| Fire Belly Newts | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Caudata |
| Family: | Salamandridae |
| Genus: | Cynops Tschudi, 1838 |
The Fire Belly Newts (Cynops), or Fire Newts, are a genus of newts native to Japan and China. All of the species show bright yellow or red bellies, however this feature is not unique to this genus.
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Fire Belly Newts are sometimes sold at pet stores. They do best in room-temperature freshwater aquariums with a small area of land or wood for them to surface on. Contrary to the way in which they're often sold at pet stores, Fire Belly Newts do not require terrariums, and actually thrive in misty aquatic environments. Fire Belly Newts can be fed blood worms, brine shrimp, or chopped-up earthworms. Some newts can go two to three days without food. They also do well in groups, provided there is proportional space in the environment.
It has been suggested that the genus cynops is due for a split, the Chinese species being placed in a separate genus from the Japanese ones.[1] The species Cynops cyanurus is at the centre of all this. There is much debate about the validity of Cynops cyanurus and Cynops chenggongensis. All the known captive animals could be something different from cyanurus as they do not entirely match the original description of the species. The only known animals that match that are animals originating from Chemnitz Zoo but the problem is that they have not been able to get the F2 animals to breed well, which could suggest that they are in fact a hybrid of cyanurus and chenggongensis or an undescribed Cynops species. There have even been suggestions that the animals thought to be cyanurus in collections is in fact chennggongensis.
Both Japanese and Chinese Fire Belly Newts are best suited to an aquarium with a small amount of wood or stone on the surface. The aquarium should include caves or other places for the newts to hide when they are frightened. This helps to relieve stress or even death.