I need advice!

[jessicaanne]

I'm open to everyone's opinion

I visited a pet shop today and it's the first place I've seen axolotl's that are looked after with plump bellies and gorgeous growing gills. I fell in love with what I think is a wild type (really dark with specks) and I've asked the girl to put it on hold. My dilemma is that I don't know if I should get it based on:

Gender - I've just found out that my current axolotl is a boy so if the one at the pet shop is a girl and I don't realize until later on down the track, I won't know how to handle the situation (eggs!) And I've been told that you have to separate the two adults once the eggs are laid but is this temporary or indefinitely?

Age - I'm not sure how old either of the axolotl's are but they do seem to be the same size. (I just dread if they have cannibalistic tendencies)

Feeding - I currently feed my one bloodworm cubes in a feeding jar and worms and pellets by hand but I'm not sure how I'll feed them if I get the other axy. Any suggestions are helpful.

Tank size - I have the one axy in a 3ft long tank that is 20" high and 14" wide. Is this an adequate size for 2 if I add another hide for the second one?

As I already mentioned, I'm open to ANY suggestions and advice even if you think you are a "noob"

[jhonny]

well, i for one think its great that you seek advice before taking the plunge!
i am still pretty noob as well if it comes to axolotl yet i will answer your questions with my knowledge and common sense.

no idea about eggs! i am currently hoping the guy in the petstore listened to me, and gave me 2 females instead of a pair.. cause i would not know what to do as well.. its idiotic to make them breed unless i knew every factor about that. my logic sense tells me you are dealing with live creatures.. and if you cant provide for them 100% .. dont bother.

dont worry about the age. axies have been known to snap, but its not like they are real canniballs. my axies are both juvies.. and when they snap, its because they think paws and tails are tasty worms just like my fingers..

earthworms ( or rainworms as we call them here ) are the best food source. just get some from a fishing store. you'll get about 300, which can be kept in the fridge up to 3 weeks as long as you keep the soil in the box moist. it'll cost you a measly 5 euro.
and its tons of fun to handfeed them. and less messy then pellets and cubes.
i have a plastic tray in which i scoop my axies up to feed them. if you do the same, they will associate the plastic tray with food after a while, and swim in voluntairy.
right now, mine still need some convincing..
anyway, when they stop taking worms out of my hands, i know they had enough.. and i'll release them again.

i did some calculating for you
your tank is 90cm by 50cm by 35cm. which calculates to 157500 cubic centimeters. seeing you never atually top your tank, i'd say very roughly 140L of water. ( 37 gallon )
my tank is only 110L of water (29 gallon )
so your tank is bigger then mine, and i have 2 axies. you are good to go

conclussion. get the sex right.. and go get the boy.
or engulf yourself in axolotl mating.. and get the girl

[jessicaanne]

Originally Posted by jhonny

no idea about eggs! i am currently hoping the guy in the petstore listened to me, and gave me 2 females instead of a pair.. cause i would not know what to do as well.. its idiotic to make them breed unless i knew every factor about that. my logic sense tells me you are dealing with live creatures.. and if you cant provide for them 100% .. dont bother.

Yeah that's how I see it too, I never buy an animal until I know for certain that I can do everything I can for them

Originally Posted by jhonny

dont worry about the age. axies have been known to snap, but its not like they are real canniballs. my axies are both juvies.. and when they snap, its because they think paws and tails are tasty worms just like my fingers..

Well I think that as long as they are the same size, I shouldn't have a problem with one being preyed upon haha.

Originally Posted by jhonny

earthworms ( or rainworms as we call them here ) are the best food source. just get some from a fishing store. you'll get about 300, which can be kept in the fridge up to 3 weeks as long as you keep the soil in the box moist. it'll cost you a measly 5 euro.
and its tons of fun to handfeed them. and less messy then pellets and cubes.
i have a plastic tray in which i scoop my axies up to feed them. if you do the same, they will associate the plastic tray with food after a while, and swim in voluntairy.
right now, mine still need some convincing..
anyway, when they stop taking worms out of my hands, i know they had enough.. and i'll release them again.

I bought a tub of earthworms from the tackle shop and just yesterday I put them into a small plastic container that is designed for small critters such as crickets, bugs etc. I'm basically making a tiny compost farm

Originally Posted by jhonny

i did some calculating for you
your tank is 90cm by 50cm by 35cm. which calculates to 157500 cubic centimeters. seeing you never atually top your tank, i'd say very roughly 140L of water. ( 37 gallon )
my tank is only 110L of water (29 gallon )
so your tank is bigger then mine, and i have 2 axies. you are good to go

Yeah it's a 130L tank and it's filled about 3" from the top so it'd be around the same as yours

Originally Posted by jhonny

conclussion. get the sex right.. and go get the boy.
or engulf yourself in axolotl mating.. and get the girl

Well it'll be hard to tell the difference at their current age but I am able to get a back-up tank from a friend that is also 3ft long so if worse comes to worse, I'll have the two axy's, just in separate tanks!

[Leanne]

A 3ft tank is big enough for 2 adult axies but no more.
FEEDING.....put 2 feeding jars in and feed them a each end of the tank....just watch and make sure everyone is in their own jar....I use to feed pelets first and then worms or bloodworms in the jar......
EGGS....if you end up with eggs, you could try your hand at raising a few at a time(if you want its not as hard as you may think, just time comsuming(if I can do it anyone can)). They will breed if you get a boy n girl so be ready to cull the eggs or keep them apart in different tanks
Another thing to remember is 2 axies makes more mess.....be ready to do more water changes eg. weekly instead of fortnightly, fortnightly instead of monthly whichever way you go
sorry about the essay.....Im on a roll today

[Karen aka mshine1217]

With the information provided, I would get the second axie. I wouldn't put them in the same tank until the new addition has gone through a 30 day quarantine in a separate container. I don't want to expose my first axie to anything that the newcomer might introduce.

[jessicaanne]

Thanks for the input guys! I just called the shop and have organized to pick my new addition up on Friday I'm pretty excited! I searched and found that it's a melanoid.

I kind of hope that it's a male so that I don't have to separate them once they begin to 'mate' but whatever the outcome, I'm ready to handle it I've got two friends offering tanks in case it comes down to separating although that'll require another cycle

[Plc98]

if theyre under 6in long dont put them together, until theyre that size they will be cannibalistic, i found that out the hard way, just letting you know

[jessicaanne]

Thanks for that piece of advice I'm pretty sure my little boy is around the 6" mark and the one at the shop looks to be the same size so hopefully all goes well. It was too cute to resist so even if they don't work out together, I'll gladly keep him/her in another tank!

[Leanne]

you got the bug......just gotta have them all
I started with 1 2ft tank now I have 6 tanks ( 3 x 3ft, 1 x 5ft and 2 x 2ft)

[jessicaanne]

Haha I was just really amazed by the fact that they were so healthy (not to mention very pretty). Every other pet shop or aquarium I visit I can't stand seeing the condition of the axolotl's and would just love to help them all but I know that this isn't the right thing to do

I'll probably just stop at two though. Mainly because my mum would have my head if I used any more electricity and water than I do now

[2roxfox]

I have also noticed many pet shops here seem to have sad looking axolotls. I think it is because many of them have very strong filters/pumps running non stop and often the water is just way too warm for them. I keep my axolotls in still, cold water (and i keep them outside, with lots of plants in their pond doing the filtering and keeping the water sweet) and they could not be healthier.

[jessicaanne]

Originally Posted by 2roxfox

I keep my axolotls in still, cold water (and i keep them outside, with lots of plants in their pond doing the filtering and keeping the water sweet) and they could not be healthier.

Don't you have a problem with predators trying to snap up your axolotl's?

[tusken raider]

I assume you have the new axolotl by now, how are they getting along?

[jessicaanne]

Yes indeed, I was a little bit naughty and didn't wait the recommended 30+ days for quarantine (oops). They get along fine, a few cheap shots from my boy if food is present but other than that they lay on top of each other and swim together. I was actually happy because my cycle was taking forever and nitrites weren't showing even after like 2mths but the day after I put the new one in I had nitrites, so it kind of gave the cycle a much needed push in the right direction! The new one regurgitates live earthworms so I'm thinking that they're too difficult to digest because he/she isn't used to them so I have to burn them to death with hot water first