# Fire bellied newts & Moss balls.



## CallyMarra (Feb 4, 2013)

SO! I have FINALLY narrowed it down to what animal I want next and that shall be a fire bellied newt, so I have started setting up its new home. I want to have a go at putting some live plants in there but I don't really want to use soil on the land section so my first question is, are there any live plants that can survive with just gravel/stones?

And I want something to liven up the water section too, Ive seen some aquarium moss balls that look pretty cool (some people even keep them in aquariums by themselves :whistling2 So I was wondering if anybody has ever had these in with fire bellied newts or if they would even be safe?

Oh and has anybody ever set up some sort of water feature/waterfall in their newt tanks? 

All help would be much appreciated, much love, Cally : victory:


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## fatlad69 (Oct 22, 2009)

For the water section try Anubias.


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## Wysterya (Feb 19, 2012)

I have the moss balls in with my axolotl if that helps, they do look nice and they've been in there about 6 months now with no ill effects.


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## Wolfenrook (Jul 2, 2010)

For the land section a lot of plants will grow in gravel so long as their roots can reach the water. Avoid plants like bromeliads for planting into the gravel.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD


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## REDDEV1L (Nov 27, 2008)

You may find your 'phibs may take an, erm, 'Extreme' liking to moss balls :lol2:


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## Rubu (Mar 23, 2008)

Don't know about Fire Bellied Newts but my Fire Bellied Toads love them! They make comfy cushions for froggy butts!


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## Wolfenrook (Jul 2, 2010)

Rubu said:


> Don't know about Fire Bellied Newts but my Fire Bellied Toads love them! They make comfy cushions for froggy butts!


So very true! My FBTs spend most of the day sat on them. :lol2:

They're awesome little plants. Been algae they require very little light or nutrients, but use up the waste products produced really quickly.

Ade


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## CallyMarra (Feb 4, 2013)

REDDEV1L said:


> You may find your 'phibs may take an, erm, 'Extreme' liking to moss balls :lol2:


That photo is hilarious :2thumb: Think I may have to get some moss ball when the tank is ready : victory:


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## Wolfenrook (Jul 2, 2010)

A tip, buy them on ebay, they cost a fraction of what they sell in shops for on there.

Ade


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## CallyMarra (Feb 4, 2013)

Wolfenrook said:


> A tip, buy them on ebay, they cost a fraction of what they sell in shops for on there.
> 
> Ade


Thanks, ill have a look :2thumb:


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## newt newbie (Nov 18, 2012)

hi i keep FBN and i have found that these newts don't need a land section, they actually only need a small dock to out of water every blue moon, and i would get some java fern and attach it to some bogwood or volcanic rock that works for me, PM me if you wanna see my newt setups


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## Liam Yule (Feb 16, 2012)

You wont be dissapointed with FBN. They are great. Funny things to watch. They dont need land but its up to you. Theres an age old website that i used to love and keep my eyes on when I was really into my newts. This is going back a long time.

Super Newt

Dont ask how i found it then...nevermind now.
It was a surprise that I actually remembered the website! 

Its great for a look and you might get some inspiration as she has some really nice aquariums!

Lots of good construction advice from acrylic land quarters and everything you need to know about ph/lighting and everything in between and some awesome photos of the newts and larvae etc


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

Liam Yule said:


> You wont be dissapointed with FBN. They are great. Funny things to watch. They dont need land but its up to you. Theres an age old website that i used to love and keep my eyes on when I was really into my newts. This is going back a long time.
> 
> Super Newt
> 
> ...


That's a nice little site! I've always liked newts, but currently I don't have anywhere to keep them cool enough.


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## CallyMarra (Feb 4, 2013)

Here is my tank, just started building it this weekend, I put in an acrylic sheet and sealed it with aquarium safe sealant, need alot more gravel, might put a background in there too. needs abit more work, Ive maybe put too much land in there...will they use land if its there?


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## Liam Yule (Feb 16, 2012)

CallyMarra said:


> Here is my tank, just started building it this weekend, I put in an acrylic sheet and sealed it with aquarium safe sealant, need alot more gravel, might put a background in there too. needs abit more work, Ive maybe put too much land in there...will they use land if its there?
> image


Whats the dimensions of the tank?

Personally speaking I dont know if they will use it. Not to put you off.
If you want it to have land and you will like it better and its more aesthetically pleasing then keep it. They may use it. how much im not sure though. Why dont you leave the land slightly under water? Say a cm or so ? 

The reason im asking for the dimensions is because you will really want to use as much of it for water as possible. They more water/gallons you have and you could probably fit more newts.

Its all up to you really. Why dont you give that website a quick read over too and see if it makes your decision any easier?


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## CallyMarra (Feb 4, 2013)

The tank is 1 foot long, 1 foot deep & 1 foot tall.
The water secton is 16.5 inch long and 5 inch tall.
there is 7.5 inch of land.

It was originally designed with Fire bellied toads in mind but then I saw the newts!, I guess I could fill the water up higher than the land section and use it to plant some nice live plants?


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## Liam Yule (Feb 16, 2012)

CallyMarra said:


> The tank is 1 foot long, 1 foot deep & 1 foot tall.
> The water secton is 16.5 inch long and 5 inch tall.
> there is 7.5 inch of land.
> 
> It was originally designed with Fire bellied toads in mind but then I saw the newts!, I guess I could fill the water up higher than the land section and use it to plant some nice live plants?


 
You mean 2 foot long . I Was looking at the pic thinking...no way thats 1 foot long... untill i saw your measurements ...Yeah I think you should fill her up with water and do some planting there in the gravel. that would be nice. You could also copy the acrylic islands like on supernewt if you really wanted a land area in which the newts could come up onto? That way best of both worlds. And more space :mf_dribble:

But remember its always up to yourself. Dont do it a way someone else would then end up dissapointed!


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## CallyMarra (Feb 4, 2013)

Yeah thats what I meant :lol2: I think that sounds like a good idea! I guess the more room the better it is for the newts! 
How many do you reckon could go in there without it being overcrowded?


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## Liam Yule (Feb 16, 2012)

CallyMarra said:


> Yeah thats what I meant :lol2: I think that sounds like a good idea! I guess the more room the better it is for the newts!
> How many do you reckon could go in there without it being overcrowded?


I Dont know if anyone else wants to chip in?

I just feel that becuase its a 15 gal you might be better off going water...
Then you could have the acrylic island like we spoke about and/or some floating plants....

I think if your aquarium was bigger you could go the two thirds water one third land but because its smaller you could do it like this?

Id say 2/3 at a push...lets go 3 ? haha

But like i said you make the decision


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## Wolfenrook (Jul 2, 2010)

I'd be tempted to put some pond compost rather than gravel in the 'land' area and cover it with gravel. Then plant something nice like a dwarf lily (eg. nymphae stellata) there as these will give you nice underwater leaves if you prune off the leaves that head for the surface.  Or you could just use something like flourite in place of the compost and gravel, might work out cheaper possibly. End of the day, nobody ever said newt tanks have to be boring. 

Ade


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