I bought two Chinese firebellies about a month ago. They both appeared active and healthy when I purchased them - even though I did so against my better judgement as it seems these poor little guys always get sick. (The Pet store said they were Japanese fire-bellies which is the only reason I even looked at them in the first place...and I knew they were chinese at first glance)
Both refused to eat and developed lesions and some kind of rot about a week after purchase. I separated them as soon as I noticed the symptoms. The largest of the two had a big lesion on his tail which grew worse despite every kind of treatment I could find recommended on the internet. His tail eventually rotted off almost to the base and he died.
The good news is the smaller one appears to have healed up. S/he has begun eating bits of chopped worm (finally!) and is once again active and healthy looking.
I have completed my vivarium - which is a 28 gallon bow-front. I modeled it after the European version shown at Black Jungle.Com and their step-by-step instructions are quite thorough. We included the waterfall as shown in their diagram and other than a few hitches getting the pump system to work consistantly, everything looks great.
Farvoyager
