New, not sure Im doing everything right

Hello everyone!
Before I found this website, I kept finding a lot of conflicting info, or things that just didn't make sense about axolotyls. This seems like a knowledgeable group, and I'm glad I found my way here!
I have a new little lotyl, about 5 cm. It has a 1.5 gallon plastic tank for now, where he lives by himself. Big rocks (from pet store, not sharp, and definately much too big to fit in his mouth) line the bottom. He has 2 plastic plants and a toy bridge from the pet shop that he likes to hide under, and every once in a while he sits on top of it. The tank came with a filter, but it seemed to make the water too turbulent and i was worried about his gills getting stuck in it so i took it out after about 20 minutes. I was wondering if perhaps I should only run it for about half an hour every day or 2? I think it makes more sense to just change his water often enough that he stays clean. His light is an LED that produces pretty much no heat at all (a beautiful option for anyone who has problems with lights heating the tank). He seems to be doing well. what signs should I look for to see if he is stressed in any way? What sorts of tests of the water do I need to do? How often should I change the water? He is currently eating pellets. Is it bad to suddenly change the kind of food they are given? Does he need variety of foods? I was thinking of possibly feeding him baby guppies, since they are easy to breed, and not very messy. Will baby guppies nip at his gills, or is that just adults? Brine shrimp seem like a good possibility too. Is it better to get frozen or live ones?

I will eventually move him to a bigger tank (probably a 10 gallon) but I'm waiting until I move into my new apartment. Does any one have any advice for how to most safely transport axolotyls? Ive just used tubberware for car rides before. whats the best way to introduce them to a new tank?

I will add pics when I figure out how to make them small enough to upload. Maybe later tonight. Any advice is appreciated, I know I just asked an awful lot of questions. Thanks!

The thing with large rocks is that it's hard to clean between them. When they're that small, I keep them with no substrate, just a bare bottom.

With a tank that small, it's almost impossible to cycle (we'll talk more about that later, I'm sure). I would just do water changes every day or two. I would change 50% every other day with aged water. Do you know that the water must be dechlorinated?

The light does no benefit to the axolotl, as they're nocturnal. If you like it, and it doesn't cause problems, that's fine, but the animal doesn't need it.

When they're that tiny, I think a varied diet is much more important. You can try offering live worms (little ones, such as blackworms), frozen blood worms, pellets, or small insects.

Guppies are a bad idea for many reasons. They'll nibble on gills, and produce a lot of waste. They can also introduce parasites. Brine shrimp are okay, but live are better than frozen. These die quickly in fresh water so the water needs to be changed after feeding, as they will foul the water.

Tupperware's fine for transport. That's what I use. But as an adult, the axolotl will need a tank larger than 10 gallons. A 20 gallon long is the most useful for an adult axolotl.

Have you read www.axolotl.org yet? That's a good place to start.

Water change problem..

Thanks Kaysie. I've been looking through the axo site, and it is so helpful.
I will go to the pet store and get some different foods for him tomorrow.

I am a little concerned about his water changes. After changing his water a few days ago, he seemed to immediately act funny. He kept gulping water, it looked almost like he was having an asthma attack (I don't know if thats a good analogy). It really worried me. His water is treated tap water (treated with aquasafe, a water conditioner/dechlorinator). I figured the problem may have been a difference in temperature, so today when I changed it I floated his tubber ware container (where he stays when I m changing the water) in the water so that they would be the same temperature. I let him float for about an hour, but he still seemed to be having trouble when he went in to the tank. Am I worrying over nothing? Is this normal? After a few minutes he seemed fine, but I'm worried I'm stressing him when I change the water. Perhaps this will be less of a problem once i start only doing partial water changes, but for now, his tank is so small (and his food is kind of messy). Any thoughts?

Do you waterchange using a siphon? You shouldn't need to remove him when doing the waterchange. Regarding temperature difference - try and prepare your waterchange bucket a couple of hours or even the night before and leave it in the same room as the tank to be changed so they have same room temperature.

I use a siphon when Im only changing half the water, but not when I'm changing all of it. The overnight idea seems like a good plan, thanks.