Not any more lol i just sat down and read the whole thread and loved it! Tricksterpup idk if you ever got your Red Spotted Newts (Eastern Newts) but i hope you did. I live on a farm in WV and the beasts are like cockroaches here lol just about everytime i go fishing in my pond I find some and have raised em up from the larval stage before... great pets... anyways back on subject i do have a real question lol. Red spotted are as easy to come by as stepping outside for me and i love the lil guys, but i also have been eying the FB newts at my LFS for about 2 months now... ignoring the idea of a species tank just to have a species tank can i put a couple of each together in a vivarium along with either a set of endler's or a trio of guppies??? any one have any thoughts on it?
hey Bunny Hunter let me answer a few of your questions.
1. I have not gotten my red spotted newts yet. Still after all these years. A buddy of mine has a source. I may go in with him on an order or there is a on line biological supply that sells them as well. I may do that.
I have plans now to create a Bog/Marsh setup with 55 gallon tank. Have it about half filled with water, lots of live plants growing out with some bright lights. I am thinking on having a few pieces of driftwood in the tank for them to climb out. Thinking on having about 6 or 7 newts in there, should give me a few pairs. I also want to get some Florida fish as well, blue fin Killies and some Dwarf livebearers (old timers here know my love of that species.) So far its an idea in the works. I am currently working on Snake caging so it may happen at the end of summer.
2. Mixing and matching wild caught animals especially amphibians.
I personally think its a bad idea. some one posted a thread here about wondering why their animals died, they had Firebelly newts, firebelly toads and dwarf african frogs.
A: Well In a small tank we are going to get the competition going on, animals stressed out with being with each other. 1 or 2 animals will devourer the food in a small setup. May leave a few starving. I had this problem when I kept my leopard geckos together. I no longer do it.
B: Unknown illnesses. One major disease that could effect your newts is
the Chytrid fungus. This is a horrible plague that is destroying the amphibian population around the world. So I am very leary when introducing other animals into my displays. I personally do not do this. I typically wait 6 months to a year before I add any animal to my herp room or with my collection.
Just imagine spending a few hundred dollars on a Dart frog collection. You have this huge tank setup and then you find this cute little dart frog and you place it in your tank. And then a month later every one is dead.
You would just feel horrible inside, not just the loss of animals but the loss of money. Its always a wise investment to wait before adding.
C: Aggression. Amphibians are monsters. This again falls under number 1. My Cuban Tree frog collection came from a buddy of mine who went on one of those Burmese hunts last year. He was one of the few people permitted. Well He instead found a ton of cuban tree frogs. This was neat. He shipped them all back together and once he opened up the box he sent back up, there were only a few left. Everyone ate everyone else.
Amphibians will eat what ever fits into their mouths. So if you have a smaller animal you may loose it to the other species.
D: I personally think it looks better with the Biotope of that species. Imagine the fun you could create with a Japanese setup or with a Eastern pond setup. As I stated I plan on creating a Florida pond for Eastern Newts when I am finally able to.
But your selection of fish would be great. Make sure you do regular water changes. I personally would keep endlers in their own tank and just use wild form guppies or try some of the species i made mentioned.
Here is a good link for Florida Fish. I have worked with Paul Sachs in the past and he is a good guy.
But remember Amphibians have toxins in their skin and could poison the fish, just remember the regular water changes and filter changes.
I know I have limited you in some ways but in all actuality I am just trying to open your eyes in others. There are so many different ways to create a biotope with just those animals and working with small fish and plants from their locality.
And again thanks for reading this thread. I hope it has sparked some ideas and given you some more knowledge on these aquatic Salamanders.
