He Won't Eat :(

[Shanno93]

Hey guys,

I just recently (2 days ago) got an axolotl. The pet store I bought him from gave me frozen beef heart cubes, and I actually saw him eat them at the store. The next day I tried to hand feed him the same cubes and he refused to eat - he actually backed away. I read somewhere that axolotls eat eathworms, so I sent my mum to get some. She came home with a different sort of cubes, meant for turtles from a different store. The lady at that store said earthworms were bad for axolotls. So I tried to feed him these new ones, and he didn't eat it either.
The only things I can think of that might help would be that the pet store where I bought him used tongs to feed them, and I was using my hands. Also, he swims to the top of the tank for air then swims back down.
Please help!
Shannen and Fonzie :) xx

[blackdog]

Hi Shannon,

You'll get a lot of enjoyment out of your axie, very interesting little buggers.

First thing, i really want to assist you, but some of what i will say might sting a little. Please understand i am coming from a place where i want to help, keep your thick skin on, ok?

1 An axie is simple to keep, but different to other pets, aquarium or otherwise.

2 Most pet stores know bugger all about them, you've already had some bad advice

3 Don't sweat it, you came to the right place.

4 Go here Axolotls: The Fascinating Mexican Axolotl and the Tiger Salamander to learn everything you need to know about keeping an axie healthy and happy - it is the most clear, concise and correct resource on the web. Then come to this forum and ask the questions about what you were not clear on from reading Axolotls: The Fascinating Mexican Axolotl and the Tiger Salamander

Ok, to address your immediate concerns -

* Beef cubes are only just ok for axies IMHO - you will get some conflicting opinions about this, but beef heart is too fatty for axies, and lets face it, can you imagine your axie dragging a cow into the water and eating it's heart in the wild? It doesn't really make sense, does it?

* Now imagine what might live at the bottom of a muddy, silty, murky lake...... worms right? Worms are the perfect diet for an axie. You can but great worms here - compost worms, worm farm, delivered Australia wide - the little rotter package is a beauty, perfect size for keeping an axie fed

* You have only had your axie for two days - have you ever moved house? Did it take you a few days to get used to your new surrounds? You might have even felt a little off your game, maybe even lost your apetite - he may be just adjusting, settling in

* If he hasn't been hand fed, you may well be scaring him a little. Think about what you look like to him. You are 50-60 inches long, hes is 3-4 inches long - where he comes from, if i am bigger than you i will eat you. So, he might just not want to be eaten. Try feeding with tongs, or simply leave it in front of him on the tank floor

* Axolotls are not turtles. But, having said that the pellets should not hurt him him, might just not have quite the right nutrients. You can get cheap , proper axie pellets from a lot of pet stores, but online is cheap and easy - http://www.aquariumsupermarket.com.a...lotl-food.html

* Axies regularly swim to the top of the tank for a gulp of air, several times per day. They have rudimentary lungs, one of the cool facts about axies you can bore your visitors with. Swimming up for a breath is totally normal

Lastly, please make sure you forget everything the pet store told you & check the website i gave you - Axolotls: The Fascinating Mexican Axolotl and the Tiger Salamander

Pay particular attention to the tank set up & the nitrogen cycle.

DO NOT have normal aquarium gravel in your tank, use sand or bare tank. If you have it in there now, remove it until you can get some sand - play sand from bunning is ok with a good clean, or you can pay a little more and go for something like this - Age of Aquariums - CaribSea Tahitian Moon Sand 9.2kg - this sand is awesome

I repeat - DO NOT use gravel or small stones in your tank, despite what your pet store no doubt told you, it is not ok for axies.

So, what are you still here for? Go read that site!

Bren

[Shanno93]

Thank you so much for replying :)
Okay, so I've gone through the website you gave me - it's amazing, really helpful!
But, I found something worrying. It says that symptoms of heat stress are refusal of food and white spots. I'm pretty sure Fonzie has white spots on his head
How do I keep the water cool? I've put a frozen plastic bottle in there and the lid on for condensation...maybe it's just him still getting used to the tank?

[blackdog]

2 days of not eating is not at the "food refusal" stage for an axie. A healthy adult axie will only feed every 2-3 days and can go 7 days or more with out an issue in cool clean water

First step, set up your tank according to the site, check your water parameters, keep it clean and cool, and you should be fine.

What temp is your tank? 17 - 21 celcius is ok for an axie, 18 celc ideal.

Don't over think it at this stage. just get the set up right first.

Bren

[Shanno93]

I just got him some earthworms and he snapped one up so quickly! I got him another axie as a buddy and he seems much happier now, although the new one is going through her non-eating stage
I have a filter, sand and a plant for them in my tank, but I put a thermometer in the tank for a minute or two and it came back around 25/26 C, which I guess is bad?

[kiathepooch]

You need to try and lower the temp to 18-20,doyou have any bottles frozen water?if not put 2litre bottles of water in your freezer-you'll need a few,then add a couple to the tank(so aim to put as many bottles as possible in your freezer)till then have you got a fan you can use to cool the water or is the tank near a window?the idea is to cool it slowly enough so not to shock your axolotl.
Also you should try get hold of a permenant thermometer for your tank,then you can see as soon as the temp changes,especially if the temp is quite high.

[Shanno93]

It's really hard to get the tank cool because I live in Australia, and it's nearing summer. Our house doesn't have air-con and it isn't possible to move it right next to the window. I do have an iced bottle, but I'm not always home to change it regularly.

[Beck]

Yeah, sorry to say, but unless you have air con, Queensland can be a dangerous place for an axi in summer I was using 2, 2 liter bottles of frozen water in coke bottles to try and keep the tank cool, but, as I like to say sometimes, if all else fails, fridge em

Good luck.

[Shanno93]

Yeah I just hope he'll be fine...if he can make it through an Australian summer, he's a legend!

[blackdog]

You need a chiller if you are in Queensland, no two ways about it.

Good entry level chillers - Chilling & Heating - Hailea Chillers - Guppy’s Aquarium Products Online - Hailea Chiller - You can look by all means, but you wont find a better value (new) chiller in the aussie market place

Bren

[Beck]

That's the good thing about living in queensland - they seem to have a lot of aquarium stores both offline and online. It looks expensive to me, but if it meant keeping an axi or not, I'd get one.