One month till I get my axie!

I'm new to owning and caring for an axie. I went to my local fish shop, they have aquariams and basically everything to do with fish, ponds etc. I asked them about setting up a tank and all that and they told me I have to keep goldfish in the tank before I put in an axie. I know about cycling but I'm just wondering if keeping goldfish in the tank for one month will have the same effect as cycling?

I know goldfish are pretty adaptable when it comes to new tanks... just got my thinking it could be a scam to make me buy goldfish lol.

Oh and apparently the golfish have something to do with adding good bacteria to the water.

(Message edited by deathbringer on March 12, 2006)

Don't bother buying the goldfish. If you know about cycling then you know that a gf is not needed to cycle the tank, which is what they are obviously implying by adding the gf.

Do you have a tank yet? If so you can start cycling (some people use a small piece of food - shrimp to start cycling or axie poo if you have access or can get any from petshop - this is what we used when we got our first tank for axies; tho we got strange looks from the ps assistants!)it so by the time you are ready to get your axie the tank shud be cycled.

Check thru the gallery if you want ideas on how to setup your tank and the tanks, setups section too.


What size tank? If one axie, 60cm x 30cm x 30cm is good for one; but bigger is better if you can as you will have more room to add plants, live/plastic, cave/hidey hole and decos. Substrate: tank can be bare - easier to clean, sand, gravel (tho unless u handfeed and always clean up axie can ingest gravel and cause problems like constipation), large river rocks, pieces of slate or a combination. I use sand cos its easier to keep clean, and our white axies look like chimney sweeps they are always snuffling! Filter that can be turned down as axies don't like too much water flow. Turkey baster is a must (great for cleaning up uneaten food, poos and saves you having to get out the siphon!) Hope I haven't missed anything out.

Thermometer! Once you have your axie in the tank 18degrees or lower is a good temp to keep them at . They don't like high temps (22degrees +), stresses them out and they can get sick. If you start cycling now, and as long as you dont get your axie earlier then there is no need to try and keep your tank temp down if it goes above 22d.

(Message edited by kapo on March 12, 2006)

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml for a good cycling link. www.axolotl.org will start you off too

I found this on the RSPCA website.

Axolotls are best housed in conditions similar to goldfish as their temperature and water requirements are the same.

Click to expand...

So maybe there is some truth as to what they are saying hmmmz. And nope haven't got my tank yet, getting it on wednesday.

http://www.rspcasa.asn.au/page?pg=402&stypen=htmlprint

(Message edited by deathbringer on March 13, 2006)

not being rude but the RSPCA have lots of animals, they know bits about lots but not lots about one. they say similar to gold fish, not with though. they do require the same cool water, but NO stones, if they eat them it can block them up and kill them. note they say beefheart as a main staple? thats not the best advice- the worms are much better for them. fish are a risk you take with feeding, they can pass on nasties and arent all that nutritional for them. balanced is the key. NEVER feed your axolotls store bought feeders, they often contain large amounts of bugs that can easily knock out an axie.

IF you want to use goldfish to cycle (not reccomended if theyre store bought, use only clean, healthy fish) you will need to do daily water changes of at least 30% to keep them comforable, ammonia and nitrite poisioning is a big deal and if you dont do the water changes you could see those goldfish die. thats why its less hassle to just use food, no water changes needed and no possibility of infesting your tank with something gross a goldfish bought in.

do you have access to a healthy, established tank? if so try and get some gravel, filter media etc from that tank and put it in a stocking and place in yours, that will seed the tank with bacteria and will give it a bit of a jumpstart.

The RSPCA is right in this case. Goldfish are cool-water animals, as are axolotls. They're also very dirty animals (ammonia-secretion wise), as are axolotls. The page says nothing about stones, and they recommend feeding a varied diet, with lean beef as a staple. This is fine. This is one of the better axolotl care sheets I've seen.

You don't need goldfish to cycle. I used my axolotls to cycle. A lot of people use fish food/prawns/brine shrimp/whatnot. They'll all lead you to the same outcome.

A 30% daily water change may be overkill, depending on the size of the tank and the amount of animals in it. Your best bet is to buy a nice testing kit, and change the water whenever any of the levels get too high. The goal is to have them high enough to cycle the tank, but low enough to not kill the animals. Goldfish are more tolerant of bad water quality than are axolotls.

I recently learned of another difference between axies and goldfish: goldfish can tolerate incredibly hot temperatures. In Pagosa Springs, Colorado, they keep ordinary goldfish in a pond fed by hot springs. The goldfish live at >90F (>32C) with no ill effects. Don't try this with an axolotl!

Hey jennifer I love that avatar pic. Is it real or did u photoshop the spots on?

And I got my tank yesterday and I'm cycling it now with goldfish. I'm going on the advice the aquirium expert gave me. I'm not saying you guys dont know your stuff, in fact you've been really helpful. They even do free water testing which is good. If anyone lives in W.A go check out "Tropigold Aquariums" they have amazing tank setups and really awesome knowledge of everything fish! Some of their axie setups are to die for

Some aquarium are really good, really helpful.
Just be careful on just HOW much of their advise you take...
Im glad youve found a good spot though, its hard to find a good trusty aquarium.

Oh and welcome to the forum Luke

I cycled my tank with goldfish. Fr a couple of reasons. firstly - I didn't like looking at a bare tank. There was nothing going on, and I had a place to put them after (thats key - you don't wanna buy them and then have nowhere to go when your axies arrive) and 2) I felt better about having something in there to create mess, rather than seeing stuff decompose etc. Yabbies are another animal that can be good and interesting too

good luck!

Yeh I was thinking bout yabbies but instead went with goldfish.

Oh and an update... I got rid of the gravel and have placed sand in the tank. Got it from bunnings. They are awesome go check em out.

How long does it take for the sand to settle, cause right now its still a bit murky. And yeh I washed the sand in a pillow case. Is it just the sedement not settled yet? The sand is washed sandpit sand, white and hasn't got no chemicals added to it.

Anyways I'll wait and see if it settles

it will settle a bit more but if it doesnt water changes with a siphon just above the sand to remove silt should get things clear.

I originally did a fishless cycling in my 55g tank. I used ammonia bought from hardware store. I first put too much of it, tho, so my cycling took longer,a s had to do big waterchange,oops. You only need a few spoonfulls of ammonia from a bottle. My cycling took about a month, and it has stayed really good ever since

**Update**

Sand has settled and everything is cool. Thankyou for all your help.

(Message edited by deathbringer on March 19, 2006)

a faster way is to ask a friend who is cleaning out their filter sponge to give it a squeeze or two in your tank...it doesnt really matter now....but its a good thing to know.