I thought I'd ask first before I purchase a newt.

Hi.
I went to the pet store yesterday and saw a newt. I thought it looked cool for an aquarium. I was thinking, since it was in a water with african dwarf frogs, that I could put one in my aquarium. I have a couple question about them.

Would they settle well in a community tank with fish?

What do you feed them?

What should the lay-out of the tank be?

What should I do to make them happy?

Could I keep a solitary newt in a community tank?

How do you care for them (tank size, temp and ph, etc.)

Here are the fish I have: 4 Cherry Barbs, 2 Corydoras Catfish and 1 otocinclus. Also, the water in my tank is all the way to the top.

Please list any preparation that I would do.

I THOUGHT I WOULD ASK FIRST BEFORE PURCHASING!!

Thank you very much for your help.
Christian Coleman

I too thought they were land animals, only needing part water like toads and some frogs. If you know what specie it is, try doing a search on that particular one. Hats off to ya for asking before buying too!! Don't ever trust a pet store or their employees, better off doing your own research first. Good luck!

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how do you look after them, feed them, and so on.
The tank is going to be in a very bad place, there is things on the shelf above it and I can't get my hand into it.

My boyfriend and I have two. ( although I take better care of them) We have a 10 gallon tank with a hood and light. The light is on a timer so it turns off at night automatically. We had to newt proof the lid by adding some mesh to the back so they can't climb out.

We have an under water filter that keeps the water clean. make sure when buying a filter that they won't get stuck to it. Also it shouldn't move the water too much they don't like fast moving water. We use aquarium rocks on the bottom. The habitat is mostly water with an area where they can climb up on and bask. There is also a large rock that goes over the water line where they can bask. and a cave where they can hide or climb up on it.
Lots of fake plants but I'm thinking about changing to live plants.

I feed ours dried tubeiflex worms and frozen blood worms. In the summer we may get them small earth worms. I feed them with feeding tongs moving the food around until they become interested and chase it. I feed ours small amounts twice a day.

Before my boyfriend moved in with me he had two newts breed. Sadly the babies died and the mom ran away.

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i caught 12 newts in Pennsylvania. they are small and brown and i caught them in a stream under rocks. i have no idea how to take care of them. please help me. i dont want them to die. i think they are fire newt larvae. soooooooo PLEASE HELP!!!!
answer quick!!! thank you! i will choose a best answer.
sorry i meant that they are red spotted newts (i think)

ok put 1 inch of water and some rocks feed them crickits you can get this ate pet co.

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just until i can make it to the pet store tomorrow. i just bought it a while ago, but walmart didnt have newt food. something that will hold him over. he looks really skinny… any tips would be great too on how to care, and prolong his lifespan. also is there a way to tell if it is male/female?

Do not feed your newt "newt food". That food is chlorophyl based and is NOT good for them. The best thing for them is live feedings. The pet store or even Wal-mart sell feeders for a dime. These feeders can be fish or crickets. Live Feeding also stimulates your pet. If you don't have the stomache to feed a living dreature to your pet you can also buy freeze dried crickets or bloodworms in a canister next to the fish food. Watching a Newt hunt a feeder is incredible.

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Charlie Rose (August 11, 2003)

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I've had these newts for 3 months now, they don't seem to eat (which kind of amuses me, I don't know how they manage to live) within that span of time, I've bought them atleast 3 different brands of food, put them in a warm environment, yet I'm really not sure how to take care of them? Is there anything I should be doing besides cleaning the tank and feeding them?! how do I feed them? Do I just leave the food close by?

Firstly, newts live their lives mostly underwater so I assume your tank is set up such that at least half the tank is under water and the rest of the tank is dry land like dirt with moss and rocks or wood?

Depending on their size, newts will mostly eat tubafex worms which you can buy in the pet store and place in the water of the tank. The worms look like a mass of hair in a ball with their bodies waving all over and the newts can come over and chew pieces of them out if the main lump. If your newts are larger, I recommend wax worms or small crickets which you can also buy in the pet store. Wax worms would be best as they are easy for the newt to catch compared to crickets. Just drop one in front of the newt on the land portion of the tank and it should grab it right there if it is hungry.

I had one salamander who I had to force-feed the first time by prying his mouth open and sticking a wax worm inside. He promptly ate the whole thing and after that loved them and always ate on his own-never giving me problems again.

FYI, a few tips:
1. Fire-bellied toads go well with fire-belly newts as they are both amphibians and both have the same toxins.
2. Be sure to wash your hands after touching them because their bodies do secrete minor toxins to ward possible preditors away.

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My local pet store has two fire belly newts for sale and I'm considering purchasing them. I would like to know how to care for them first. Should I keep one or two? How big does the tank need to be? What substrate do I use? What about cage decorations? What do they eat? The ones at the pet store are in the same tank right now, so I'm guessing they get along fine. Any information about fire belly newts is appreciated.

Gravels, plants, light, and water. I like to keep a male better.

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