Chinese Fire Bellied Newts (Cynops Orientalis)

[TheMaxcaliburX]

NICE SETUP! im actually thinking of getting one now! :D

[Noodles37UK]

Bought an Turtle Bank. Re- did my firebellies' tank. They don't seem to use it much lol! Some just love water.

[FLASHANIMATOR95]

the water is soo clear! nice newts and setup

[Vlogandotherstuff]

The water is sooo clear I coul not tell he was even in it! Do u have a filter?

[elitebionic]

@Vlogandotherstuff Yup, I used a hang filter originally, and it worked fine. Some people advise against it because these newts are escape artists and can use the hanging bits to climb out. Never happened to me though, and I added a cover later on that went around the filter. You could use a canister filter, I think it's the most appropriate one to use c:

[dkrn09]

whats the temperature of the water?

[elitebionic]

@dkrn09 around 18.5-20C

[tc123123]

wow! you have pets that nobody else has, really:)

[elitebionic]

When I took this vid, my newts were pretty small and tended to just lumber around, and the fish swam pretty fast, so for the most part, the newts ignored the fish.

However, I moved the fish elsewhere a while later because yes, the newts will try to eat [anything] they think is edible.

[souljaz18]

@elitebionic cool vid is it best if u keep them on land or water or both?

[Zacattackzak]

They are amphibians, they need both land and water....

[elitebionic]

yes, i tried giving them land surface area but they never used it - maybe it's because they stick to the water more than juveniles do? I changed my tank setup recently, so there's a spot for them to sit on just in case - but they never use it. i think my newts are more aquatic than land-orientated. Some others of the same species might prefer land, I guess it really depends! o_o

[ray1taylor]

Wow they are so awesome!

[TaipanTurtle]

Awesome Newts I have a trio of my own =D

[blaizex3]

suh cute 8)

[BallPythonLuver]

Awesome vid 5* The tank looks really cool too! and natural looking

[elitebionic]

thank you :D

I'm glad you like my tank setup haha

& yeah, they really like the anubias plants + the wood haha

[XLR8urlife1505]

I'm thinking of getting some and putting them in a 30 gallon. I see that you have neon tetras with them. What are the water perameters (please include temperature). How often do you feed them and what do you feed them. By the way, the set up looks fantastic, they will be spoiled in a 100gal, lucky newts!

[elitebionic]

Hi There! I'm glad to hear that you're getting newts too :D They're hilarious little fellas. 30 gallons is a great size :)

As for water parameters, It's best if they're kept in cool temps such as 14-20°C/58-68°F. Have it nicely planted because they like to climb around and unlike fish, they prefer surface area. You could have some space for them to swim around though...and make sure you have at least one spot that rises above water level so that they can bask.......

[elitebionic]

But you never know how often they might come up. I believe younger ones will tend to go for land and stay up there, but sometimes that isn't the case. I guess it's up to the newt. I have three; two of them hate going up, but one of them occasionally sits up there at night. You should also have some place right under water level where they can easily rest and just lift their heads up to take a breath in case they want to rest.

[elitebionic]

As for food, I feed them frozen bloodworms. I noticed that they are able to control the amount of food they eat...since fish don't seem to stop even if they're full. For me, I tend to look at their stomachs and if they're starting to look flat, I feed them. I live in Taiwan, and it's a bit warmer here...so they have a higher metabolism (even if I keep them cooler) So I feed them once a day and occasionally twice, but the second time I don't feed as much as the first.

[elitebionic]

The rule of thumb is to feed them enough so that they can finish the food in about 10-15 minutes so that it doesn't dirty up the water. It's best to get a pair of long forceps/tweezers so you can feed them directly. Make sure it isn't sharp so they don't accidentally stab themselves. They're really slow movers when they're lumbering around, so it's best to put the food in front of their faces or it'll take ages to find.

Ohhh that reminds me! Make sure if you have gravel, don't make it too big.

[elitebionic]

'cause they'll end up swallowing it and ---> constipation. o___o

I took the neon tetras out about two weeks later, because my newts were growing quite quickly and I didn't want them to eat them (even if the fish are too fast for them, you never know O.o).

It's a very good Idea to get a wire mesh or screen tank cover, because these guys will run away given the chance.

[elitebionic]

Oh yeah...make sure they don't ingest plant matter because they don't digest that stuff well and they'll end up with bloat and they'll get sick and float around.

Back to water parameters, I think there's just two things to keep in mind...clean water and keep it cool :) They're not too picky I think.

Be really careful if you're thinking of hang filters, because they can climb up those and get squished/stuck under the lid.

[XLR8urlife1505]

Thanks for all your help, I'm gonna get some in about a week. One last question, How many would be suitable for a 30 gal? Ok, two questions actually, what are possible companions for the newts. I was thinking white cloud mountain minnows or neon tetras. Thoughts? Thanks again and if you ever do get the 100 gal, be sure to post a vid! :)

[elitebionic]

Welcome :D glad to help!!

Hmmmm....30gal....ok. I'm not sure how long your tank is, but the longer it is, the more (well, maybe by like one) you can afford to have in there. The 30 gal I'm thinking of (i'm not sure about the dimensions though) can fit like four or five. probably four would be about it. Five might be too many...since they're small when you get 'em but they grow >_>

Secondly, as for tankmates...I decided (for myself at least) that it's best to have nobody else in there...except

[elitebionic]

...except maybe a couple of shrimps and a chinese algae eater or two (them yellow ones) to keep your tank clean and also maybe so you can watch your newts stalk the shrimps. lol. I wouldn't recommend a pleco simply because of its spiny fins...o_o although I like plecos a lot....

I figured its better to leave the newts alone with no fish just in case the fish break out in disease...I don't really know if certain diseases can be transferred or not. And also, the newts might try to eat them.

[XLR8urlife1505]

Thanks a lot the dimensions are 36x18x12. I think I will stay with 5 shrimp and 4 newts and 1 chinese algae eater. Thanks for your help.

[elitebionic]

Yuhh I reckon that works :D

& no problem

HAPPY NEWTING 8D

[lowrida82]

@elitebionic how about turtles xD?

[elitebionic]

@lowrida82 I had two red-ears when i was like 5 xD I think their names were Mary and Joe lol.

[lowrida82]

@elitebionic Me too :) turtles are cool

[Tomaszek131]

Hi, Im chatting to you from Omegle :D

[elitebionic]

Yes, you are.

[PsychedelicSanta]

Cool if you have any questions ask away, I've got a bit of experience with these guys. I can remember when I first got mine, I had so much to ask lol.

[PsychedelicSanta]

Looks like you have 2 very healthy guys right there. And the setup looks awesome aswell. How long have you had them?

[elitebionic]

Thanks! I got them on 3/18...so that's a little under a month ago.

So far I haven't encountered any problems. But they occasionally snap at each other and try to eat each other's fingers during feeding time.