fire belly newts

Question
is it ok to keep fire bellied newts in a tropical tank which houses fish,eels and a couple of frogs

Answer
Hello,

Well, do you want the short answer or the long answer? :)  The short answer is, no.  BUT...  There are certain things you can do if you wanted to mix them with tropical fish.

First of all, firebelly newts need to have both land and water to survive.  They eat mostly crickets and mealworms and other things the fish don't eat.  They need their humidity kept fairly specific and constant, and they need to not be handled by humans.  Their "fire bellies" also are rumored to have a type of chemical on them that makes them inedible to predators, which may not be good to get in the water with all your fish.

The best thing to do if you did want to mix them would be to get a large tank, at least 55 or 75 gallons, and create at least a 12" deep pool for the fish to live in and raise up the gravel on the other side for the newts to live in, giving them a separate water bowl or their own pool to go into.  It's possible, just elaborate.

If you were just looking for something else to put in your tank that's not "just a fish", you might try some crabs, upside-down catfish or albino clawed frogs.  Look around at your local pet store, there may be something there that will catch your eye.

I hope this helped, let me know if there is anything else I can do for you!

-Lindsay