Axolotls - Lighting and Spawning

I have a 17.5cm (i.e. 7") golden albino male axolotl. I am hoping to breed him within the next year or so, preferably to another golden albino female.

Having read about adjusting the light period to induce spawning, but also having read about how sensitive axolotls are to light (particularly albinos), I'm not sure what to do.

I have heard of the technique for maintaining the pair together in a tank for a year, but in Australia the seasons are altogether not that different from each other.

To adjust the light period, would using an overhead tank light and an electronic timer do the trick, or would the light be too bright? I can't think of any other way to control the amount of light he gets - the curtains in his room don't shut out all of the light.

If I used the overhead tank light and timer idea, would floating plants on the surface of the tank to diffuse the light and help his poor eyes defeat the purpose of the entire lighting technique? He has a barrel in his tank to hide in, but it doesn't shut out all of the light.

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions everyone!

axies seem to breed no matter what you do. lately the question is how to get them to STOP breeding, not start.

best of luck
Kaysie

I use an overhead tank light with my axies and they don't seem to mind it,I just make sure I never turn it on if the room is really dark,turn on a lamp close by first so it won't shock them. I had a large golden female and a black male that I couldn't get to breed no matter what I did,finally I separated them for a couple of weeks and kept the males water as cool as I could.When I put them back together I had an attempted spawning but the female never laid.Good luck with yours

I just think it's fun to play with it all, and see what works and what doesn't.

What size tanks have people been using to spawn axolotls in?

By all means, play with it. I like to use a tank that is 92cmx45cmx30cm for spawning. Floating plants on the top to screen the light is a fine idea. I don't think it will defeat the purpose at all. Personally I'm not sure that lighting does much, I'm a big fan of the moving them to a new tank approach myself.

I am in Aust too ( Brisbane ) and have tried artificial lighting ( mainly to get them to breed out of season or to extend the breeding season ) but found it made little difference. I would suggest you try it in conjunction with the other things that induce them to breed (increase their feeding, temperature etc ) rather than on it's own. I'm not sure of the difference between flourescent and normal lights. The tank size listed above is about the same as i use.
Andrew