Checking my Research

Hello all! So I have been researching axolotls pretty intensely for a few days, with the idea being of getting one (or preferably a pair if I can swing it) after my kitten becomes a kitty and we've settled into a routine (so at least six months? Probably longer). This is giving me plenty of time to get everything I need/want and properly cycle a tank. Oh, and ask the weight limit on a fish tank, since I live on the second floor of an apartment complex. If I can't clear that, then I have to wait til I eventually move out.

But I have some holes in my knowledge, so I thought I'd see if you all could help me!

First off, I've seen mixed reports on the size tank to get for a pair of axolotls, ranging from 20 longs to 4+ feet in at least one direction. I currently have a 20 long at my disposal, potentially two in the future when I upgrade my cornsnake to a 40 gal home. However, I mentioned above that I live on the second floor of an apartment. It's a fairly old building, so I don't feel safe doing anything bigger than a 20 long here. Can I safely put two fully grown axolotls in a 20 long or should I wait to get a second when I have more freedom and foundational integrity for something bigger?

Tied into that question, do axolotls do better in pairs? Would same-sex pairs be fine, or are there aggression issues? If they do better in pairs and I only have space for one, I'd rather wait until I can have a pair than make the one feel lonely.

How often do you feed axolotls? This I've seen a lot of mixed information on, from every day to every three days being popular answers. My goal is to feed earthworms with bloodworms as a treat (I feed my betta bloodworms and an axie would give me a better excuse to buy frozen rather than freeze-dried).

For a beginner, is it better to start with a juvenile or juvenile pair (vs adopting an adult)? How is their care different from adults? If I got a pair of juveniles, would it be better to separate the 20 long in two places, and how long should they be separated before they won't be at such a risk of cannibalizing each other? How old are juveniles typically when shipped from a breeder to a home? Are there breeders that hold axies until they are older before offering them for sale?

Is it possible to ask a breeder for a same-sex pair, or is it too hard to determine gender while young? I know I couldn't handle raising even a few larvae in the future, so what would I do if I end up with a breeding pair and the female lays eggs? How would I keep the female from being harassed by a male if I wanted to keep them in the same tank?

I had more questions, but I've been lurking on this site for about a week now, and I feel like I've got several answers already. I hope this wasn't too much, and thank you in advance for helping me properly prepare for my future pets!

Hello there IsaiahKey, I'll try and answer as many of your questions as I can, though I've got to say right now, I haven't the foggiest clue what a 20 long is...

I'm a Brit, so we measure our tanks in litres here (which makes weight very easy) 1 litre of water is 1 kilogram. A litre is 0.26 US gallons and a kilo is 2.2 pounds. Obviously that makes it much more complicated for you, but remember rocks, sand and ornaments will all have a different density than water and will weigh differently. That all being said, I live in a Victorian house that's been split into two apartments. Beside from having to level every table by about an inch on the front (the whole house is squint!) it's never been a problem here. We put our tanks against the walls and are on the second floor, I've got 2 20 US gallons, and a 10 gallon, plus a small hatching tank. None of them have fallen through the 100 year old floor boards and there are no cracks in the apartment downstairs. I'm certain my double wardrobe is heavier. As long as your fish tanks are properly level I think you'll be fine. It is recommended there be at least 10 gallons per axolotl, but it's better to have length then height in any tank as when they're adults, they like to explore and walk about. Still, you should always get the biggest tank that you can put up with because they love the space!

I've never had any aggression issues with same sex or different sexes when they're given enough space. It's really best to separate sexes, makes it much easier in the long run. Claptrap and Lonestar are separated when there's a change of season as it's not fair to allow them to breed constantly. Once Claptrap is good and done laying spermatophores, I let him back in with Lonestar. Your best bet is to get a pair with confirmed genders, or be prepared to swap with someone, or have separate tanks simple dividers don't help the spread of the spermatophores at all in my experience. I've raised a couple clutches over the years, but I'm not really keen on raising any more after these juveniles have homes. He never bullies or harasses her but every Axi is different. Given enough space and enough food (it helps to feed them at opposite ends of a tank), cannibalism doesn't really happen much once past a certain size. I've still got a few juveniles and they've not eaten each other as they get fed every day and there's plenty of space for them. Sometimes if they are dramatically different sizes, it might happen, but if you pick a pair at the same time, it's unlikely this'll be the case. Claptrap has always been very ambivalent of Lonestar, but when he is gone, Lonestar does get a bit grouchy, it really depends on the Axi I think. They are social though, so if you have room for two, go for it!! You may have a lost leg once but it's often just a case of them accidentally hoovering in a foot whilst they're feeding!

I started with Juveniles, I think it's personal preference whether you pick adults or juveniles, but maybe another poster can help with that a bit more? You can't tell gender until they're of a decent size unfortunately. That being said, I thought Claptrap was a girl until he was a year old and randomly grew a massive cloaca... Good thing we picked neutral names eh? Sexing under a year is tricky, sexing at less than 6 months is nigh on impossible. So with gender picking, adults may be better.

From my experience adults feed less often as earthworms (the best staple in my opinion) tend to take a while to work through their digestive systems and are a bit big for small Axi's sometimes. Adults can sometimes also be a bit more sensitive to higher temperatures (above normal axi temps) but other than that, they're quite similar in care standards. It depends what you feed them that determines how often you feed them. I feed earthworms every 2-3 days and a treats every 5-6 days like bloodworm. Starting your own wormery can be very helpful, but make sure to get your starting culture of worms from a place that sells them exclusively for pet feed. Growing them your own this way you wont really encounter parasites that can be a common problem with live foods. I have zero experience with pellets, mine would never take them from me, so I gave up. Best to ask someone else about them.

That is a bit of a text wall, but I hope I cleared up some of your questions!

Ah no Genny, this is perfect! I think you've answered just about all my questions.

A 20 long is a 20 gallon tank that's longer than it is high. I measured my snake's tank (as the other one I have is sitting in my mom's garage 30 minutes away), and it's about 24.5 inches long, 8.5 inches wide, and 12 inches deep. It sounds like my tank would be a good size for 2 axolotls, going by the 10 gallon per axie rule. And on the plus side, I've got permission from my apartment complex to eventually get a fish tank set up (they know it'd be for axolotls lol), so that's the best part! I do think no matter what I do, I'll end up upgrading to something huge when I have my own house.

When you say a change of season, do you mean like literal spring to summer to fall to winter or is this a different season? Do you know if it's common for people to want to swap axies on reputable sites like this? I do kind of really want to start with a pair of juveniles so I can watch them grow, and I'm not sure of being able to find a breeder willing to sell and ship them once they're older and confirmed the genders. I also have my heart sold on at least one of them being a melanoid so I can name them Killian. It feels like if I go for a pair though, I should prepare to have a 10 gallon at the ready to separate them temporarily if they're opposite sexes. How long does it usually take for Claptrap to stop laying spermatophores typically?

Wow, you've definitely left me with something to ruminate on. Luckily this isn't something I'm just jumping into without researching first, so I have plenty of time to decide what I'd like to do. Thank you!

The tank sounds pretty good to me. When you said "wide" did you mean the height? If you multiply the height, the width and the depth in centimetres and then divide by 1000 (HxWxD / 1000) you get how many litres it is. With gallons you multiply the height, width and depth and multiply by 0.00433 (Please someone correct me if I' wrong) But those measurements (if the width was the height) add up to only a 10 gallon tank. There are volume calculators for aquariums all over the internet though just type "how to tell how many gallons a fish tank is.

That's exactly what I mean. I separate when there is going to be a huge temperature difference (only time in my life I've not just looked out the window to tell the weather) Claptrap usually lays his spermatophores in spring to summer, then again in autumn to winter. As soon as I see one, I siphon it out with a thick pipe, pop him in his separate tank and wait for him to stop laying. He generally lays bunches 3-4 times during the season change, about a week apart each time. It's not overly predictable though, so Lonestar does end up laying eggs around once to twice a year. She does weirdly like to eat them whilst she's laying though, which is kinda creepy. You've gotta be prepared to offer more food when they're done laying eggs too as it really takes it out of them. But Lonestar is a piggy...

I'm lucky I think because Britain is so small compared to the states. There are breeders all over where I live. Perhaps get two juveniles, or look into breeders in your area. Look around the forums here too to see if there are any around your area. Mine are both Golden Albino, I really wish I'd picked up a Melanoid though,(Claptrap had a bunch of Melanoid siblings, but I fell in love with him) they look like Toothless without wings! Breeding between colours is fun though too, It's interesting to watch what you'll get. I always get about mostly Golden Albino eggs, but sometimes I get a couple White Albino juveniles too.

In my area there are lots of people who will swap the opposite gender, it's usually people who've had the same thing happen (bought juveniles and got surprised when one turned out to be male) and can't deal with breeding. If you're not interested in breeding, it would be best to get two adults with confirmed genders.

Weird. No, it's definitely a 20 gallon tank, just longer than it is tall. It's like if you stuck two 10 gallons side by side and removed the glass separating them. Used to host a red eared slider until I talked my mom into getting a 40 gallon for Toby (can't convince her to improves his quality of life in other ways though :T ).

It looks similar to this:


And if I remember right, it's from ZooMed's turtle habitat starter kit, which we only carry in a 20 gal version. I'll double check though. I definitely have permission from the complex for 20 gallons and I want to take advantage of that the best I can. Plus I'm taking my time while my kitten grows to adulthood, so I have plenty of time to think things through.

(Edited in later) The dimensions I pulled off the net for the tank are 30 by 13 by 13. I went and measured my snake's tank again and I mismeasured. Whoops.

Maybe Lonestar eats her eggs while laying them because she is a piggy! Your axies sound so cute and have such interesting personalities. I'm probably going to lean towards finding a pair of sexed adults. I found the want to buy section here, and I'm going to keep an eye out to see if there's any breeders within a couple hours of me who'd be willing to help. Once I get my own place (years down the line unfortunately) I'll be able to get some juveniles then.

Thanks again!

Yup, those measurements do make a 20 gallon, it looks absolutely perfect for them because there's lots of floor space! 13x13x30x0.00433=21.9531, so the extra gallon from that equation will be compensating for the glass width and water height.

Yes, Lonestar is definitely a piggy... they have great personalities, she will come hang out and stare at me, she puts her front feet on the glass when I put my face there (she probably wants to eat me), but not with anyone else. Claptrap will hide from strangers too, but he seems to be enamoured with my partner, he will swim right up to the glass and stare at him! They are definitely more entertaining then my fish, the silly critters

You're very welcome, I wish you all the best in finding some lovely Axi's.