MY GIRLFRIEND BOUGHT ME AN AXIE!

I've been getting my tank all set up for a little more than 2 weeks, and I've been waiting on my axie to come to her work forever. But, I guess she knew I really REALLy wanted it now!! lol, and so she went to another pet store and ordered one for me (because they can get them faster) and cancelled the one at her work without telling me last week. So she told me to come over to her house and when I did she showed me him and he's a golden albino (just what I wanted). So, before I put him in I checked the water levels and everything with the expensive water testing kit at her work and everything was good so I went ahead and put him in!

Oh and by the way since I don't much about axie behavior, I am assuming it is normal for them to be very docile the first couple days in their new home. Are they normally pretty docile?

Axies are nocturnal so usually don't do much during the day. Is your tank cycled yet? I know you've posted on this before but I can't recall. If not, you will need to do partial water changes every day. (I think). Remeber to post a pic of your axolotl, if you can

Anne-Marie - no, you should not do partial water changes on a tank that is not cycled

One should remove all the animals from the tank and let the tank finish cycling.


Grant - Congrats on the new axolotl. You didn't put it in the aquarium did you?

(Message edited by cynorita on May 18, 2005)

Hmm, I thought the partial water change thing if a tank was not cycled was to allow the tank to cycle while an axie was in it, without compromising water quality too much?? It's not ideal but I'm sure I read it somewhere....

I kept it in a seperate container and took a good sized sample of my water to my girlfriends pet store to be checked. Everything came up cool and they said it had been cycled because the way I did it I guess it should only take a little over a week and I did it for over 2 weeks. What I did was I filled the tank and added in the ammo lock, then I let the tank filter for a day, then added in some frozen brine shrimp for 2 days (added bacteria) then let the tank cycle for the rest of the time. And all the nitrates and nitrites were cool and there was no chlorine or any other chemicals, and the ammonia was at a good level for him. (the guy that did it has been selling fish and other aquatic animals forever and has like a million aquariums of his own.) So then I put him in the tank and he has been good and he ate an earthworm first thing when I put it in front of him (just a piece cut off of an earthworm.) He is about 4inches long right now, and I will get pictures up as soon as my camera is charged lol.

Grant, I hope so but I'm really reluctant to say that your tank is cycled. One, the ammo lock will get rid of the first step needed in tank cycling - ammonia. AFter that,nitrite and nitrate may well be absent. I might be wrong. But please bear this in mind if your axy has any sort of problem. I hope not.

And, one other thing. When I first got axolotls I didn't do anything right - and they still made it. . They are pretty hardy little critters.

You want NO ammonia, and NO nitrites. If you have ammonia present, your tank is NOT cycled. You can do partial water changes on a not-cycled tank. It will cycle eventually, but this method usually takes months (mine took almost 3 months). However, it would be better to put the axolotl into a temporary tank and change 20 or 30% of the water daily in the holding tank while the big tank cycles.

Yea my tank has no nitrates and nitrites and ammonia, the guys told me to do the ammo lock thing because it doesnt get rid of the ammonia just makes it harmless and it then I add in the frozen brine shrimp to add a quick source of bacteria/ammonia that will quickly filter in the tank causing the spike then it will disipate a few days later. So far he is very lively and running around all over the bottom, eating well, and swimming around. He is a lot more active than he was in the pet store. Only he seems to not care to much for the frozen food, but loves earthworms. I will however do the partial water changes everyday if you think I should, or will that harm my tank if it is already cycled. But the guy that does this is a friend and he has about 10 aquariums of his own and he says this is what he always does, and he said it always works fine for him.

Oh and my "big tank" is only a 10 gallon that he is currently in. So it's not a huge tank. I might put him into a larger tank when hes older, I have other tanks but not to much room in my house right now.

ugh.. dang I gotta change out tanks today... I cleaned that 40 and then left it outside and now its fouled again.. found a cactus wren in it eating the moths that fell into it after crashing into the lightbulb above it last night... :::sigh:::

Grant, you have the axolotl in the tank that's currently cycling? If so, you need to change the water often, or you'll have a buildup of toxic chemicals. You should cycle the tank without the animal in it, as it's faster and less stressful on the axolotl.

Once the tank is cycled, you need to change 10-20% of the water on a weekly basis.

Well I've been told that my tank is done cycling by a few people that raise fish and other aquatic animals, but now I'm not to sure because some of the axie people are saying I should do it differently. So I will change 20% everyday anyways just to be sure. Should I just put in straight tap water then?

You should add in dechlorinator to tap water, as, depending on your locale, it contains chlorine, chloramine or both. Chlorine/chloramine has been proven to be hazardous to amphibians. Both Exo-Terra and ZooMeds make dechlorinators that are used by the members of this forum with success. (As of late, I've been using ZooMeds' "Repti-Safe" for all of my animals, but I've also used the Exo-Terra brand with the same outcome.) Both products can be found at your local pet store, as well as major chain pet stores.

If you are new to axolotls, I would definitely check out: http://axolotl.org
A lot of your questions can be answered there. Or, you can use the Search function on the forum as well to see if any of your questions have been asked before.

(Message edited by dot on May 19, 2005)

Yea, I've printed out like everything on that site and read it lol. And yea I have dechlorinator, I am new to axies but I have had and have a lot of other animals including amphibians. Well thanks everyone, I will continue to do the 20% water change everyday. Also, my axie has been doing great! He seems to get more and more active every day. He is currently swimming around his tank and try to escape lol (he goes in a corner and tries to swim through lol, but then gets frustrated and swims the other way lol).

Grant - I am happy that your axolotl is so active and that you are enjoying it

But I would like to say...

On May 15 you asked us what kind of water to put in your tank. So it sounded like it was empty at that time.

On May 16 you said you put ammo lock in the tank.

Now on May 18 you have put the axolotl in the tank.

I am only going by what I have read, so please bare with me.

Your friends were incorrect in telling you your tank was cycled in 3 - 7 days. Yes I have seen people put fish in brand new uncycled tanks and some of the fish have lived. Just because some of them can live through the torture of being put in an uncycled tank does not make it the correct way to cycle a tank.

Axolotls are not fish and when your tank goes though the ammonia and nitrite cycle it is going to burn your axolotls gills and skin. There are many posts in the forums from people putting their axolotls into uncycled tanks and then asking for help with their axolotl when its gills curled, shrunk, disappeared, and the axolotl was not acting well.

I know you are trying to do right by your axolotl and I commend you for that. I want your axolotl to be happy and healthy or I would not take the time to type this out on my lunch break, so please do not misunderstand why I am saying this.

Your axolotl would be better off if you would move it to a different container that you can change all of its water in every day while you let your tank cycle. Tank cycling can not be cut short by adding ammo lock and changing part of the water each day. It needs at least 30 days of time to cycle properly with no water changes and no ammo lock.

The only way you know your tank has cycled is you have tested and watched the ammonia reading spike (which takes about a week on its own) and then the nitrite reading spike and then the nitrate reading spike. Once a spike has occurred the ammonia will start to go down, then the nitrite then the nitrate. The tank is not safe until ammonia and nitrite are back to zero and the nitrate reading is low.

Even after the tank has cycled you need to keep a close eye on the readings as there may not be enough bacteria established in the tank to take care of the waste from the axolotl.

Once the tank has cycled you start your 20% water changes on a weekly basis or more frequently as ammonia and nitrite readings indicate.

Yea I already had the tank filled before I joined this forum. I put the ammo lock in a couple days before. I was asking the questions on the forum to see what I should do, to see if what I did was correct. I was told some of it was and some of it wasn't. I had got the tank about a month ago because there was a big sell at my girlfriends work. I have let it cycle for two weeks and I have been doing 20% water changes every day. I have also been checking the ammonia, chlorine/chloramine, everyday, and I have taken it to my girlfriends work to get it tested with this big test kit that tests everything. I am going on Friday to get it tested there again. But the way things are right now it has been staying just about the same and he is doing good and no ammonia or nitrate spikes or anything have occurred. If anything unusual happens I will put him in another tank, but at the moment I don't have any small holder tanks, so I would have to go buy one, which I am willing to do if anything strange happens in the water. Also, the tank he is in right now is only a ten gallon tank as well. Just a side note, the guy that told me what to do has lots of aquatic animals including fish, newts, and he breeds tiger sals which from my understanding are the closest relatives to Axolotls while they are water dogs (larval stage). I'm not sure if what I know is right I am just saying that the water has been going good. But, if anything in the water changes I will be sure to take him out right away.

I think you guys are analyzing this thing to death. How big is the axolotl? If it is a juvenile in a ten gallon tank you should be able to set up the tank with dechlorinated water and plop the axolotl in. If the tank is not properly cycled the axolotl waste will help it cycle. If the axolotl is an adult that's a different story. 1 small axolotl should not spike the ammonia to high.
I set up a 16 gallon tank two days ago for 6 Pipa parva. I'm using an aquaclear filter with the ceramic biomedia added. I realize the tank won't cycle for a couple weeks but just plopped the frogs in today. Things will cloud up a little but the ammonia shouldn't spike to high. If you have a large enough tank for the animals you can cycle or balance it with the animals in.

Grant, if this guy is telling you that he's breeding tiger salamanders, he's lying through his teeth. As far as I know, there have been no truly captive bred tigers. They just don't breed in captivity.

I've seen plenty of captive bred Tiger Salamanders before Joan. They aren't all that hard to breed.