Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought a Chinese fire-belly salamander a couple months ago. I've begun to do some research regarding adding fish to his tank and found that it is ok to do. He is in a ten gallon tank I was wondering if it would be too crowded to put 3 guppies and 3 pygmy cories in the tank with the salamander. I don't want to stress the animals with not enough room. Are these fish suitable for this size tank and are the numbers ok or should I just leave him in his own tank alone. If you would suggest different fish or different numbers I would appreciate any answers. If you need more info just let me know.

Miss Bianca

Chinese/Oriental firebelly newts are best kept on their own for two main reasons:
(1) they are relatively slow eaters and other animals (like fish) will eat the food before the newts have a chance to get to them.

(2) many fish will harrass the the newts by picking at them or biting them, thus harming the newts' skin. If the fish ingest the newts, the fish will die due to toxicity of the newt.

However, I have kept guppies and white cloud mountain minnows temporarily with firebelly newts before, but I had a large and well planted tank. Guppies have been known to pick on newts. Cories are sharp and armour plated, so it is possible they might accidentally injure the newts. I would therefore suggest limiting the type of fish to harmless types such as White Cloud Mountain Minnows, or small tetras. I would also suggest that you limit the number of fish to no more than 5 small fish (if you ensure adequate food, have a well planted tank and have adequate filtration).