I'm A New Axo-parent

Hi. I'm a 24-year old new Axo-mum here. And don't worry, I don't live up to my username.

Anyway, I've always, always wanted an Axolotl, and for my birthday five days ago I was finally given one. It's a young golden one, about the length of a matchstick, and I've got it in a tank that's got around 50 liters of water in it. It's a long tank, not a tall one. Is this enough water to keep my little Twitch happy? I'm also doing 20% water changes a couple of times a week (I got a hint I might be getting one in advance, so had the tank fully cycled). Is this often enough?

After reading around here, I've started using a feeder jar, so then I actually know he's eating. I also put stones in the tank while I was setting it up (as tiny as he is, they're currently far too big for him to swallow) but I'm thinking I might get rid of these, and get a non-slip plastic shower mat, which I can cut to the size of the tank bottom, so s/he's got something to grip. I'll also be able to poke fake plants up through it. Would this be alright for him/her?

I'm so excited, but I'm terrified of doing something wrong. The last thing I want to do is cost my darling little baby it's life. Twitch is so adorable, especially when s/he twitches those beautiful little gills forward, then back. :happy:

I'm already in love.

Congratulations on your new axie. The 50 liters should work, not sure if you'll want to upgrade in the future, but if you wanted to keep it in mind it would make keeping the tank cleaner easier and give more room to roam. I have my adult axie in a 208 liter tank and he does roam around sometimes.

I would definitely get rid of the stones before he grows enough to eat them as they could cause big issues if not death. I'm not sure how the rubber mat would work, but I could imagine it being more work. It could get quite dirty and be a pain to clean if I'm right in believing it will hold a lot of poop. I would recommend no substrate until around 10-13cm and you could add sand after he reaches that length, before that it could cause impaction.

I use sand in my axolotl tank and use large fist sized rocks to anchor the plants in. They were nicely planted but my axolotl ripped them out after some time. If you don't do sand, you could tie them to a rock or driftwood with a zip tie or cotton string or fishing line.

What kinds of foods is your little axie eating? He sounds tiny!

Thanks. I'll get rid of the stones at the next tank cleaning. That will also stop those moments of 'Darn, I can't see the baby.' LOL. The mat I was thinking of is one of those plastic-type ones with suction cups to hold it in place, not woven rubber, as I read that bare glass can cause sores on their feet, and stress them out? I do like the idea of tieing things down with fishing line.

As far as food goes, it's eating bloodworms and the occasionally tiny earthworm. Much prefers the bloodworms. Our pet store in town doesn't carry anything other than bloodworms, and the game store in town doesn't carry anything. I know a garage I can get squid from, but I'm not sure if this will be any good for it?

Thanks, Ruthless and Twitch-Axolotil

I think the bare glass bottoms cause the owners more stress than the axolotls.

Bare glass is better than bare plastic, since for some reason, plastic seems to build up more of a bacteria film that can cause toe/foot problems, Either needs to be wiped clean occasionally to avoid such problems.

I haven't heard of anyone using one of those plastic bath mats before, and I'm wondering what the more experienced voices will say. I don't know if they leach anything that is harmful for axolotls. Neat idea. :happy:

Bare bottoms it is, then. Actually put him in a bare tank while I take the stones out, and he seems to prefer the glass. Funny little critter. XD. It will probably make his dinner easier to find, too.

And I've just remembered that there are four ponds all within 5-10 minutes of my place. I'm assuming Twitch would enjoy water worms, mosquito larvae, and itsy bitsy boatmen, to hunt and snack on?

Just a caution that could those wild pond bugs carry parasites or disease?. You sound to be a perfect new mum....also one of my daughters has artificial grass as her "substrate". Personally I prefere glass as much easier to see poop, food etc

Using live plants instead of fake could reduce the amount of water changes you do by a little, and takes away the possibility of getting cut by plastic, and I would flip the diet around with a worm staple and occasional frozen foods

Congrats on the new addition!