Please help the pet store told me all the wrong things to do !!!

I have a tropical tank. The pet store told it would be fine for an axolotl (Cracker) Thats his name. I have power heads, gravel, and a heater Thats stays about 75-80. I know now that all this is WRONG. All his gills are nubs. He was with clown loach, ghost knife, guppies and neons. Dosent look like fungus. I took him out have him in another tank nothing on the bottom with some live plants floating . I need to know the truth about how to care for him and make him better. I also need to know what to feed him they told me to feed him frozen brine shrimp. Just let them thaw throw them in. What kind of filter, and sand. How big of a tank . Guess I need to know every thing. Ive hand him about four months in a tropical tank. Some one please help me I feel so bad for him.

Hi, I just checked on cracker he poo 3 pebbles so I gave him some food he wont eat now . Iam really getting worried

Hi Karrie, welcome to the site, are you able to post a photo of him?

Following is some information to help you out:
Tank size: 60cm long x 30cm long (for 1 axie) minimum. If you intend getting another axie (they kinda grow on you and one is never enuf once you get the hang of it!), 85cm/90cm long x 30cm long. Bearing in mind they can grow to 30cm by the time they reach adulthood, axies are better in longer (floor space) tanks rather than higher.

Temp: they prefer cooler temps than that, as heat can stress them and fungus can develop. Axies will survive in as low as 42 deg F(5 deg cel), but between 60-65 deg F is a good temp to keep them at. Above 71 deg F you will have to cool the tank (fan blowing across surface is one method which can help).

The fish probably nibbled at his gills, which is why the best companions for axies are either other axies, of same size, or no companions. Keep an eye on him tho, just in case he looks sick or starts developing fungus.

Filter: use one that doesn't have a strong current flow, or one that can be turned down or divert the current somehow so it isn't as strong (ie if you have a spraybar on it direct it towards the back of the tank so the water hits the glass b4 going into the water)

Substrate: none, sand (pool filter or playsand- thnk you can get them from Walmart) or large pieces of slate/rock as they are easier to clean and the gravel won't block them, in turn causing more probs. Since he has been on gravel, and now is not, you may find he will poo out gravel until it clears his system (this can take up to 7-8months depending on how much he swallowed to get rid of it all).

Food: Best staple earthworms (think you call them wrigglers?).

Read the following: www.axolotl.org

Did you cycle your tank? http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

(Message edited by kapo on September 21, 2006)

(Message edited by kapo on September 21, 2006)

Yes the tank he was in was cycled it is 110 gallon up for about eight months. I took some of that water and put it in the tank hes in now. Are the plants ok in the tank for now. If you have any more ideas please let me know I feel like a really bad axie mom right now. Would a water fall filter work?

the plants are fine in the tank ( we keep plastic floating ones in ours, as sometimes one of ours will float up and float under them). Do you have a cave/hidey hole? You can use a terracotta pot, pvc tubing or aquarium deco!

Some people use waterfall ones, but they put something beneath the flow so it doesn't splash as much (you could try tying plants or something round the outlet so it falls softer).

Invest in a turkey baster they are great for spotcleaning, uneaten food or waste. Our 3yr olds had swallowed loads of gravel, previous owners had on gravel, but hopefully they have finally got rid of it from their systems! Check out the gallery part of forum and you can get some great ideas for setup too!

You can also feed them live crickets (I've never managed to tho), strips of raw beef heart/liver (cut off fatty bits) and really occasionally as opposed to staple, pellets; and some feed frozen bloodworm cubes. If he is between 10-15 cm feed daily, over 15cm every 2nd day, over 20cm every 3rd day. Below 10cm, twice a day.

(Message edited by kapo on September 21, 2006)

Ok I will go out and try to find some heart or liver I will also try and post a photo tonight. Oh one more question what about the intake on the filter do you think he would he sucked up in it Thanks again

If you're worried about the filter, use some plain white cotton and tie some soft filter foam round the intake.

I feed my axolotl frozen cubes of bloodworm or brineshrimp - much less fatty than heart or liver.

Sorry camera was dead will try to do the photo soon. Found frozen beef heart at another pet store. He really likes it you sat its really fatty but he is really skinny, will fat make him gain weight or will it mess up his tummy? Iam just happy he eat some thing

Try earthworms too. I bet he'll gobble them right up. I buy mine in walmart, but any local bait shop or hunting type store should have them.

He is about 4 inches or 12 cm. How much should I be feeding him can I just let him eat all he wants right now. I have had him for 4 months now if Iam thinking right he is really small hasent grown much sence i have had him. Will he even be able to get to full size or has this messed him so bad that he will sickley for the rest of his life?

It's impossible to say exactly how much to feed him. If he's skinny, I would say feed him once per day, as much as he'll eat without barfing. Remove all uneaten food promptly (important!).

I would say do not rely on heart/liver as a staple food long-term. Dig or buy some earthworms. We can tell you where to order good quality pellets that an axie will accept, and those are another good staple.

A waterfall filter is OK, except that it's often necessary to somehow break or disperse the outflow so that it does not create any current in the tank. He will not be sucked up by it, unless he's very small or very weak.

(Message edited by jennewt on September 22, 2006)

I got some pellets on the way. The filter I have a big rock and some plants under it to break the current. The intake I took off and put a pice the hose from my gravel vacuum on and covered it with really big pebbles so he wouldnt get sucked up. What about blood worms and brine shrimp frozen? Thanks for taking the time to help me.

If it helps, find a store that sells good fishing bait.
They will often stock VERY high quality worms, such as red tigers.
These make fantastic 'lotl worms.

Also, try waxworms.

Frozen food is fine, as I was saying - however, you may have issues encouraging him/her to eat it if they've been eating wiggly live things.

That's why my 'Lotl eats cubes, pellets, meats and baits - you get greater variety, less mess and less risk of parasites and contaminants.
And you can get anyone to feed him/her then - lots of people don't like handling worms.
Me, I just felt too guilty, as well as the convenience/variety thing - I think earthworms are cute.

Hope that helps!

Actually, Jennewt - where can I order a good grade of 'Lotl pellet in the UK - I'm having trouble with this.

At the moment, Spyyk is having soft bait pellets as treats, but I'd prefer her to have proper axie food.

And it IS possible to get your 'Lotl to convert to frozen/dead, it just takes time and bribes.

(Message edited by indigobluefish on September 22, 2006)

Ok Cracker pood 4 pebbles today ( I never thought I would be happy over some thing like that) he also ate more. I put some duckweed in his tank also enough to cover the top of the tank so he can have lots of shade. My question is he is floating around the top with his back next to the duckweed. He can swim down when he wants. He looks like hes at pice when hes doing this. Is this normal?

One more thing whats left of his gills look alot pinker today how long will it to grow them back?

He's probably floating around with a mouthful of air - with his gills so short, I'm not surprised he's taken to manual breathing.
This is pretty normal.
Spyyk likes to "drift" occassionally, and there's nothing wrong with her gills - she just likes to be carried about by my filter.

It's not wise to completely cover the top of the tank with duckweed - it stops oxygen getting in, and absorbs oxygen from the water overnight.

Use just a quarter.
If it helps, get some airline sucker clips, a loose bit of airline, and create a "lassoo" to keep the duckweed in one area.

As for gill growth, it depends on the age and the axie.
For his size, I'd say with good feeding you should see some definite improvements in less than two weeks.

Mine also like to float beneath the plants occasionally.

Two of our 3yr olds gills were damaged so they only had gill stubs. We've had them since Jan and their stubs have improved in appearance but they only have the tiniest little gills, a bit like stubble, which have managed to grow out; so I'm assuming thats as far as ours will grow. Yours is much younger by the sounds of things (I'm basing on size), so you might find Cracker's gill improves alot faster than our ones did.

Hes starting to eat alot more, brine shrimp beef heart blood worms. Ant tips on how to give him the food. Right now iam just dropping it in the water. Going back and picking up with a turkey baster. Great idea. Iam aslo having a problem keeping the cooled down. Still trying to photo up problem with the camera. I cant waight tell he looks big and healthy like the rest of yours.

Karrie, you can get a small dish and put thawed food in that. It keeps it more in one general area. It doesn't work quite as well with live food.

Some tricks to keep the tank cool: Use a screen lid instead of a hood. Put a small fan over the tank so it is blowing on the water (this increases evaporation, so you will have to add water regularly). Put the tank in a cool room (north-facing rooms are usually cooler than south). Put the tank on the floor. Ice packs can be used to cool the water, but you need to be sure to cycle them regularly, or you'll have large fluctuations in water temperature, which is more stressful than a higher than ideal temp.