short introduction & pictures of my voracious dragons

hey everyone, i'm rather new to this community and proud owner of 2 axolotls. so i just wanted you to get to know me and most of all my "monsters" here:

when they were real babies at approx. 13cm | 5.1"

ampion the white female:


koernchen (german for "granule") the wild type male:



and what they look now at the age of 9 months and almost 24cm | 9.4" long:

ampion:








koernchen:






^^ i really hope you like the pictures!!!
im looking forward to sharing thoughts and pictures on this community in the future!
yours, alice

[Stef]

You are quite the photographer, Alice :)
They seem to have a lovely setup complete with moss ball.
However the pebble size is one of concern, if it hasn't crossed your mind then I advise you to investigate other substrates such as sand or barebottom.

In my opinion I would also remove the snails and marbles as even though they SEEM to big to be ingested, you would be surprised!

Your axolotls are very beautiful and otherwise seem to be in perfect health

thanks ^^ im glad you say so.

pebble size is 2-4mm (but certainly no bigger!) i know thats slightly above the limit.
still this ground has been there from the beginning and the two never got in trouble with it, so im acting under the motto: never change a running system. XD

sand is not an option for me due to the fact that it could easily get mouldy.

there are only those two marbles in the tank, and they have a diameter above 3cm, so i thought they shouldnt get swallowed, but if you really say so i will remove them for safety's sake. thanks for your advice!

[Stef]

Yes, I made the mistake of thinking that marbles were okay and eventually had to physically remove one from my axolotls mouth, luckily he had no intent on trying to swallow it.
Their mouths get quite large when they are keen on trying to eat something.

About the sand - yes I have noticed it gets like that with moss, it's not essential to have sand as a base so that is okay.
I have to agree with you on leaving the pebbles if they haven't had any problems with it in that 9 months, though some others may say otherwise.

thanks for letting me know! i will remove those marbles immediately when returning home today, i dont want that to happen!!!

even though they probably couldnt get swallowed at that size i wouldnt want one to get stuck in their mouth, that would be really awful.

as for the gravel, after all it is completely free from sharp edges and i sometimes see pieces of it in their poo. over this whole period of time none of them has had problem with their digestion, so i really guess it should be OK because there is always some poo hidden somewhere

[Kira]

They are very beautiful axies and it is nice to meet you!

why, thanks so much. i am glad you like them.
i am currently thinking about getting a complete white albino (even their gills are white when they are calm) but its so hard to get a hold of them...

[Becky]

Alice I'm afraid I don't agree with keeping the gravel in. You have already stated that you see pieces of it in their poo, so that is evidence of them swallowing it.
A problem may arise if they swallow so much that it becomes a large mass in their stomach and then the axolotl is unable to pass it.
The bigger your axolotls get the more gravel they will swallow each time they snuffle through it. I appreciate you are not keen to use sand and that is entirely up to you, but perhaps you would consider a bare bottom.

There are so many posts on caudata regarding keepers who have had problems or even lost their axolotls to gravel impaction that I feel it is just not worth the risk.
However I would like to add that I think your tank is very nice, and I particularly like Ampion. A very pretty axolotl.

[optimist]

Beautiful axolotls, fab pictures. Thanks for sharing

@becky, thanks for the advice. axolotls swallow parts of the ground, no matter if sand or gravel, thats obvious.
the problem with bare bottom is that they dont have any kind of grip on it, and i dislike that.

ive never seen my animals swallow massive amounts of gravel, and even though they snap after something and get gravel in their mouth they spit out most of it - mostly the smaller pieces tend to get swallowed but they go through with ease.

also i wouldnt be too happy with emptying my whole thank thats been containing two healthy axolotls for quite a while now. i understand that you might not agree with the gravel but id greatly appreciate your acceptance.

also thank you for the compliment on ampion, she'd be happy to hear it

@optimist, thanks for your kind words!

---
oh and: taken this morning - find the axie in this picture

[Kira]

Oh that is so cute and beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!

thank you so kindly! she's a photogenic little model, but sometimes tends to be a little shy:



i think she looks really pretty in these two taken a few months ago:





and she even does have a dorky side :

[Becky]

Well I wish you the best with your axolotls Alice and hope the gravel doesn't cause any problems. Don't be afraid to ask any questions if it does though, we are not here to judge you just to advise you.

thank you, becky!

[Sherri]

Your axies ar really beautiful! Such lovely colourings, healthy skin and happy faces :-)

thank you so kindly! nothing it so heart-warming like the smile of an axolotl

[kCm]

Thya! What a pleasant surprise! (it's l3leugrrl from LJ) I'm glad you joined! I was going to suggest this forum for you. I joined to peep at everyone's lovely pictures and get advice to help me prepare for my babies. Your axies are beautful as always!

^^ hey there, i was already expecting you here!
i signed up with the english community as well even though i am already active at the german one, but you can never get enough information right?