Newts in CP paludarium?

[emre]

Hi people,

Do you think it is safe to keep newts in a carnivorous plants paludarium? I have two, they are a few inches each. My concern is that if they climb to the island frequently, as they are amphibians, their waste may lead to mineral build-up and harm the plants. Anybody has any experience with this?

My setup is this:

 

[eou812]

Wow you grow your CP'S under water? AMAZING! But i don't know you should wait for someone with experties on here.

 

[emre]

No, they are above water. The island is waterproof. Newts are amphibians though, they will probably crawl up to the island.

 

[Taliesin-DS]

Do you water your cp's often?
If the nutrients get flushed in the water below and used up by the frogbit it shouldnt be a problem.

 

[eou812]

Amazing still that is neat how that works.

 

[Dexenthes]

It's hard to say for sure. It's possible that the minerals could build up and be detrimental to your plants in the long run, especially because the island is water-proof. However, I would speculate that any detrimental affects wouldn't happen all that quickly and they might be readily reversible if you do notice any.

What kind of newts? Some newts really don't spend all that much time out of the water, and depending on the species, they might do the majority of their bowel movements in the water.

 

[emre]

Do you water your cp's often?
If the nutrients get flushed in the water below and used up by the frogbit it shouldnt be a problem.

I water them frequently and they are usually sitting in an inch of water. However, the water in the island doesn't go down to the aquarium.

@Dexenthes: I really don't know. I have pictures, though?

 

[swords]

Very nice! I believe that is some species of "Crested Newt". Most I've seen have pointier crests but that's my guess. Perhaps yours is young and the crest is simply not fully developed yet?

If you're worried about the plants too much you could also put some branches angled into the water so they don't always have to climb up on the plant island but spend time on the emergent logs. Likely by the time the Newts foul the island the Neps will probably have to be moved from there anyway due to growing too large.

 

[emre]

Thanks for the advice! The tank they were in had some specimens with larger crests. They are not poisonous, are they?

 

[swords]

I don't know if Newts are poisonous or not.

When I was a kid we used to dig up a similar creature (Tiger Salamanders) in the water run off sand bins near people's basement windows. The salamanders seemed to love burrowing in these cool wet sand bins at certain houses. They were not poisonous (at least to handle). We just caught them and played with them for the day and then put them back cos they would never eat what we kids tried to feed them: raw ground beef and tree leaves...

 

[Raven01000]

I think the plants will probably be OK, but I'm not sure about the newts.

I don't have any personal experience with this species, however this may help:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Triturus/Triturus_sp.shtml

Also, I think on your old thread, there were pictures of fish in the palandarium already? It's generally not a good idea to mix fish and newts. Newts will eat whatever they can fit into their mouths. If that happens to be your fish or a snail, then it can end badly. Some examples: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/Mixing_disasters.shtml

This article says that crested newts are poisonous (though compared to other species they are one of the least toxic newts): http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/toxin2.shtml

 

[NewspaperFort]

I cant figure out your tank! is it a triangle shape with the CPs in the 'back' corner?
How has it worked out with the newts by the way?