Cycling,food etc

Hello there, im just trying to understand the cycling process, ive read some threads and stuff, and grasp that ph, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate need to be tested for, right? I havent got these kits yet...hafta wait til i get some money and can get to the shop. is it vital to test for these? i know it probably is. just wondered as well what it is ive been reading about doing water changes....what u change the water with? wouldnt be straight out of the tap would it...
i probably seem rather simple now!

while im asking just remembered i wanted to know about food. the guy in the shop sold me some frozen bloodworms which they seem to be enjoying, but ive seen a few threads on here about other things like earthworms and such, just wondered how big/small these have to be for them...if they have to be cleaned somehow...live or in bits or what!

ok well i think thats all my questions for now

Hi Clare. Good to know you're trying to learn this stuff.

For people who haven't kept tanks, and are new at the hobby, yes, these tests are pretty much essential. You understand that you need to cycle a tank before putting an axolotl in it?

I recommend getting the more expensive dry-tab kits, or if they're too pricy, test kits with liquid drops. Stay away from the 'strips', these expire quickly and do not give accurate readings.

Water changes need to be done with dechlorinated water (if you live in a metro area, you surely have chlorinated water. If you have well water, then it is probably un-chlorinated). To get tap water dechlorinated, you need to go to the shop and purchase some drops (Stress-Coat, AmQuel, ACE, etc, there are tons of these).

While cycling, and in general, I think you should stay away from the Ammo-Lock dechlorinator. This will give you false readings on your test kits, and can otherwise mess with cycling.

Food: Frozen bloodworms are good. I feed mainly earthworms. My adults get about a 3 inch piece of worm 2x a week. I rinse them off in clean water, but otherwise don't 'clean' them or squeeze out the poo. You can chop earthworms and feed bits to the smaller axolotls. Live earthworms (even after being chopped!) will live in the fridge for weeks. Depending on the size of your axolotl (and your patience), you can also try crickets, waxworms, mosquito larvae, practically anything soft-bodied, and the occasional decapitated mealworm (they have strong jaws which could be dangerous).

No, i didnt know before i got them that i needed to cycle the tank. id tried to find out about them before i got them, but had no look finding anything on the internet, and then when i went in and got them the shop owner said he'd spelt their name wrong. so its only since getting them that ive found all this out, and im trying to play catch up now unfortunately! i do try to be a good owner to all my animals, so im just hoping i havent done owt too wrong!

ill have a look in the shop for the dechlorinators, and my boyfriend is letting me borrow his test kits now and again in order to check the water until i can get my own kits.

just checked with the liquid drops kit and all seems to be ok, ph was about 7.4, and ammonia, nitrites and nitrates all looked to be at about 0ppm.

thanks for your help

just thought id write about what i have done so far. ive got sand on the floor, and lots of fake plants and a hollow log for my 2 axies to hide in. im going to get some live plants soon as well.

as i said, im going to be borrowing my boyfriends test kits, so thats that sorted.

im going to be getting a thermometer as soon as i can, its cold weather at the moment so i dont think theyll the wrong temp anyway but better to be safe!

ive got a filter that was in a tank before mine so its not brand new, its been set up and going. im also going to be getting an air stone/stick because i gather this would be a plus?

and now ive got dechlorinator on my shopping list! i read on here that i should be doing a 30% water change daily, is that correct? seems alot!

The 30% daily water change is if you keep axies in the tank while it is cycling, which usually takes about 3/4 weeks. If you had no axies in the tank you would not need to do a waterchange till it after it is cycled. When the tank is cycled your readings will be ammonia 0, nitrites 0, and nitrates ideally about 20 or 40ppm. Good that you can borrow a test kit, but prob need to test every few days while it is cycling (some people test every day)

(Message edited by kapo on February 27, 2006)

right ok, thankyou for the advice

youd be seeing readings of 0 because the tank hasnt started the cycle yet. good that your using an established filter as that will kick start the cycle. airstones are not essential and normally only used on tanks with no filter or for decoration.

sounds like your getting on the right track super quick! well done and youll be up and running in no time!

ok then i wont put the airstone in then, thats fine got an in water thermometer today and the temperature is fine. also got some bio booster, dechlorinator and myxazin. so now i can get on with my water changes if im seeing reading of 0 because it hasnt started the cycle, does that mean the readings will go up?

yes, your ammonia and nitrite will peak and then drop off to nothing. nitrates will slowly build up over time so once youre ready to put your axie in do a nice big 50% water change to get them down and its all go!