Transition time b/w fridge and new tank

I've been holding off on getting sand for Stella's tank until I get a bigger tank but I caught her eating gravel last night so I took her out and put her in the fridge - she's already passed 5 bits of gravel!

I can't afford to get a new tank for about another 2 weeks.

The tank will need to cycle for 4 weeks (is that right?) and I can't leave Stella in the fridge for more than 4 weeks -

What should I do with Stella for the 2 weeks that the tank still has left to cycle?

Hope that made sense.

remove the substrate from the old tank that she was origanlly in. dont wash anything though otherwise it might remove good bacteria. if you like you could put some large rocks/other un-edible decorations in your tank. alot of people have bare bottom tanks so im sure she'll be fine in there if you choose that option

Go ahead and put her in a bucket or a large bowl with a secure lid, something she can't jump out of. Clean out the water in the holding tank every day and replace it with fresh water.

Hi Casey

I've had my axie for a good two months. Currently I am keeping him in a plastic container while his new tank cycles. He seems fine and I don't have him in the fridge.

Anyways...the pet store I got my axie from kept him in a tank full of gravel. I wasn't too worried because he was only there a day before I brought him home. Well just a few days ago when I went to change the water in his container, I found EIGHT pieces of gravel that he had passed! That gravel had been inside of him for 2 months and he just now passed it and all in one night! He never seemed ill and doesn't seem any different now that its all out....was just kind of amazing that all that could fit in his tiny stomach and there was still room for him to eat!

lols I guess they aren't the brightest bulbs in the box when it comes to what they put in their mouths

My parents bought me a new tank and it's cycling now. I got sand and I've put in conditioning salts and plain salt and dechlorinator. Do I need to add anything else?

It's 40gallons/140 litres - how many axolotls do you think I could keep in here? Is 4 too many? I won't get more until Stella has settled in to her new tank.

Also, do I need to quarantine them?

Thanks for all of your advice.

hmmm id say about three comfortably (i find it hard to imagine tanks lol). i have four in my four foot, 200L tank, and they have more than enough room. what are the measurements? yes you should quarentine them just incase they have nasties, you dont want them getting to Stella!!! about a month or so is generally reccomended

What do you mean by salt?

A 40 long tank (48 inches/~120cm) is big enough for 4 adult axolotls, but I keep only 3 in mine.

Joan - by salt I mean the salt that the Aquarium gave me - conditioning salts which are blue, and plain salt and I just followed the dosages, but I did a half dose of the plain salt, because the guy at the aquarium said to do that.

I think the dimensions were 75cm by 40cm by 40cm.

Sharn - this might be a silly question, but how do you actually quarantine an axolotl?

I guess I'm just confused at why you're putting salt in the tank. Any salt at all. You really only need dechlorinator, unless you have VERY soft water (which I hear is not a problem in Australia).

The tank dimensions you give are approximately a 30 gallon tank, not a 40. With it only being 30 inches (or 75 cm), I wouldn't put more than 2 adult axolotls into it.

To quarantine an axolotl, you must put them in a seperate container (Usually a bucket, or a small spare tank), and keep them there for at least 30 days (I usually do 60) to be sure they have no infectious diseases. You MUST clean your utensils between using them on the quarantined animal and your established stock, or you run the risk of transfering diseases.

I was told to put salt in by the people at the aquarium and also someone on this site.

Do you think it will matter? Do I have to re-cycle it? I really don't want to do that as it's a lot of water to take out and I've already spilt some on the carpet. I only put a half dose of salt in and some conditioning salts.

I looked up the model number on the internet and it said 40 gallons - it's quite high.

I'll make sure I quarantine any animals before I introduce them to Stella.

Thanks for all your help Joan.

thats just pet shops trying to make you spend more. you dont need to replace any water etc and you dont need to add more salt

Sharn, thanks for clarifying that for me, I think I was in a hurry when I posted that.

Casey, you don't NEED to add salt, although some people add aquarium salts to make the water harder, but it's really not necessary unless you have a very low carbonate hardness.

I could be mistaken about how many gallons it is, but in the grand scheme of things, what's most important about aquariums is the footprint, or how much 'floor space' it has. You want to keep it around 30 cm per adult axolotl. This allows for enough space to put hides, and so they don't fight over territory.