what if you have a heavily vegitated tank with all the other requirements (the land and smooth bark or surfaces for crawling, etc...) would you still have to use a filter? i do have one well with the bubble stone things but are a lot of plants enough?
do newts absolutely need a filter instead of lots of plants?
- Thread starter mtiller
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You are interested in an aquatic adult newt, like a firebelly or an Eastern newt, right? In that case they are alot like fish. You will need to cycle the tank first and test the water quality. They will need 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites just like fish. You will then need to keep an eye on your nitrate level. If you can pull that off without the use of a filter more power to you. I couldn't do it in a 29 gallon with quite a bit of plants and 4 small (3-4 inch) newts. Newts, by the way, don't need a current and they do love floating plants.
ok thanx for the info. i've had a fire belly before it died after 2-3 yrs though. now is there something i can buy for the nitrite and nitrate lvls and how many newts can fit into a 5 gallon tank? i have a 10g but it's really hard to clean out though i guess i'll have to work with that then depending on number of newts that can fit in 5g thanx for your help
My 400g dose not have a filter as such, I just recently took all media out and am using plants only to filter the tank. Granted the plants have injected co2 and are growing furiously with lots of light and I have undetectable ammonia, nitrites and I add Kno3. You can filter a tank with just plants but you would have to make sure that they are all heathy and growing well and Ime it will take longer than cycling a tank to make sure of this fact. Choose carefuly, the filter approch could be much easier. 
gee thanks very helpful but would anyone know how many newts i can fit in a 5 gallon or 10 gallon tank
mtiller said:
I wouldn't go with more than one or two in the five gallon, and 3 at the most in the 10 gallon.
I'd say yes. Amphibians drink out of their skin and are very sensitive to pollutants and dirty water. If no filter, daily water changes.
Kissofthegorami said:
If you have a lot of good heathy fast growing plants, you can have better water quality than if you had a filter, the main plus without a filter is the plants prefer ammonia so they grow much quicker and take up nutrients much more readily.
hi all, im also thinking about getting a couple of newts to fill a curently empty tank, this has answerd alot of the questions i have also been asking, one thing i dont know though is, do they need a heater or will they be ok at room temp? Im sure im not the only person here to have problem with a lack of pug sockets in my room...
Also, will they mix well with dwarf frogs?
Also, will they mix well with dwarf frogs?
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