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newbie help pleeaase...

cruellove

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im getting an axolotl in 3 days time, ive done a tone of research to ensure the health and comfortability of my future gawjus little pet... and ive come up with some questions that havnt been explained to me... like...

plants - ive read in a few sites that they are ok and some of them say no... is there a special plant that i can buy that is suitable for an axolotl or should i just leave it?

do i need a dechlorinator kit or is it just safe to let the water site for 24 hours before i put my axolotl in? does this just do the same thing?

how do i properly clean the tank? they say hot water to clean everything - should this hot water be chlorinated? or does boiling the water get rid of the chlorine? where should i put my axolotl while his house is being cleaned?

should i feed my axolotl once or every 2 days? ive heard so many differnt things from different sites...

what is the most appropriate lighting for the tank? ive heard that some lights affect the temp of the water...



i know thats alot of questions - but all of your help is greatly apprieciated!! thanx heaps
 

naymo

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Hey there cruellove,

Welcome! Plants are fine in the tank its usually people preference weither people want live plants or fake. Its good to have plants in your tank as it adds a more natural touch and makes the axie feel comfortable.

You can easly obtain a water condionter or dechlorinator from your petshop which is fast and effective as you just need to add it and the water can go straight into your tank

You need to fully cycle your tank before purchasing your axie as this ensures you ammonia wont be too high and should be about 0. you can get a great amount of info about cycling here;http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

To clean the tank you usually to a waterchange, taking out about 20%-30% of the water and replacing with some fresh water (treated). This is basically like opening a window, or going out side for some fresh air. Cleaning is'nt a major issue really. Just spot cleaning with a turkey baster or syringe to suck up any uneaten food or feces. And the filter should get a rinse out every month or so.
Dont clean things with hot water as this will cull the good bacteria on them, this bacteria is good because it helps control the deadly ammonia levels.

You can feed you axolotl ever two days i feed mine everyday but not a large amount. I feed her two pellets in the morning and a pellet and a worm at night. What do you plan in feeding him/her?

You dont need any lighting on your tank. Axololts like normal light that your windows let in. Just dont put him/her in direct sunlight.
 
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cruellove

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a white one?? i thought there was just one type...
not the wild type - if thats what ur asking...
 

cruellove

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oh - and thanx heeps for the help!!....

in reply to the light... i read that axies are sensitive to the light?...
"Lighting
I don't have any specific tank lighting in the photographed tank, or any of my axolotl aquariums. The lid of the photographed tank is clear corrigated plastic. I have found axolotls to be sensitive to sudden marked changes in light level (turning a bright light on in a dark room).
Many successful axolotl enthusiasts use ordinary aquarium lighting - typically, a "hood" with a fixture for a fluorescent aquarium bulb and starter unit. Your local aquarium supply shop should be able to help you in this regard. In any case, lighting is essential for a display aquarium, and a must for an aquarium that contains live plants."

i got that from http://www.axolotl.org/housing.htm

dont get me wrong, im very thankfull for your help! its just that i read this on a well respected website...
 

cruellove

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ill send a couple of pictures of my new axie and his/her tank when i get it. im not sure if im getting a female or male... but i kno that if its a boy im gonna call him axo or a girl im gonna call her abbie... :D im excited yey
 

naymo

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Well its your choice...i have a dull lamp ove my tank for night when im on my computer.But i never have it on more than nessecary as axies are sensitive to light.
I personally wouldnt subject my axolotls to flourescent light as they naturall come from lakes..dark murky lakes.
but i wouldnt mind a moonlighting scheme.

There are many axy types.
Albino..which are white or golden..their eyes are red/pink or yellow/orange
Leucistic...which are white with blue/balck eyes usually have freckles or pigmentation on them
Melanoids...usuallly velvety black with no shiny pigments.
Wildtypes..which have varying brown colours often have shiny pigmenrts and plenty of freckley pigments.
 

cruellove

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well 1st - im getting an albino one - i rekon they r the cutest...
and maybe i should just get a dim light like you... i dunno - ill ask the person in the aquarium shop when i go to get my axie what would be the most appropriate light for my situation... kk thnx for the help! :happy:
 

kapo

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cruellove

When waterchanging/cleaning your tank the best thing to do is prepare a bucket of dechlorinated water (for your tank change) either the night before or an hour minimum before you do the waterchange. This is to ensure the water is the same room temperature and it degasses.

What substrate are you using? Sand or bare substrate is better and easier for cleaning. Gravel when ingested can cause impaction/blockage leading to many problems such as floating/stress and prolapse. Our adults after 18months, have (I hope) finally stopped pooing out gravel.

Other items you should buy before getting your axolotl are:

* Turkey baster (good for spotcleaning uneaten food/waste)
* Freshwater test kits for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate - the individual testtube variety not the all in one strips (these are needed to test your tank regularly while it is cycling - every day or every 2 days). These 3 tests are the MOST important ones needed while cycling your tank.
* Dechlorinator (has already been mentioned)
* Siphon Vacuum

Other than that, be careful what the aquarium/petshop people say. Not many of them are experienced in axolotl/amphibian care and tend to blindly recommend things/products that aren't needed (pH up or down, "cycle", an ammonia clearing product, nitrazorb etc...).

I agree John's site is well respected, which is why I always ensure impending axolotl owners are directed both to www.axolotl.org and this forum. Most caudata/axolotl members on this forum do know John's site.

As you're in Australia, when you place your tank, try and ensure you move it to a cool part of the house or room. I'm sure you're well aware of your summer temperatures there! During the summer, many aussies had problems with cooling their tanks, some resorted to putting them in the fridge, others using the cooling methods mentioned on John's site.

What size tank are you getting?

If you intend getting another axolotl later, make sure to quarantine it for 30 days before introducing it to your current resident tank.
 
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cruellove

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im going to buy largish pebbles - i already know about how they can accidently swallow them, so im going to be very carefull about what size the pebbles are... and a turkey baster? im australian, and we dont eat turkey on a regular basis, and finding one might be a bit hard and expencive cuz they're probably rare, so is there another thing thats similar??

and another thing... whats a syphon vacuum?

and im not sure exactly what size tank im getting at the moment, i was going to talk to the aquarium person when i go and get it

and also - is there somthing that i can buy to make my tank cooler? its winter at the moment, so i dont think i need to worry about it just yet.... because i think ill be a bit scared to put my axie in the fridge!
 
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kapo

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One of the vacuum gravel cleaners. Well, ours managed to ingest the glass round pebbles, so if you get any make sure they're bigger than an adult axolotls head (2.5cm+). The other problem using gravel/pebbles/river rocks is that waste builds up beneath pretty fast (undergravel filters are terrible as waste also falls beneath the plastic plate), this in turn leads to poor water quality problem, if you don't regularly test and waterchange when needed.

We don't use turkey basters either in NZ, but check out kitchen part of supermarkets/department stores. Naymo may be able to tell you where to get one from.
 

cruellove

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so do u recomend sand much more highly than large pebbles? what are, or are there any problems with using sand then?
 

kapo

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There is another alternative using gravel/pebbles or sand as permanent substrate; but you need to get aquarium silicon

Check out: http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/793/77098.html?1170154180

I have 2 bare tanks for 3 axie larvae and 1 adult female axolotl. It is very easy to keep clean, just looks rather bare, but also good for throwing their food in (live or dead) and easy to clean it out if it remains uneaten (live food can't bury itself either, so easy hunting for axie.) My sister did hers in permanent sand and permanent gravel and they look good. I would consider doing our tanks that way, but considering my husband did all the sand cleaning for the rest of our tanks I don't think he's too enamoured with the idea of emptying them all to do permanent substrate.

Sand is in the rest of the tanks. The only real problem with sand is you have to give it a stir once a week or fortnight (ie rows) using the turkey baster or siphon when you waterchange, to avoid pockets of gas building up.

If you siphon sand up, you can decant the tankwater off and pour it back into the tank.
 

cruellove

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cool, sounds like ill be using sand, but i think ill just put the sand in normally - i wouldnt kno where to find that sorta glue and im buying all my stuff all together on saturday, so i dont think ill have time for it to dry - if i could even find the glue

also - what would happened to my axie if i didnt cycle my water and tank before i put it in?? would it be that bad that he would die? cuz i dont want to leave my axie in the container i bought him/her home in for days at a time...
 
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cruellove

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im getting my tank in a couple of hours - any tips on the filtering? i kno that it has to be a slow filteration, but anything else??

any other things i need to know?
 

naymo

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Cruellove if you go to kmart you can get cheap vitapet filters there, i bought the one that has the number 380 on it for around 15-20 bucks...it has a really good spray bar on it so it sparys water on the water surface.


If you didnt cycle your tank ..it might die or get sick...then die.
So best to get your tank , chuck in your rinsed sand and water and get that filter going.
I put a few hardy fish in my tank to get it cycling.
and took them out when i went to get my axie.(my tank had finished cycling)
 

cruellove

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wat kind of fish are hardy?? like goldfish? cuz i have a few in my pond out in the front yard...

a thought... can i take some water from my fishpond and use that to kickstart the cycling process??
 

naymo

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no..the water wouldnt work that well.

just grab a goldfish or two
Get ya sand and plants in ya tank too so all the bacteria can build up on them.
Invest in ammonia,nitrite and pH test kits
 

cruellove

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ive read up on all the test kits and now i rekon im about 95% sure how to cycle properly...

any plants that are recomended?? any axie favourites that would help?
 
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