How long before moving to full tank?

[Marcusnorris]

Hi, I plan on buying my first axolotls soon. I know that the axolotls don't start out in their full sized tank, but how long are they supposed to be in the small ones before moving them?

Is it a time thing, or determined by size?

I'm not very familiar with axolotl growth rates yet.

[Jodie.B.]

Hi axolotls are great pets! , i have 11 of them!
when you get a baby/juvinile axolotl you can keep them in a tub wear container when the tiny as its easy to feed them when there tiny but when the axolotl get to around 3-4inches its best to put it in the tank, but make sure you cycle your tank first and also gravel, little stone substrate is a big NO NO!! as they tend to eat the gravel and it can kill them so either have big pebbles bigger than there head, sand or nothing. and how many axolotl are you plannig on keeping if your just getting one you will only need a 2ft tank for when your axolotl is fully grown if you want to keep 4 axolotls you'll need a 4ft tank, bigger the tank the better! if you want to learn about axolotls click on caudata.org sites above and click on axolotls and it will give you all the information you'll need to know about them! if you have any more questions feel free to ask

[Marcusnorris]

Thanks for the quick response, and helpful information.

I read somewhere on here about the gravel problem. I think I'm just going to stick with sand for them to avoid the problem.

and 11? That's a lot! Must be nice. I plan on starting out with just a couple, then maybe adding more later if I can talk my girl friend into allowing it haha.

Since you've got a lot of experience, about how long in time do you think it normally takes for them to reach the 3-4 inch mark?

[Jodie.B.]

your very welcome :), and ibreed my own so thats why ive got 11 i keep the best one out of every batch of eggs they lay and yea its great , and depends because most pet shops sell them at 4 inches so you can keep it in a tub untill you get a tank for it or just put it strait in to a tank most pet shops do a deal well they do in my pet shop in uk but they do grow fast if fed reguarly, when there young they should be fed daily when they get to 9 inches feed them every other day and then when there around 1 year and a half feed them 3 worms once a week, hope this helps, feel free to ask any more qustions

[Marcusnorris]

thanks. I'm actually getting a bunch of eggs from someone, rather than a bigger one from a pet store. I read about how you're supposed to start out feeding them brine shrimp, so I'm buying those.

a couple other questions:

1. Do they all have to be separated individually? I've read they will eat each other. I don't know how many you babies you can keep together, and when is it okay to bring them back together?

2. I don't plan on it, but just in case it comes up in the future... Is there any type of "vacation food" you can leave in the tanks so that they're fed while you're away? Maybe some type of small animal or something?

3. I've been reading a lot, so I think I should be okay, but just in case.. Are there any "typical beginner" mistakes you see a lot of people make that end up killing their axolotls? I'm just trying to be careful.

[Jodie.B.]

Thats good be aware that most of the abie will die withing the first 2 weeks if hatching thats why axolotls lay so many eggs because they have such a low survival rate when hatching, butwhen they do hatch no you wont need to seperate the baby axolotls they do sometime bite each others legs gills of but they will grow there limbs back within no time! most axolotls do it just keep them well fed. and if you do go on vaccation or something well what i do is i feed them for 2 weeks straight on earthworms so there bells are huge!, then i put a few guppies, and danio fish in the tank for them to eat if they get hungry sounds cruel but its not. and axolotls are quite hardy cretures just keep the water really really clean