Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A couple months ago, a newt was dropped off at my house in a filthy five gallon aquarium. I have never had a newt before, but I am experienced with frogs, so I decided to keep him instead of adopt him out (I run an animal rescue). They told me that he is a fire belly newt, but he obviously isn't...he's 5.5 inches long.

He now lives in a 25 gallon tall, with land area...the water area is probably about 15 gallons, probably a little more. His land area is 1ft x 5 inches, with some very shallow water pools and silk plants to hide in. He lives with a 1 inch goldfish and a large snail.

I am considering adding one oranda goldfish to the tank, to add a focal point to the tank. It looks pretty empty, and I think that a bright goldfish would make the tank complete.

The tank currently has no filteration, but I do a 50% water change everyweek. I am buying a whisper in-tank filter fo the tank, though, if I get the goldfish. I have been doing a lot of reasearch, and most of what I've found says that the newt and the goldfish require the same water conditions, and my newt and current goldfish have been living happily together for months without problems.

The oranda I would be getting is a baby, and only about 3 inches long...I have larger aquariums in the event that he outgrows his tank, but that won't be for awhile.

Here are some pictures of my newt and tank...I am very bad at taking pictures with this camera, so it made the tank look a little less...attractive. haha.

Newts tank

Tank, again.

James, the newt.

The newt, and his friend, whom he'd love to eat but can't catch up to.

His belly.

Right now, I am feeding him freeze dried shrimp, bloodworms, small live crickets (which he loves), and small beheaded mealworms.

Does anyone have any care corrections for me? Any comments about my goldfish addition idea? Anyone know what type of newt he is?

Thanks!

It is a chinese warty newt. Try this link for more info:
http://www.livingunderworld.org/caudata/database/salamandridae/paramesotriton/index.shtml

Oh, wow, thanks a lot 0_0

I can't beleive that after months of searching, that I didn't find that site!

He actually looks more like the Tam Dao Warty newt...he looks exactly like this one:

He doesn't look much like the Chinese warty newts...he's very dark and his spots are very vibrant.

That site says this though: "P. deloustali are one of the rarest amphibian species, and have been seldom bred in captivity" Which seems odd to me...I doubt that I have a very rare species, though I guess I could just be lucky.

LATER: I just spent about 20 minutes with my newt and pictures and websites, and he seriously looks like the Tam Dao. Everyone in my family has beeen coming down to compare him and look at the other pictures, and we don't really know what to think. We don't know where his old "owners" got him, but he's atleast 5 years old....

The water level of his new tank is 10 inches. Is that too deep? There are plants going from the tank floor to his land area, though, so even if he couldn't swim all the way up there (which he can), he could climb the plants (which he likes doing anyways).

And, when I got him, he was in a 5 gallon tank with three inches of water. He was emaciated (it seemed) and was being fed only shrimp fish flakes. He now gets a wide variety of food including live foods, and eats from my hands. He does "death rolls" like a crocodile, spinning around in the water very fast, holding the cricket while Im still holding it, and ripping it in half. He is a lot more lively now, and when I come into the room, he comes to the front of the tank and watches me, and when I open the tank, he looks up and swims over to my hands for food. He seems a lot happier and healthier now, then when I got him, despite my lack of newt knowledge. I've just been caring for him with basic newt care sheets and "common" knowledge that I've gained from keeping other amphibians.

I keep his water at room temperature, I guess...it's not heated in anyway, nor is it cooled. BRB (haha) I'll go stick in a thermometer...68 degrees farenheit. Is that an alright temperature?

Thanks for your help

You are on the right track. The amount of water in your tank is fine, as is the temperature. Newts do not require a heated tank. Cheers.