This page is still evolving. (Yeh, I know I said that 3 years ago when I wrote this page but this time I mean it...). It will contain lots of information about how to set up a tank and keep newts. Please check back soon to see the progress.
Last update 29 Dec 1995 JV
Organic waste generated in the tank decays into dangerous (to the inhabitants) chemicals that can build up to toxic levels if not dealt with. Organic waste is a polite term for newt shit, fish shit, unused food and decaying organic material like dead plants. This is crucial not only for fish that actually breathe the water but also for amphibians. If you want some more techincal details about this check into the aquarium groups like sci.aquaria or rec.aquaria, especially the FAQs. The Nitrogen Cycle
Little Willy's sister Nell
Fell into the drinking well
She's still there because it kill't her
Now we have to use a filter
Here's the short story as it concerns us:
Decaying organic matter decays into ammonia or ammonium. This is bad. But luck for us there are certain aerobic bacteria (Nitrosomonas) that eat the ammonia and turn it into nitrites. Unfortunately these nitrites are also bad and can be lethal if the concentration of them in the water gets too high.
So along comes another aerobic bacteria, Nitrobacter, to eat the Nitrites. Yay Nitrobacter! But wait, it excretes nitrates. Fortunatley for us these are not nearly as bad. You can get rid of these by changing out part of the water every week or two and with plants and algae.
I prefer plants and algae. They take the nitrites as nutrients as well as CO2 and give back oxygen. By harvesting some of the plants and algae from the tank you are really removing what otherwise would have been checmicals in the water. This allows you to go a little longer between water changes. Plants also make a more realistic and interesting environment for the newts.
Why did I tell you this? Well, in addition to the exciting biochemical nature story the nitrogen cycle is important for you to know not only in setting up a tank but for regular maintenence.
When you set up a new tank all your gravel and equipment will (hopefully) be clean and free of most bacteria including our friendly Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter. The cycle is not yet established and you can run into some problems in a new tank as the cycle starts.
When you add newts and fish and other sources of organic waste there's no friendly bacteria around to start breaking down the ammonia. Ammonia builds up to high levels and eventually the Nitrosomonas start reproducing in huge numbers and producing toxic amounts of Nitrites until the Nitrobacter can then catch up. These peaks of toxic chemicals can be lethal to creatures and often do kill animals when a tank is first set up. The huge amounts of these bacteria can also make the water cloudy in what they call a "bacteria bloom"
To minimize the casualties you can do several things:
1) Start small and start slow. Start with only a couple of newts or fish even if you plan on more later. Give it 6 or 8 weeks before adding a creature or two at a time.
2) Find a sacrifical volunteer. People setting up aquariums for expensive fish will run them for several weeks with guppies or goldfish. The expendable fish will start the cycle off and if they die no one mourns them. If they don't die they often become dinner for the expensive fish.
3) Monitor the chemical levels and use ammonia absorbing chemicals like Zeolite in your filter. You can buy test kits at aquarium shops. Zeolite is a chemical that absorb the ammonia before it becomes a problem and slows down the cycle time allowing it to stabilize with smaller peaks.
To minimize the long term effects of the nitrogen cycle:
1) Don't make radical changes in the population.
2) Don't overfeed.
3) Add lots of live plants.
4) Do partial water changes every couple of weeks.
5) Bio-wheel style filter and filter cartridge changes every month or so.
You can speed up the cycling by using some gravel from an established tank that already has the bacteria on it.
Bibliography
Patterson, Jordan., NEWTS THEIR CARE IN CAPTIVITY., 1992, T.F.H. Publications, Inc., Neptune, NJ., USA, ISBN 0-7938-0274-1.
Coburn, John., SALAMANDERS and NEWTS...as a hobby., 1993, T.F.H. Publications, Inc., Neptune, NJ., USA, ISBN 0-86622-730-X.
Bartlett, Dick, "Newts: Diverse Dwellers of Woodland and Pond", REPTILES, Volume 3 Number 7, November 1996.
