"Don't mix species!"

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Salamander and Newt Forum ]

Posted by eazykinda on May 02, 2003 at 07:20:42:

In Reply to: "Don't mix species!" posted by eazykinda on May 02, 2003 at 07:16:33:

I just wanted to add into that-I would never mix species from different countries or habitats-its not healthy or fair to the animals. For example, I wouldn't mix a P. cinereus from Ohio with a P. glutinosis from South Carolina. Basically, unless I find the animals living within a few hundred feet of one another and see it with my own eyes, I won't mix them (several Triturus newts are said to be found in the same ponds, but I wouldn't mix mine). As for the success of these setups-I had one running great for around 4 years before I moved and released the animals-they were all very healthy and would even come out of their burrows to be fed by tweezrs-esp. the little Desmognathus. Just wanted to add that.
~Mike

:I might get a bit of heat from this, but I will say that I don't think its too much of a problem to mix species from the same locality (for example, if I found E. bislineata and P. glutinosis and P. cinereus in the same ravine) I wouldn't see a problem with putting the species in the same aquarium. Note that when I do do this, it is usually in a 10+ (usually 20 gallon long) aquarium and I usually take some of the soil/leaf litter from around where I found them. I also build soil up in some areas to try and create mini-moisture gradients, so the animals can choose which moisture levels they prefer. Anyways-I have mixed E. longicauda, E. bislineata, P. cinereus, P. glutinosis and Desmognathus species in teh same tank (NOT all at the same time-normally the Desmognathus would be in a small tank with a soil/sand substrate with a layer of mud and a living sphagnum moss cover. The Desmognathus usually only had E. bislineata or Pseudotriton ruber as their companion.) Note that these were all found in the same location-not from different states.

:
::I know that I'll probably get a ton of people responding to this post saying that you should never, ever mix speciesm, and feel free to do so. But I would like to know what combinations have worked for people and what they think will work. For example, can you mix species of ambystoma? I have a 40 gallon tank with an Ambystoma gracile and was wondering if it could only be paired with another of the same species (of course I don't mean paired as in breeding). Besides that, I would just like to know what people have had long-term success with mixing species.
: To answer your question though-if you are wanting to add another A. gracile in with another A. gracile, there is no problem with that at all-just make sure you quarantine the new one and that they are approximately the same size before you add them together.
:Hope that helps
:~Mike

Follow Ups: