20 gallon long paludarium?

your 20g tank would be perfect for a vivarium!

Since your a begginer, I would recommend the firebelly newts. They have a lot of personality, are cheap to maintain, and are easy to care for.

The tank would be half filled with water, with a water portion larger than the land. No heater would be needed, as they like they're water at around 70*. They can be fed varietys of insects, live or freeze dried.

heres a good guide: http://www.grizzlyrun.com/Pets/Amphibians/Newts/Fire_Bellied_Newt/Default.htm

I should add that in your vivarium, it would be very hard to house both fish and reptiles; there simply isnt enough space.

Try goin to Caudata.org for more FBN info and set-up ideas. They will be very happy in a 20 long. As for fish, the only thing that would be ok for a FBN setup are White Cloud Minnows. But it all depends on how much room will you are goin to have as your water setup.

legendaryfrog said:

heres a good guide: http://www.grizzlyrun.com/Pets/Amphibians/Newts/Fire_Bellied_Newt/Default.htm

Click to expand...

Just to clarify that guide is for JAPANESE Fire Belly Newts (Cynops pyrrhogaster), there is a bit of a difference between them and CHINESE Fire Belly Newts (Cynops orientalis). IMO I think Chinese Fire Bellies are easier to find and better for a beginner.

it should work fine. it gives you a modest ammount of room for both the water and land sides of the habitat

if you want to retain a lot of water to have room for fish, you could build a shelf in the tank to create the land mass in. this is what I am doing with a 15 gallon tall tank I have, that will have 9-10 gallons of water when I am all done. this will give me room for a selection of creatures... small ones, but a few anyway.

cant wait for some pics. I wouldnt suggest keeping any fish with the fire-bellies. It would be hard to give the fish enough space, and the firebellies would eat them.