Tank

I am new to having axies as well as a fish tank. All the levels on my tank are good but I am not sure that it cycled?? It has not spiked. I have the axies in there and they are doing great. My main problem is that the water stays cloudy. My sponge filter was disgusting after about 2 weeks and I rinsed it a bit. Wrong!! Right? Cuz now the water is that much more cloudy. I havent seen the water clear since I started. I have no clue what I am doing or should do.

Chances are, your tank isn't cycled.

What are the readings for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH? Are you checking the readings every day? How big it the tank, and how big are the axolotls?

Usually cloudy water is due to a bacterial bloom, and it is very common while a tank is cycling. It can happen in a cycled tank, particularly if the tank is overcrowded or uneaten food gets left in the tank.

What you can do to reduce the problem is to do some big water changes. (It might take a couple spread out over a few days.) If your tank really is cycled, that won't hurt anything (assuming you are properly dechlorinating and using the same temperature water). If it is still cycling, it will slow down your cycle a bit, but it will probably make you feel happier. :happy:

What you should always do (if you aren't already) is clean up any leftover food and poop. You you have a turkey baster to suck up the waste? That is the easy way.

Thank you for responding! My levels have all been basically the same this whole time. I declorinate and have done a water change or two. I am picking up the food and waste.
On the big water changes, how much do i do? Or rather how do i do them? The axies are about 4 inches or so. There are 2. The tank is 20 gallons. Thank you again!

if you're scooping the waste out manually, then just use a pitcher or empty gallon water jug to collect the old water from the tank and dump it right outside, or down the drain. refill with either treated tap water or spring water. make sure to add plenty of aquarium salt to the new water, or once the tank is full again.

if you have a 20 gallon tank then do 2-3 gallons weekly or 4-6 biweekly, depending on how cloudy your water is.

Thank you all very much. This is driving me nuts. (not a far drive!) lol. I know Ill figure it out all in time.

widget1108 said:

Thank you all very much. This is driving me nuts. (not a far drive!) lol. I know Ill figure it out all in time.

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Do you use sand? That always makes the water cloudy at first, but they sell water clarifier which helps. use less than the recommended dose, as depending on what brand you use, certain chemicals in it could be harmful to your axie. Check the health section of Axolotl.org for a list of chemicals that are dangerous to axies.

Is the water like white cloudy? can you see floaty bits or almost-microscopic worms? No big deal! Just do more frequent water changes for the next few weeks (15-20% every week should be fine, just remember to treat the water and add plenty of aquarium salt), and change your filter cartridge every other week. most fish tanks only need to have the filter changed monthly, but axolotls are way messier.

A better recommendation for axolotl tanks is 25% water change a week minimum, to keep the nitrates down below 40 ppm. So, for a 20 gal tank, that would be 5 gal. Also, a 20 is a bit tight for 2 adult axolotls, so you may want to consider upgrading the tank size as they get bigger.

Salt in axolotl tanks can be a contentious subject. I use 1 tablespoon per every 5 gal at the recommendation of my vet. I dissolve it first (which is a pain) since I don't want the axies eating it off the bottom by mistake. I don't know if it would hurt them, so I don't want to take a chance.

LSuzuki said:

A better recommendation for axolotl tanks is 25% water change a week minimum, to keep the nitrates down below 40 ppm. So, for a 20 gal tank, that would be 5 gal. Also, a 20 is a bit tight for 2 adult axolotls, so you may want to consider upgrading the tank size as they get bigger.

Salt in axolotl tanks can be a contentious subject. I use 1 tablespoon per every 5 gal at the recommendation of my vet. I dissolve it first (which is a pain) since I don't want the axies eating it off the bottom by mistake. I don't know if it would hurt them, so I don't want to take a chance.

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Yeah, just keep in mind that even though the tank technically holds 20 gallons, with displacement from substrate and decorations, and the inch or two of space between the water line and the top of the glass, your 20 gallon probably only has 15-18 gallons in it at a time. So a 25% change might only be 4 gallons.

In regards to salt, here's an excerpt from "The Developmental Biology of the Axolotl"

Even though axolotls are freshwater amphibians, many laboratories find that they thrive best in a dilute saline solution. We use a modified 50% Hotfreter's saline solution containing 1.75 g NaCl, 100 mg MgSO4, 100 g NaHCO3, 50 mg CaCl2, and 25 mg KCl per liter. The saline seems to reduce fungal and bacterial growth, and the animals seem healthier than in straight tap water.

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axolotl.org says to keep their pH around 7.2-7.6, and adding salts raises pH.