Question: Axolotl Tank setup (size/filtration)

Hello! This is my first post to the forum, and though my title is a bit vague, I believe my questions are things that will need personal answers (i.e googling and browsing has not been of much help)

I recently bought an axolotl jeuvenile on impulse. I KNOW, that sounds awful but I've been researching and considering purchasing one for months, if not years. The impulse was that I had walked into my local fish dealer with the intent to buy a betta setup to begin cycling, and left with an axolotl.

My axolotl is a baby (when I say baby, I mean it's about an inch long) and I've had him in an unfiltered 2.5 gallon for the past two days. He has plenty of space, is very active, and looks healthy from what I can see. He readily accepts food. In short: So far, no problems.

I've been doing a 70% water change every two days. (bought him Friday, did this today, will be doing it again Wednesday)

That's some background info so here are my questions:

1) How long would this setup be sustainable for? I would definitely not be considering anything more than 3 weeks, absolute maximum. Would this be too long?

2) Is floating normal? He seems to be floating (his rear up) as of late (the last few hours) and he's been wedging himself between a hide and a wall to hold himself down. Is this disease? I've read about axolotl's doing this on purpose (swallowing air).

and 3) More a question about tank cycling, can a biological filter be moved from tank to tank? He will be graduating to a cycled 10 gallon most likely by the end of next week but as he gets larger, I'll graduate him again to a 15-20 gallon. I'm wondering if moving the filter would be all that is required or if I should begin cycling the new tank a few weeks prior to when I intend to move him.

4) (bonus question, I've got answers on this from google but any input is great) How much should he be eating? He's just slightly longer than an inch from the end of his nose to the end of his tail. I gave him 3-4 blood worms 2 days ago and he seemed uninterested after the fourth so I removed the rest from the tank and called it a day. I plan to feed him again tomorrow. Is this a healthy amount of food?

Thank you for any assistance and again, I'm very sorry if this post is formatted badly / in the wrong place / redundant. I also know that buying an animal on impulse is very bad but if it turns out that my current fix is dangerous to my animal's health, I DO have a friend who will be able to take him. I would never put an animal in harms way (hence this post)

(also as a footnote, I think I might have a rare colour morph! He is transparent with pink gills and non-black eyes)

1) three weeks should be fine for MAXIMUM, but you really should get a ten gallon tank as soon as you can

2) baby lotl is very young and just hasn't learned how to balance out the air he swallows with the water pressure, it's pretty adorable.

3) Switching the filter is fine, but don't move baby lotl around too much, it's extremely stressful ?

4) try and feed him everyday! It is key when they are this small, use tweezers and make sure you just give baby lotl itty bitty worms

5) please make sure the water temp is ok!

6) message me if you have anymore questions, I'm in the process of raising a baby myself and I have a year old baby I raised from larvae ?

Hope I helped




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This is Buddha my year old bb girl


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Sampson my month old bb


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I keep Buddha in this 20 gal with live plants A hide and Large egg rock



Sampson is in this 10 gal with a few egg rocks so it can learn it is not food, I also have air stones going to keep the oxygen in my tanks really good


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Unless I'm missing something, it sounds like an albino haha

Really the 2.5 gallon tank is fine for your Axolotls size, though it is slightly big for just a single 1" Axolotl. You could potentially begin to cycle this tank, to make it easier to seed the next, but it depends on the filtration your going to go with, since some filters create suction which could pose a risk to your Axolotl, but changing 70%+ of the water with dechlorinated water every few days is perfectly fine.

Young Axolotls do tend to ingest air and cannot balance out, make sure he's well fed to help expel the air.

You can help seed a new tank by moving a filter/ornaments/substrate from one tank to another, this will increase the time the new tank takes to cycle.

Feeding a couple times a day as much as he will eat is sufficient. 4 single blood worms is not enough, the problem is that you are keeping your Axolotl in a large tank for his size, which makes feeding longer, where as keeping your Axolotl in a large food container with 100% daily dechlorinated water changes will give your Axolotl a small enough space for him to feed easily. I also use large plastic forceps to drop food directly in front of the mouths.

Axolotl Chris is honestly a genius with this stuff! Definitely agree three to four worms a day isn't enough. If dropping it in front of the mouth isn't working wiggle it around in its face to stimulate it to want to bite it


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Thanks for the reply! About the tank size, I was primarily concerned about keeping water conditions okay without causing too much stress for the axolotl (moving him around every 2 days) but if this size is ideal, i will attempt to cycle it! I plan on going with a sponge filter. If I can solve the problem of water quality, I will leave off upgrading his tank for a while.

This brings up 2 new questions:

Would an upgrade to a 5 gallon be advisable? How long do you imagine that would last him in terms of size and at what size should I upgrade him? And would a 5 gallon tank be able to go on a normal piece of furniture or would it require a stand? I know that would weigh around 45-50 pounds.

Also: should i be removing him from his tank to feed? i considered this but decided against it because i figured so much moving would stress him out. If this won't cause undue stress, though, it sounds like a much easier plan! He ate another 4 worms today. i will feed him again at the latest tomorrow, and then ill start feeding him twice a day!

Again though, thanks for the response!

Thank you so much for the advice! I've gotten some conflicting opinions on tank size. Apparently it may actually be too large? I may post some pictures of him in another thread later on to put a name to his colour morph!

I've been upping how many times he's fed. He ate 4 worms today with some coaxing. I used a turkey baster to move them around in front of his face but it seems he prefers to be left alone to eat. He was looking a little stressed when I got home today (curled up, not moving) but he's back to being active now that he's fed.

My main concern is maintaining water quality without stressing him out! The water changes aren't too much work for me but I'm afraid being removed from his tank four times a week would be too stressful. Someone else suggested trying to cycle the tank, and I think that sounds like a great idea. I'm considering upgrading to a five gallon for the next few months, because I know I can cycle and filter a five gallon and I'm feeling like 10 gallons is a little too much space for a single baby (i've only got one because I hear they dont do well together as babies)

I have my baby in a single 10 gallon and he loves the extra space, juvies are extremely actives do swim around ALOT. But five gallon would honestly be ok, the bigger the tank the less water changes, so if you upgrade him you would only have to move him about two times a week, what kind of furniture are you thinking of btw? You should post pictures.


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That's great to hear it's eating btw! And the color morph is albino I believe, check and see if it looks anything like my albino I previously posted on this thread


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Consider using a smaller container and doing twice a day water changes until your axie is bigger. You can also do a "fishless cycle" on your 10 gal in the mean time, so your axie will be going into a fully cycled tank when it is bigger.

What works for me when I am raising babies:
1. I use a tank to store dechorinated water, and just scoop water out for water changes.
2. When they are little, I never net them - I pour the water out into another container (in case the baby tries to leave with the water), then refill with the dechorinated water. (Other people have said they used a turkey baster to take out the old water. Whatever works for you as long as it is safe for the baby.)
3. I change 100% of the water twice a day (well as close to 100% as I can get).

Note: You must be very careful not to over-feed when using smaller containers, as it will foul the water quickly. But it will also be easier for your axie to find the food.

Babies should eat as much as you can get them to eat. Feeding twice a day is a good idea.

LSuzuki is right, smaller containers are really ideal as small juveniles. I have two currently in large quality food containers like this:




I change the water every 2-3 days, it really depends on the food you use, and how often you suck out waste. I've used a testing kit to make sure the Ammonia does not build up so I know this is safe. I also constantly keep the water free from waste and food by using plastic 20ML syringes to suck anything I see out:




When changing the water I pour the water out into a bucket then place the container propped up at an angle so the Axolotl can still be slightly submerged in one side of the container. I then use paper towels to wipe down the inside of the container removing any slime or dirty that has built up. I then use a small jug to add clean, dechlorinated, acclimatized water back into the container. I've always used this method, my Axolotls are never stressed, constantly eat, and always healthy. They never leave their container.

Thank you to everyone for your responses! As a sort of final note, I'll post the arrangement I currently have after a successful trip to the aquarium store for criticism:

He is currently in a 5.5 gallon tank. I have it on my nightstand which has a particle board top. I'm a little wary of the stability so I will be moving him to a plywood chest of drawers within a day or so.

For filtration, he has a small power filter that is adjustable. I went to the store in search of a sponge filter but I was reccomended this particular model by a staff member who also used it for his tank of the same size. It has a very gentle flow. The top of the water on the opposite end of the tank barely moves and the output trickle barely generates any turbulence more than perhaps four inches away from it. He's been avoiding that end of the tank but I think I will wait a few days before I make a call about water turbulence being too high. He could be afraid of the noise and / or he was just recently placed in.

He ate a few worms again today. He seems very full now! I can see that his stomach is somewhat distended.

He is slightly less active in this new larger tank as of now but I think I'll chalk that up to being frightened. This is more than twice as much water as he was in before!

As for cycling, I plan to do a slow cycle, changing water frequently enough to keep ammonia levels around 0.2ppm until they decline. I plan to be careful about making sure he doesn't become stressed. I have only chosen this route because I don't imagine slightly high chemical levels for three or so weeks would cause any more stress than the alternative, which would be frequent water changes. I am including a picture of his current set-up. Denser plants will be coming, but he doesn't seem terribly interested in using either the hide or the plant for cover so I'm not really in a rush!

I would appreciate any criticisms you could pick out of this current arrangement. Otherwise, I would like input on my cycling plan? Which would be preferable: Slow cycling or frequent water changes? (keeping in mind some of the low-stress techniques suggested)

Doing a cycle with your Axolotl in the tank is risky since you could expose him to Ammonia causing stress, or worse.

Expecting to cycle slowly using a max of 0.2ppm ammonia isn't going to cut it since it will take forever to cycle and you will only be crating a weak cycle. Using 4.0ppm of Ammonia at the start creates a strong colony of bacteria, that way in the future your bio filter 'bacteria' can handle the amounts of ammonia your Axolotl and potentially left over food will create.

You'd do better to use the technique I posted above, that way your keeping your Axolotl out of harms way, and then you can establish a proper cycle while learning more about how the cycle functions too.

Thank you! The baby has since been moved into a storage container and I will continue to cycle the tank without him in it! I plan to upgrade him to a 10 gallon when he starts getting big enough to need more space (im guessing probably 4-6 months) As a final thought: Here is a picture of him.

http://41.media.tumblr.com/5583aaa2aad92ac80f2b540198723422/tumblr_o2vs34mYfZ1ubjueso1_1280.jpg

Probably for the best since they shouldn't be kept on sand that young either