New to Axolotl Ownership; Looking for Help

Hello everyone!

I got an Axolotl for my 29th birthday from my beautiful partner, but I have been driving her mad with it as I tend to panic when I'm unsure about things. I love my leucistic Axolotl (Zan), but I've never owned an Aquatic creature before.

I live in Milton Keynes, England, UK and my girlfriend bought me an Axolotl as they are my second favourite animal and apparently a lot easier to keep than a Panda (#1 Animal choice).

Through my worry, I scoured the internet and YouTube for information, finally coming here to settle and maybe chew the fat and get a little advice on how to take care of my new best friend.

I'll tell you what I am currently doing and would ask that you give me hints and tips on what to do/change as I am learning, but still feel fairly clueless.

• The Aquatic pet shop owner said my Axolotl is still young; s/he is about 15-20 cm long.
• I am feeding it 4 small pellets in the morning and a block of frozen blood worm in the evening, but I'm thinking I might alternate 4 pellets one day, then a block of blood worm the next.
• I am going to get a turkey baster for feeding and cleaning the tank. I think I may also invest the money to get one of those siphoning tubes for cleaning too as it makes water cycling look a lot easier.
• I currently have a small submersible filter, placed behind a fake bamboo ornament to disperse the flow.
• The water is about 17°C.
• I bought him/her a hollowed out log ornament to hide in.

Now my questions, but please feel free to comment on things I am already doing.

• I recently put the air tube on the filter, but Zan doesn't seem to like the bubbles. Will the filter do it's job without the air tube attachment?
• I check the PH daily and it is between 7 and 8, should I invest in a peat ball for the tank to bring down the PH or will Zan try to eat it?
• I currently have a substrate of large stones that are bigger than Zan's head, would no substrate at all or a Fine Sand substrate be better for an Axolotl?
• I had fed Bloodworm/Pellets, the water got really mucky after two days so I did a large water cycle (about 80%). I only read that I should take out the leftovers 30 minutes to an hour after feeding the day I did the cycling, but even though the temp is the same, the PH is fine, Zan's gills are right forward and he is hanging about near the filter. I removed him from the tank to do this, but should I just leave him in in future as long as there is sufficient water?

I will get photos if they will help you, but I don't have access to my PC until tomorrow. I look forward to meeting and talking with you all.

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on your new pet.

First of all, you need to understand cycling and water quality. Don't confuse cycling and water changes, they are 2 different things. You need a full water testing kit that tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and GH (hardness).

so here are some answers for you:

• If your axie doesn't like bubbles don't have them. It's no essential in an axie tank.
• Don't add a peat ball, it will just mess with the water. Axies like hard water and can tolerate a wide range of pH.
• Large stones are a pain to keep clean, sand is easier, bare bottom is easiest.
• Feed you axie earthworms. Look at the stickies for the reasons why, and check out the worm farming thread.

Youtube is possibly one of the worst places for tips on axie care - there are loads of bad examples and poor info - and I would take anything on there with a huge pinch of cynicism. This forum is usually pretty good, facebook groups are a bit hit and miss.

id actually have sand so they get grip, also when some axolotls had bare bottom theyd like slide!

auntiejude said:

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on your new pet.

First of all, you need to understand cycling and water quality. Don't confuse cycling and water changes, they are 2 different things. You need a full water testing kit that tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and GH (hardness).

so here are some answers for you:

• If your axie doesn't like bubbles don't have them. It's no essential in an axie tank.
• Don't add a peat ball, it will just mess with the water. Axies like hard water and can tolerate a wide range of pH.
• Large stones are a pain to keep clean, sand is easier, bare bottom is easiest.
• Feed you axie earthworms. Look at the stickies for the reasons why, and check out the worm farming thread.

Youtube is possibly one of the worst places for tips on axie care - there are loads of bad examples and poor info - and I would take anything on there with a huge pinch of cynicism. This forum is usually pretty good, facebook groups are a bit hit and miss.

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What about the axolotl whisperer? He has a youtube channel and he is on Caudata. So i think you can whatch him.