Fire Bellied Newt question

AgileGibbon

AgileGibbon

Well-Known Member
Just been helping with cleaning out the newt tank, and decided to have a look at them while they were out of the tank.

Something that seemed different with them was that they all seemed to have a bulge where the cloaca is. We looked it up online and it looks like the 2 little girls and a boy are actually 2 little boys and a big girl.

Are female fire bellies bigger than males?
 
A large female in breeding condition can have a slight bulge also, though it is nowhere near as large as a male. There are many other differences between the sexes that also taken into account will allow you to sex very accurately.

Dorsal ridges - Males will have two think dorsal/flank ridges that run the length of the body.

Blue colour - Breeding males will develop a bue/grey sheen over their flanks, head and tail.

Tail - Breeding males will develop a larger more flattened or paddle like tail than females. It will also have a thin filament like tip.

Spots - Breeding males usually develop large deep blue/black spots that cover the belly and tail.

females bu contrast have a much more uniform shape, with a thinner tail. smoother skin and they should become very bulky when they fill up with eggs.

having 2 male to one female shouldn't really make a difference come breeding. just make sure that tank has lots of live pants such as Elodea. Take out any other animals that may share the tank (such as fish, frogs etc) and every couple of days gently snap off the elodea stems with eggs on them and place them in a hatchery tank with water from the parent tank. This stops the parents eating the eggs and young (which they do!)
 
I don't think any of the newts have any ridges lik that - the backs are very smooth and slightly rounded.
In case some clarification was needed on species, I am almost certain they are Chinese
 
Ah, i have never kept the Chinese. I was speaking of the Japanese. I believe the Chinese do not have the dorsal ridges and other features i speak of.
 
Another question, how sociable are the newts? I have I believe 2.1 at the moment, and I'm getting another 1.1 (again, I believe) on Friday. Should these mix well or will they attack each other? Bearing in mind that I have quite a small set-up for them until I can get a larger aquarium - would it be more sensible to keep them in a small really useful box (RUB) until I can get a larger set up and I have more time to keep an eye on them?

As an interesting side, I'm thinking it would be nice to do a decent sized aquarium over time with them, and was wondering if there were any fish species they would mix with (I don't know how feasible this is due to toxins from the newts, but would look nice if successful :)
 
Fire-bellied newt question

Javan Rhino

The new additions should be OK with your existing group.

Hesitant about adding fish to the set-up - have always kept newts and other amphibians apart from fish - only time I have ever mixed was when using display tanks and including Dwarf frogs (Hymenochirus sp).

Most species of newt will take fish small enough to fit in the mouth and the fish, in turn, would look upon any newt eggs or tadpoles as a snack!
 
My brother used to keep tetras, barbs and smallish catfish. He asked about adding newts and was advised not to keep them with the fish. I can't remember exactly why now, but I think it was soemthing to do with the newts fouling the water.
 
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