Axolotl novice alert

Hello! I have done tons and tons of research on axolotls and I am totally captivated by their alien-like nature.

I'm arranging to meet someone who wants to rehome his axies via our local pet rehoming facebook page. One leucistic and one green wild type.

I just want to double check this setup will be okay?

- 20 Gallon LONG
- One leuc and one green wild type (both at around 6 inches)
- Aquarium light will be on a few hours a day because I want live plants. (I'm a huge fan of planted aquariums.)
- Lake driftwood, both purchased and locally found (the locally found hasn't been obtained yet and will be washed and baked at HIGH heat for "sterilization".
- I'm thinking a very very fine black substrate. I hate the look of bare bottom and like I said, I need plants. I plan on feeding them worms with tongs so swallowing the sandy bottom shouldn't be an issue, right?
- No tankmates
- I'm on the fence about getting a chiller, its summer here (north eastern pa) but the tanks will be in my room with the air conditioner full blast because i hate the heat hehe


Any critiques? Recommendations? Like I said, I have done a lot of reading but would like to hear input from experienced members.
My biggest questions center around having a chiller or not... I was thinking if, let's say my air conditioner broke, I could freeze water bottles and stick them in the tank but I want to know if that would be efficient in the "worst case scenario". Second big question would be, would it be possible to sex them at this age?

Thanks for your time, guys!

It sounds like you've done great research and everything seems correct to me. Greats job and congrats. The frozen water bottle works in a pinch for sure and I would say a chiller isn't necessary unless you feel the tank is still getting too hot with the a/c (which it shouldn't cause that's what I have and have never had an issue). Anyways hopefully someone might have more input on the chiller deal but it sounds like you're quite prepared

Sounds like a great start. Here are my thoughts:

Some black sands are not suitable - make sure you get quartz sand. The 'tahitian moon' black sand has been found to be unsuitable. Axies will snuffle on the ground for food whatever substrate you use, so they may ingest sand however you feed them. Personally I would go for slate tiles and keep the plants in pots - axies like to dig too, and plants will be uprooted quite easily in sand substrate.
A 20 gal will be fine for now, but if they grow much beyond 9" each they will want more space. Be prepared to upgrade your tank.
Depending on the space you have you might need to replace the driftwood with some kind of cave or tunnel for the axies to hide in.

Hi there and welcome to the forum. :happy:

Congratulations on your research, you have prepared well. Just take on board the comments that Auntiejude has mentioned about the tank size and the substrate. As for the plants, have you considered using things like anubias sp. and java fern, as these can be attached to the wood and hides rather than planted into substrate. They are also fine in cold water.

Please keep us posted on your progress, and we'd love to see lots of pictures (please). :happy:

Just out of curiosity, what do you all recommended for their final tank size?
Also forgot to mention I'm using a filter.

Is there any type of black substrate that will be safe? I love the look, but obviously not enough to risk their health. Also, how do you know which types of tile are safe?

Hehe I have a Nikon d3300 camera so you can bet a pretty penny that I'm going to have magnificent photos of these babies!

I have attached a link to the axolotl help topics which are found in the axolotl section of the forum index. It contains links to information on tank sizes, substrates, and even includes a list of safe rocks that can be used in your axolotl tank (as well as a list of unsafe rocks).

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...trates-setups-please-read-before-posting.html

I hope this helps to answer most of your questions. :happy: