My first axy

Hello everyone,
I purchased a golden albino axy called "divo".
not sure wether boy or girl, young one, 16cm long.
Ill call her a girl for now, I didnt age tank however tests at the petshop show excellent water.
I used amrite down, rainwater 50% tap water 50% with conditioner in it.
tank is 2 foot and water is 16cm deep.
I have a terracotta plant pot in it and i thought i would feed her so that food drops into cave.
i would like to try her on worms from my organic garden. she's used to AXY pellets and when i put a worm in front of her she ignored it. possibly because she was frightened in new place.
She happily eats pellets. I went into pet shop today and her little mate looked very stressed with fins forward, i think he/she misses her mate should I get her too.???
Im 43 and this is the first chat/thread ive ever posted on any subject. I love reading all the threads. are axys active or do they rest a lot??

theyre not social animals really so they dont need a mate, at 2 foot they would be a wee bit cramped when they got bigger. young ones tend to be more active but around 20cm they slow down a bit.

did you cycle your tank? youd have good water if its fresh in the tank, bacteria havent started up yet but you'll get ammonia spikes soon and they can be fatal. water changes are musts for the next month or so 20% every day or 2 will be best. theres a article in caudata culture on cycling (or just search 'cycling')

rainwater will be very soft, axies prefer harder water. do you know what the ph is?

do you have tests kits for ammonia, nirtrite, nitrate and ph? water temp?

do you have sand or gravel for substrate?

shell be settling in, dont worry about her not eating for the next few days and compost worms can have a bad smell/taste, mine wont eat them lol. if it is new she will just need time to adjust to it though.

have a read of www.axolotl.org has a heap of good info for starters and anything else you might want to know we can help ya on! sorry about all the questions too and welcome to our lovely community!

Thankyou Sharn. No sorry I didnt cycle it but i have plenty of time to devote to her. Ill do what you suggest. once/twice daily. The pet shop girls did a ph and amm and nitrate test. They didnt give me the #s but the colours looked great apparently. I really have a lot to learn. Im a pensioner mum with MS so im trying to get the best setup that I can afford.
I do however have small pebbles and river rocks, but im going to go out and get some sand tomorrow . The pellets are the same size as the pebbles which can't be good.
I have a clamped airstone under a 1/2 plant pot cave and I had a corner filter in but it created alot of movement and noise so I pulled it out and she improved out of sight. I also noticed the airpump for stone was sitting on hallstand next to tank and making the base vibrate. Very uncomfortable!!so I moved it 6ft away onto floor and she went from being deadlike to very alive in under a minute!!
The temp is 21 at present, but with the cool nights it is usually around 18 in the morning.
I was going to have earthworms so she could handfeed, but ill try all sorts of suitable food.
Thankyou for replying, I love this community. Ill be staying up late again tonight reading the hints from everyone. absolutely fabulous. Helen

SORRY EVERYONE, I MEANT "AXIE" NOT AXY, HELEN

Hi Helen, welcome to this forum! A very informative bunch when you need help, have concerns, unsure or are worried about your axie. And I tend to use axie while others use axy. So either/or Don't think it matters too much! Enjoy!

(Message edited by kapo on March 18, 2006)

i bought some white sand from pet store and boiled it. Divo leaves cute little footprints,
I purchased a ph kit too, im water changing 20% each day.
I caught 4 baby shrimp today and they are hiding in her cave. Divo is very happy so far. I still think she misses her mate as she looks at her reflection on side of tank and climbs up on her tippytoes. How long will she grow??.

they normally get around 30cm but most of mine are around the 25cm mark at 2-3 years old (they can live approx 10-15 years!!)

yip, when your cycling you want to do around 20% every day or so depending on your levels. water doesnt hold much benefical bacteria so as long as you leave the bottom and filters alone it shouldnt take much longer than a normal tank as long as you use dechlorinated water (chlorine kills your good bacteria you want).

shrimp area great axie food as long as theyre parasite free, well done!

Thankyou Sharn,
Ive changed her name to Petal, ill post a photo of her and her home soon. She had her first little worm today, she snapped it so fast out from my fingers, the worm wriggled 1/2 way out then she sucked him in again,Im not sure i can do this too often to the poor little blighters.
I might try meat( beef heart).
I am so in love with petal and would love to be able to take her out and give her a big kiss on the cheek!! Ive had 3 late 1.30am nights reading this wonderful site. it's like a good book which you cant put down no matter how tired you are.
Lucky i dont work 9-5!! Sharn your'e an angel, never clip your wings!!
Helen

Hi Helen, I know sometimes I am up late catching up reading on this site too!

I can quite easily feed a whole worm to our axies but not a chopped up one! I setup a wee worm farm in a 2l icecream tub that the kids look after for days when I can't be bothered going to the compost or garden ! So the kids now know the difference between worm eggs and baby worms and other compo insects they are quite fascinated. And most of all love feeding the axies with their baby worms!

We occasionally feed oxheart or liver sliced into worm slivers. And pellets, but only a few of ours like them. Ours are mainly worm diet anyway.

Hi Helen,
Welcome!! I can see how you've spent so many nights up late with this forum... It is definitely one of the best places to go for Axie Info!!
I know what you mean with the live food option too... I dont quite have the heart to do it... have you thought about feeding Petal frozen blood worms? I have had a few Axies now and they all seem to like being hand fed with those... The only thing to watch with them is if Petal doesn't eat them quickly enough they defrost and might make a bit of a mess in the tank.
I see you like cats too... Definitely one of my favourite things... I have 5 cats but only one Axie at the moment!! I have found that the cats quite like watching the very appropriately 'mouse' the axie as he swims about the tank

Well this morning petal was waiting for another tiny worm. She loves them. I like the interaction that we have thru feeding. Petal is trying to get the shrimp out from under the corner filter, she doesnt get bored.

Welcome Helen!Yes,this forum is amazing! I think my darling Axelina would maybe not even be alive without the help of this forum/knowleble kind axie people! I often give kisses to Axelina through the glass of the tank, as it's not possible to pick her up and kiss her! And I call her my baby girl, so I know how you feel!

Hi Helen!
Welcome to the forum, I know exactly how you feel about your axie... i love my little babies 2. I also would not have been able to set my new tank up without the help from many axie lovers in the forum. Someone/or many people are always kind enough to help.
So Welcome Again!!

Thanks Sherri and Samantha,
Yep Petal is my sweet little girl, I dont find her to be the least bit ugly, in fact they are beautiful creatures with their feathery gills and sweet little mouths.
I have tried her on shredded beef heart as opposed to the worms as today I found worm skins in the sand that she hadnt digested.
I use a turkey baister to suck up the waste.
Ive taken 2 large 1" snails out as they pooped all over the place. The PH is looking too low so Ill need to up it quickly. Ill have a look on the forum to find out how to do this.
Any suggestions??

Hey Helen welcome!
Its really good to see another person that shares the same love as all of us Our axies

Sea shells will generally assist in rasing ph.

Im really interested in seeing your axie too
Post us some pics if you can

Hi again everyone, well ive got my camera back and here she is, i changed my profile pic.
Petal is doing very well and my tank is very healthy.
Im posting pics in the axie gallery now.
thankyou everyone for helping me get started, Petal are now on our way to a great future!!