Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I am planning on getting three fire bellied newts at the pet shop, I was wondering how big of a tank is needed for three?
Also i have been researching on what filter i should use, but what
is best for using in a tank that is going to have 1/4 land and 3/4 water?

if any one has any sugestions for a newbie, I would appreciate it,
thanks

Hey there,

I have a few suggestions. First suggestion, go to the page I link to below and read all their FAQs before buying the animal.

Second, setup the tank before buying the animals. Give it a day or two to adjust to everything, then get the animals. If you have something you can use to cycle it before getting the animals that would be good, but not required.

A ten gallon tank would be fine for three Chinese firebelly newts. You may want a 15 or 20 if they're Japanese.

I wouldn't actually build a land section...use floating islands or something like that that will provide them a way out of the water but still leave all of the tank with water. Also, get a TIGHT FITTING SCREEN LID. THese animals can escape easily through the smallest cracks.

I recommend an air pump driven filter. It doesn't creat much current, keeps the water cleaner then without a pump, and doesn't raise the temperature of the tank. All it does though is localize the waste into its foam though, so make sure you take it out and clean it. DON"T clean it under tap water, but in a bucket of used aquarium water. That way the bacteria that have colonized the spongue will not be killed off...they're doing alot of work in the tank.

Feed live if possible, frozen next, freeze dried and pellets if you can't do the two above. If you can't do live or frozen at least 75% of the time, I wouldn't get these animals, as freeze dried and pellets are not very good for them to eat nutritionally, and most won't even show interest in eating them.

So, to recap, read as much as you can before doing anything. Then, buy EVERYTHING you need (food, filter, tank, tank decorations, decholroinator, bucket, cleaning syphon/turkey baster, etc) and set it all up before you buy the animals.

If you can swing those two things you'll be in perfect shape for taking care of them.

>>Hello,
>>
>>I am planning on getting three fire bellied newts at the pet shop, I was wondering how big of a tank is needed for three?
>>Also i have been researching on what filter i should use, but what
>>is best for using in a tank that is going to have 1/4 land and 3/4 water?
>>
>>if any one has any sugestions for a newbie, I would appreciate it,
>>thanks
Caudate Central

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Hope my opinions help,
Rob