Help! Fire bellied newts!

[hedgehog738]

now they have settled in they seem to be fine now thanks guys.

[samurai]

good to hear they've settled

[Mrs Mental]

I've got 3 newts and they're all in seperate tanks cos of similiar ongoing problems - they're all happy as larry, growing and feeding really well one their own.

Would be worth looking on your local freecycle site to see if anyone is offering a tank - saves having to buy another one

[reptile_dan]

I think this behavior is territorial, were they in the same tank in the shop? Could just be them sorting out who's in charge.

[ed177]

it could be settling in but some newts do this to say to the other that is is top dog

[hedgehog738]

they are ok now they somtimes do it when they get food but it doesnt seem to hurt the other one.
thanks

[marcuswinner1]

my spanish sharp ribbs do this at feeding time, the female to the male mostly, my fire bellys do too, and even my smooth newts on land, i find putting food at different ends of their tanks helps but the one that is getting attacked never seems to care enough to stop trying to get to the food! my sister in laws paddle tails have taken limbs off each other but they just grew back! they seem to all forget about it come breeding time though!

[pollywog]

Just a little something to think about do you know the exact species you have? Lots of newts are sold in the aquatics trade under the lable of 'Fire-bellied Newts' including Cynops, Pachytriton and Paramesotriton. Cynops the 'True' Fire-bellied Newts are quite docile, and keeping them in groups doesn't cause many problems especially with the more common Cynops orientalis, however Pachytriton and Paramesotriton are more likely to be territorial and will compete more heavily.

[hedgehog738]

Originally Posted by pollywog

Just a little something to think about do you know the exact species you have? Lots of newts are sold in the aquatics trade under the lable of 'Fire-bellied Newts' including Cynops, Pachytriton and Paramesotriton. Cynops the 'True' Fire-bellied Newts are quite docile, and keeping them in groups doesn't cause many problems especially with the more common Cynops orientalis, however Pachytriton and Paramesotriton are more likely to be territorial and will compete more heavily.

intresting, im not sure what they are, they were just sold as fire bellied newts.

[Ron Magpie]

It is a good tip to feed them in different areas, though. They can get a little over-excited when they're feeding!