fire belly newt

FreshwataFish

Hi i just introduced a fire belly newt into my 37g and was wondering if they NEED to have a place to rest on above water or can they do just fine solely in the tank. I have 2 pieces of driftwood that he can go on but i'm not sure if that is enough.

Byron

First, welcome to Tropical Fish Keeping forum.

Newts are a family of salamander and are not totally aquatic though they spend considerable time in the water. I had this particular species for almost 20 years; my original two turned out to be male/female and bred back in 1985, and the last of their offspring was in its 21st year when sadly it crawled out and I couldn't find it until it was dead. I kept them in a vivarium, half water and half "land" made of gravel separated from the water by a glass partition. I had bogwood arranged so the newts (and frogs) could crawl from water to land and vice versa. The newts were frequently out on the "land" portion.

As long as you have sufficient space for it to get out of the water and crawl about, it should be fine. If the tank is large enough, you can build up one end with rock and gravel to be above water (with the water level lower than normal obviously).

Byron.

P.S. this thread technically belongs in the amphibian section, not livebearers, so I have moved it there.

1stAquarium

Hi FreshwataFish, can I ask what else you have in your tank with the newt?