Nervous New Axolotl Mama needs information

Hi Everyone.

I purchased 2 Axolotl sat my LFS that had just come in and first time they've had any.out of the 4 I picked the tiniest black one and a white with black eyes missing both its front feet. It was love at first sight.

I set them up for now in a tank the length and with of a 29 gallon just not as tall. They were supposedly eating frozen blood worms. .but wouldn't touch them. So I cleaned and cut up Canadian crawlers and they pigged out for 2 days. And seemed so happy.
Enter my problem ..at store they where in a gravel fish tank with A huge fish temp about 75 to 78 Fahrenheit. In my living room with no heater in tank nor turned on yet in house the temp was 72 to 74....so being concerned knowing they prefer cooler temps I moved them to the basement and tada a perfect stable temp 68 F. But now I don't get to see them much as my son works midnights, and sleeps days.

But the real problem is now they aren't eating at all. I've tried the blood worms in a container and by hand and Canadian crawlers. The white one aka Ivory will grab a small piece of worm and seem to fight with it for awhile before spitting it out and the black one aka ebony won't even try.
So..can they take the temp being 70 to 74 upstairs or do I leave them downstairs where I feel isolates them and Robs us of the joy of watching them? And why won't they eat blood worms when they do eat?
Thank you,
Terri from Michigan
Btw my fish guy is awesome and he is just learning about Axolotl also and has moved them to a non heated tank etc.

Hi! And congrats on your new additions!! These are addictive little critters! I have 5 adults, one juvenile on the way, and one just laid a ton of eggs! They are truly fascinating to watch, and these guys will love to watch you!! So yes, if you can, keep them in your living/family room.
First, I want to address your temp issue and then ask a few questions since you haven't gotten any help yet....

Depending on the kind of lid you have, I really recommend getting a fan for the top of the tank. But honestly, I think 72 is fine. Thats where I'm keeping mine at the moment. But a fan will get you down to a nice and cozy 68-70 if you are really concerned. I have fans on all of my tanks, including a diy chiller for those really hot days of 80-94 degrees. Otherwise, I don't use the chiller. Using a few layers of dollartree foam boards taped to the sides, bottom and back of the tank will help insulate the tank while using a fan and can help slow down major temperature changes during the daytime.


Now to the questions...

Is your tank cycled? If not, this is probably the problem.
What are your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings. What is the Ph?
If you don't have a test kit. Get one a.s.a.p. It will be a life savor! Seriously!
What is the water level in your tank? Is it all the way full? Half full?? I would keep the water level lower for small axolotls.
What kind of filtration are you using? Axolotls don't like water movement, tho I often find mine playing around the filter spray bar
About how long/big are your new babies? If they are under 2 inches, I would remove any substrate you have in your tank. I started out with sand when I first got mine (they were 2.5 inches long) and found they can/will eat quite a bit of it. I would use a bare bottom tank until they are at least 4-5 inches. This is just my personal opinion and I base it off of how much sand they had pooped out after I had already removed ALL the sand. It's also a LOT easier to clean and find/suck up the poops with a turkey baster on a bare bottom as well. Or even siphon the poops out with a length of airline tubing I would give them lots of hiding places, and floating plants. I have also read that live foods like blackworms will encourage eating.

Do you have a picture of the little guys? It can help determine if they are stressed out

I'll keep an eye on this post as will be be on here learning how to raise Axolotl eggs lol

Btw, if you end up with a boy and girl. You will really want to separate them... One of my girls just laid over 350 eggs. And I wasn't expecting them!! Lol and they can have many more than that!
Take care!
Tori

Hi Thanks for the info. Yes the tank is cycled has a sponge filter and small H.O.B along with air stone kinked at top of tank. I have a fake large log with very heavy immovable rocks that go up to the filter and slow the movement. They also have a large piece of mopani wood that serves as additional hide out. Water tests great ( I have 3 set up cichlid tanks also). Don't have pics yet but they started eating earthworms again but I cut them up way smaller and feed a few by hand then leave the rest on the bare bottom tank and come back to find them all gone. I think I will try the insulation trick and use a screen lid instead. I have been doing small water changes nightly just enough to clean up anything on the bottom and keep it ammonia free and clean. Not sure on size they are about hand length not too small.