny feet and bodies despite the length. I rescued them from a pet store about 1 week ago. They are eating fine.
>>
>>Can I put the little ones in the tank with the big one? I did originally and the big one couldn't have cared any less. He was too busy eating shrimp. I took them out because I was afraid they wouldn't be able to swim to the top for air because of the water depth. I do have lots of plants to climb on and these are scattered throughout the tank so it wouldn't be a far swim before being able to climb to the top in some manner.
>>
>>Any Opinions?
>>
>>Thanks
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