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Question: Is housing new axolotls together a bad idea?

kumamon

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Hi, me again.

I was wondering if its a bad idea to 'move in' a new axolotl with the little guy I already own.:eek:

The axolotl I currently own is named Axle and is about one year old, male and very friendly. I understand that axolotls do not need tank mates but I am interested in owning another one and was wondering if it is possible or too risky.

Axle has a 35 gallon tank that is two foot long and about one foot in width (I can get exact measurements if needed), is this able to house two male axolotls?

Is there a possibility that Axle could become aggressive if a new tank mate is introduced (Being that the other axie is not aggressive)?

If getting a new tank mate for Axle is possible, how would I go about introducing them and making sure they are compatible together??

Is there any important information I may have missed?

I know that you should introduced roughly the same sized axolotls together. I would not want to introduce axolotls together if their environment is not subtitle and would never want to put animals in danger for no reason without knowing everything before hand.

Thank you for your help and suggestions,

Chloe (Kumamon)
 

PixelPillager

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Hello!

With your tank, you should be able to happily house two male axolotls. Based on personal experience, I would suggest that you have some hides on either sides of the tank and to make sure you monitor them through the transition. Also, make sure the axolotl you are introducing is close to the same size as your current axolotl. Make sure they both eat.

Typically wild types and males are more aggressive and territorial than mutant types and females, so monitor them to make sure they don't attack each other. More information can be found under the housing and requirements tabs on axolotl.org.

I had a bad experience, that I take full responsibility for, with two axolotls housed together due to ignorance and negligence. I got two really young axolotls (They were probably 1-1.5 in at the time), and placed them together in a 20 gallon long tank with one homemade hide, a couple of plants, and some rocks. They were fine together for about 6 months, until one started becoming really territorial of food and of the hide. I noticed this and (mistake 1) did nothing. [I could have separated them, made a second hide, and/or hand fed them to make sure they were both eating]. A week or two later, I went on vacation. During this vacation, the pet sitter noticed the territorial one take a chunk out of the other's tail. When I got back, I took the weak one out of the tank and placed her into a temporary glass bowl. I made sure she ate, assessed the damage, Googled it (which didn't provide much help), and (mistake 2) put her back. [I could have separated them while my sister drove down to the pet store and got a tank separator and/or made her a hide of her own.] Nothing happened for another couple of weeks and I had school, so I didn't worry too much about it. After around three weeks, the territorial one took off one of her back legs. At this point, I decided to take action and basically trap the territorial one in the hide with rocks placed over the only entrance to keep him from escaping, and only opened it to feed him and to clean it out. (Mistake 3) I did nothing further. [I could have gotten a tank divider]. Eventually, the territorial one pushed his way through the rocks and killed the other one. Now, as long as you do not make any of the mistakes I make and you get help as soon as you see something up, you should have no issue with housing your axolotls.

Hoped this helped,
PixelPillager

P.S. Sorry for the long paragraph
 
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