my lovely paddle tails!! what do you think?

hello here are some picture of my newts!!
i have two paddle tails called bill and ben!
i also have two fire bellys called tink and tonk!
bill is lighter in colour and 5 1/2 inches long and
ben is darker and is 5 1/4 inches!
i think there both boys!?!(what do you think?)
we have had them for 6 months, they share there tank with the clean up crew!!
there home is a 40 gallen tank,
i feed them every other day on frozen blood worms and some time they get a treat of live foods such as blood worms and shimps and baby garden worms(they love them!!)

Out of curiosity do all the newts share one tank?

yes they do, they all have there own little spots in witch they like to hid in!!
i find that the paddle tails stay in the water all the time and the fire bellys will come out of the water on the rocks or plants!!

Your animals look very nice, but I would strongly recommend separating them (at least into species specific tanks). Mixing different species of newts is not advisable as they will have different needs for proper housing and since they come from different locals they may have various pathogens that could make each other ill. Also, paddletails are known for their aggression and not only towards other species but with each other, too. Paddletails can be ferocious and even kill other newts. Your firebellies may be willing to spend more time in the water without the threat of the paddletails lurking around. Take a look at these links:

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/Mixing_disasters.shtml
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Cynops/C_orientalis.shtml
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Pachytriton/Pachytriton.shtml

These articles will give you good ideas on how to properly care for your animals so you can have them to enjoy for years to come.

I agree with Heather, paddletails and FBN aren't a good idea to mix in the long-run. The FBN might spend more time in the water if the paddletails weren't there.

The second photo looks like a "different" species of paddletail. Most are Pachytriton labiatus (like your 3rd photo, but this looks like a different species. You'll find some info on this in the 3rd link Heather gave.

jenni, the middle photo looks like my 'blond' pachys. they aren't as aggressive as normal labiatus, but they are still not suited for communal living unless you can find a group that can get along. i have had them kill each other in the past and am currently trying 4 together in a 30 g set up with some success -so far.

well thanks for all your comments, but my newts are happy and stress free, the tank has lost of holes, caves and plants for them to hid in!! once i have moved house i am getting my mums 300 litres tank so there will be lts of room for two newts in each tank!!
how many fire bellys do you think i coul keep in the 40 gallon tank??

the lighter colour newt was a lot darker when we got him!
do they get lighter with age? will the other newt get lighter to?
as they were both the same colour when i got them??

And why exactly do you suposse the newts are stress-free?
Just asking because the fact that the cynops spend significant time on land sounds like the typical response to the stress caused by dominant inhabitants in the water. Definitely not a stress-free environment.

azhael said:

And why exactly do you suposse the newts are stress-free?
Just asking because the fact that the cynops spend significant time on land sounds like the typical response to the stress caused by dominant inhabitants in the water. Definitely not a stress-free environment.

Click to expand...

they spend time in and out of the water!
there happy newt if they was not happy they would die!!
i had just fire bellys when i frist started keeping newts and they all died with in two days of getting them this was because of the stress of moving homes!
my newts are happy where they are and am not risking there little lives because people cant understand that there all happy together in a big tank with plenty of room!!!!!

They are very cute. I totally understand the fact that everyone is "happy" right now but things can change overnight. I have a couple of examples of newts and their aggressive behavior:
1. my paddletail tries to attack my cat through the glass plus anything that moves inside his tank (which is only feeder guppies)
2. when I bought my paddletail they had him listed as a firebelly newt, when I told them it was a paddletail they said "so that's why all the firebelly toads have been disappearing, we thought they were escaping"!!!
3. there is another thread from someone on here that had their paddletails mate and lay eggs, out of no where the male attacks the female so they had to be separated about months of being together
Plus there a tons more examples like someone had already posted. We can hope and pray that nothing bad happens. Not every stressed animal dies. An animal can be stressed and live for a long time-take dogs for example, some live in puppy mills, very stressed out but do not die. Animals are very resilant. If at all possible you should try to get them in separate tanks even though they appear stress free. We are on here to help not hinder.
Angel :angel:

thanks for your advice,,
like i have already said i have another tank coming, but am not having it untill i have moved house and my mum has got her new tank too!!
then the paddle tails will have a huge 300 liters tank to play in!!!
i also got told my paddle tails were CFB's! but i soon put the young pet shop assisant right!!
i think thats funny that your newt trys to get you cat!!
my newts come to the glass and ben (the newt) will follow my finger along the tank!!
ha ha

My newt also likes to follow my finger! If I dangle my finger above the water he will literally try to jump out of the water to get my finger. I love my little guy-he is SO much fun!
Angel :angel:

My newt looks just like the newt you have in the middle picture and was also darker when I got her. After the first time I saw her shed, she was lighter.
Is this typical? Does anyone know what type she is?