Urgent cooling question

[xscarymsmaryx]

So the tank fans I ordered are being delayed and London is set to hit ~35C in a couple of days! It's been around 25 already and the water has gotten up to 22-23C, which I know is really not good for my new axolotl.

It's 5 months old and about 3in. I've got an old plastic drawer and I've put water in along with some Stress Coat, and I'm leaving it in the same room as the tank to come up to temperature over the next few hours. My plan is to transfer the axolotl and then move it downstairs, where it's a good bit cooler (the tank isn't movable, sadly). I'm planning to keep it there until the temperature becomes more reasonable.

Does this sound like an ok idea? Will the moving stress be a better sort of stress then days at a high temperature, as I am assuming? And is plain water fine so long as it's dechlorinated?

Additionally I was wondering if I should put some food into the new water or whether that would be more stress.

All answers appreciated! I did not expect this heat when we got the axie on Saturday!

 

[Mark]

If you have room to freeze some 2 litre bottles of water and the ability to change them during the day you can prevent temperatures in the tank rising too high. The key is to have enough bottles to switch out and allow others time to freeze solid.

Wrap damp towels around the tank and point a fan at it to provide some evaporative cooling.

Keep windows, doors and curtains closed during the day and let cool air in during the evening. Turn your house into a cave. The temptation is to open windows which just lets the heat in.

 

[xscarymsmaryx]

I only have a tiny, full freezer, and my partner and I are both out from 8am - 7pm for work. Our front room is a heat trap because one wall is just windows with **** blinds, pretty much. Really, we should have set up the tank all those months ago downstairs (as we are ground floor and basement) but didn't foresee this.

 

[Mark]

Well in that case moving to a cooler part of the house is probably the best option you have. Find the largest container you can, the more water it holds the more stable the temperature will be. As the container won't be cycled you'll need to do daily water changes and regular spot cleaning. Make space in the fridge to chill some dechlorinated water.

We're quite fortunate here in the UK, we usually only have a couple of days of summer.