Newts??? I've not seen one, since I got back into aquariums... are they still in the hobby??? anyone have one???

Magnum Man

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Remember, I had been out of aquariums for close to 30 years, before I got back in 2 years ago... I seem to remember having a few Newts, that were OK in aquariums with fish... even @WhistlingBadger ... hasn't ever mentioned them, that I remember, come to think of it Badger... why no salamanders, in with your frogs, or Newts in the aquatic parts???

I think they would eat small shrimp, & maybe really little fish, but if memory isn't failing me, I think I had red belly newts, and they were small, & lasted quite a while in my tanks... of course, that was before the www. so it was mostly just add them & hope for the best, back then... there is a lot more info out there now, & maybe they are a really bad fit??? anyway... what say you???
 
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well, isn't the www. amazing???

1st thing I discovered, is they are actually semi aquatic... I'm sure I kept my as fully aquatic, in the old days, right there with Fiddler Crabs... treated them as fully aquatic back then, also...

2nd thing, is they don't like tropical temperatures, they prefer cooler water... I have 3 tanks with cooler water right now, but nothing I could add a Newt to..., but all my tanks were tropical back then...

this crested Newt looks awesome... makes sense there was actually more than one kind... all I ever saw back then, was red bellies...

1734720970812.png
 
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I thought about some firebelly newts in my paludarium. They do fit the biotope but I wanted things that will live on the land area, and newts are almost entirely aquatic, visiting the land area only occasionally.

As far as compatibility, pretty much any amphibian is going to be predatory, eager to swallow anything that will fit in its mouth...and it is AMAZING what will fit in their mouths. But they aren't aggressive, or territorial, in my experience. Just hungry. Keep them with peaceful fish that are too big for them to want to swallow, and they should be good tankmates.
 
well, isn't the www. amazing???

1st thing I discovered, is they are actually semi aquatic... I'm sure I kept my as fully aquatic, in the old days, right there with Fiddler Crabs... treated them as fully aquatic back then, also...

2nd thing, is they don't like tropical temperatures, they prefer cooler water... I have 3 tanks with cooler water right now, but nothing I could add a Newt to...

this crested Newt looks awesome... makes sense there was actually more than one kind... all I ever saw back then was red bellies...

View attachment 357205
Crested newts and firebelly newts (and the North American red-spotted newts) are all really cool looking little critters. They are mostly aquatic, and could probably do just fine fully aquatic if they needed to.
 
I've actually seen an Emperor, like this pictured below, in the wild... er... old guy questioning himself... let me change that to seen one before, somewhere...

1734721163484.png
 
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I'm sure they greatly increase the tanks bioload..., but likely not more than frogs, or turtles

but looks like lots or varieties available...

 
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In a lot of places, they're protected.

This is a suspicious posting to me. Today's the solstice. You aren't looking for them to mix up any 'eye of newt' cures for Multiple Tank Syndrome, are you?
 
I have no idea what made me think of them yesterday… they just popped into my memory… maybe it was super natural???
 
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Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and caldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and howlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and caldron bubble.
Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.

This is Shakespeare's recipe for making a Lord greedy ambitious enough to murder a Scottish KIng, but if there aren't any kings around and you're a peasant like the rest of us, it apparently helps make you resist second hand aquarium sales, online ordering (blind ordering, like the newt when you've stolen its eye) and getting into staredowns with pet newts. It also makes a wicked herbal Ich remedy.
 
I think they would be an interesting addition, to the right tank… I’m not sure, for me, with open topped tanks, with terrestrial plants growing out of most, I’d guess they would climb out… and for example, my Hillstream tank is cooler, and has some big root areas, and the peaks of the pagodas break the surface… I think the Newt would like that, but I have some really small varieties of Hillstream’s in there, and as they cling to surfaces, I’d be afraid they would become lunch.
 
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I think you’re trying to mislead us Gary… if that was to make a king even more greedy… I think you’re trying to get more cult members into the MTS group
 
Newts are still sold overhere. But I also have to say that it got less in comparison to years ago.
 
The toxicity issue is often overstated, in my opinion. They say that about Firebelly toads, too. It's one of those things that has been stated and restated so many times it has become an accepted "fact." But the consensus among people who have actually tried it is that it isn't a problem. Toxins are biologically expensive; newts and frogs don't just swim around oozing poison into the water. They only put out poison if they're convinced something is trying to kill them. As long as they're in a safe environment with peaceful neighbors, there aren't going to be any toxins getting into the water.
 

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