The Puffer Forum

Alright as I posted before I recently bought a fire newt, and Im having one hell of a time trying to get him to eat. He has eaten twice, 1 blood worm each time. He just ignores all food that i attempt to give him. Any tips?

When I feed my fire belly newt I rub a small piece of prawn on his nose. He also ate my male siamese fighter, I caught him with just the blue tale of the male siamese fighter sticking out of his mouth. I know they're ment to live in cold water but they are much more active in warm water.

ya ive rubbed the blood worms on his nose and he crawls the other way, today he went as far as to jump into the water and swim away lol

How do you feed the bloodworms? Eyedropper? Ours eat best when they're sitting on the sand at tank bottom and I squirt live worms right in front of them. They scope stuff out, assume a hunched-over position and track the worm, and usually strike near an end so they can slurp it down in great, heaving spasms of swallowing. They'll eat this way until they're HUGE if we let them, and we have to be careful to keep both mouths full or they'll fight/bite each other during meals. It's pretty sweet, I should really get you a vid. It's tough to get them to show up, other than their bellies . They weren't keen on frozen bloodworms when we first started them, or even now, they much prefer live worms. I don't think their vision is that acute, or maybe they just get bored without some wiggle. Are you attempting to feed the newt in a tank with fish in it? Did he get his own setup yet? What are the tank params (mostly temp)? My advice if you must keep feeding bloodworms is to do it with the newt in isolation and use a long eyedropper to keep your hands away from his face, dangle an end of the worm in front of him and tease him by touching it to his mouth, though he may notice if it drifts and settles in front of him and get interested. Sounds like this is roughly your approach at present, though. They are very shy and picky, and they quickly get reticent if they're unhappy. You could also try chopping up larger worms and using a skewer/tweezers to tempt the newt, though this way they don't always know it's food. Again, not an endeavor for in the tank (icky gorey mess), we do this in shallow bowls (try not to get skin oils on newts) if we're out of blackworms. Maybe try some small mealworms or crickets in very shallow water? Or tubifex/ mysis? Dunno what all you've tried.

Hoping for some successful snacking for your newt! Maybe I'll have the bf help me get that vid...

get live earthworms, cut a piece no bigger than the length of the newts mouth, use tweezer(feeding tongs) to GENTLY rub the worm just at the tip of its nose. Small live maggots also work nicely when slowly placed in front of newt. I under fed(in store) or water temp is to warm you may have some difficulty until the newt gains some weight.

No he hasnt gotten his own tank yet, but will soon as Im done moving.

I use a pair of surgery forceps that I obtained from work. I will be on the look out for some super small live worms.

Also he never seems to leave his rock, it might be due to the betta in the tank not sure

xrayjeeper83 wrote:No he hasnt gotten his own tank yet, but will soon as Im done moving.

I use a pair of surgery forceps that I obtained from work. I will be on the look out for some super small live worms.

Also he never seems to leave his rock, it might be due to the betta in the tank not sure

For a Cynops orientalis to be healthy it should be in a species only tank or will small non aggressive fish that tolerate cold water(such as white clouds). I should be able to get out of the water partially. I make mine go fully aquatic by have no way out of the water except a flat stone that is under about 1/4-1/2 inch of water. I use fully submersible filters or Repti-filters(NOT the "island" types, just a green filter). Keep the water level at about 3/4 of the tank full(less or more can be used depending on your needs). Keep the tank temp at 65-72F (68-70 is best though if necessary I've seen them do fine at 72) the water may be brought lower for a period of time to stimulate breeding. CFBNs do NOT appreciate current. Java moss does great as a plant for this setup. If lighting is provided, I suggest fluorescent because it produces less heat.

I also am requesting a pic as multiple species are called Fire Newts or Fire Bellied Newts.

Ya, I've written about it in another of these threads but if they're out of the water more than say, half the time (mine only get up on rocks at night, even then only part out of the water), then that is indicative of at least moderate stress to the newt. Past the terrestrial eft stage they should really prefer being in the water. IMO yours won't eat when he's acting this way, cause he's fussing about something. You could do a 2G betta/fishbowl or w/e next to some ice bags with no filter, some plants and sand and basic water care (neutral pH, not too hard/soft) and he'd be WAY better off, until you get a sponge filter or something subtle in a larger tank: just lock that top up tight, for real! Some screen and a rubber band at least. They are not nearly as sensitive to nitrites/'ates, and they don't get much oxygen at all out of the water (through their skin). ^greenspottedlover is on to the same thing as me with the isolation and getting him to chill out under the water. That's when it will eat. I'm guessing the newt hates the current you probly have for the betta and can't get a read on the worms to eat, really. They are found in very still water in the wild, as they are subtle and VERY clumsy. Ours are always falling/drifting slowly off of plants when they explore, it's endearing how helpless they seem. Things get too intense for them to do anything pretty quickly.

@ greenspottedlover, I think xray did post a pic on a related thread, looked like cynops orientalis to me but the pic was a bit dark. See what you think... lemme find it...
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=26443&p=284272#p284272

@xray, I'm glad you've gotten him to eat some, though, that's a good sign for the guy once he's settled in! I'd get him a little tank/secure bowl before the move if you can. They're just really hard to bring back once they get sick, so you want to be very careful w/temps and their skin's dryness/etc.

Oh yah! Thats an orientalis, or at least that what I can tell from the pic, though I don't think I of all people would mistake those markings.

How big do Firebelly newts grow?

from my experience 2-3inches. males usually are smaller though can vary in size.

OK I had the bf help me film a feeding (not enough hands). Sorry I had to use an older camera because mine is charging atm. But you get the idea, even if it's a little grainy. Can still see the blackworms fighting to the bitter end

This is just Fig, which my bf speculates is a female specimen, and she's in the bowl so it's easy to see her process. She's so friendly



And Wayne having his turn in their hab. Fig comes up and is jealous near the end...

xrayjeeper83 wrote:Alright as I posted before I recently bought a fire newt, and Im having one hell of a time trying to get him to eat. He has eaten twice, 1 blood worm each time. He just ignores all food that i attempt to give him. Any tips?

feed him every 2-3 days with several blood worms, frozen or live. i have also noticed that they eat a lot when they have a smaller enclosure with a LOT of plants. mine ate a lot too when i had black worms in moss balls too

well thanks for all the info


Went in today to try and feed him/her again today and couldnt find it anywhere. Guess I didnt seal the top very well cause I found it dried up on the carpet on the other side of the room