Some Questions! Please Help. (:

Please excuse my inexperience but..

Right now I have one wild type axolotl, have no idea how old it is or what sex it is. So you can begin to guess what my first two questions will be:
1. Is there any way of telling how old your axolotl is?
2. How old does it have to be in order to correctly determine its sex?

Right now it is in small tank about 50cm x 30cm (something like 20" x 12") I think this is too small! But I got it from a friend who had it with goldfish, and they attacked him/her so she had to get rid of it quickly and it was the only tank I had available at the time. And yes, it is already cycled (for other fish I was planning on buying.) I recently brought a 4' tank for him/her and I started cycling it yesterday with the help of two temporary residents (a pair of goldfish.)
I plan on getting another axolotl or maybe a few more in the future. Here are the questions:
1. Will the axolotl be alright in the small tank whilst my new one cycles?
2. How many axolotl (approximately) will fit in my 4' tank?
3. Where does one find axolotl breeders so I don't have to go through the pet shop?
4. How long should you quarantine new axolotls for?

His/Her 'toes' are no longer rounded like a frog's 'toes' they are more pointy and have turned black, this is a recent change (since mid last week) does this mean there is something wrong with it? I hope not.

I am doing the best I can to care for this axolotl, the fish attacked one of his gills and before my friend got him, another axolotl (I presume) took a chunk out of its tail. The gill and tail don't appear to be healing, but it isn't an open wound.. is this going to heal and will he/she be ok?

At the moment I am feeding it worms and crickets once a day or once every second day depending on what else I am doing (I have a really busy life, always on my toes unless I am enjoying my few precious hours of sleep) should I be establishing a regular feeding time or keep it irregular to keep it interested in food?

Thanks for any help you can offer in advance.

Beccy.

Hi Beccy

Welcome to the forum

In answer to your first 2 questions.

1. There is no way to determine actual age unless of course you or original owner knows the month and year they hatched.

2. see: http://www.axolotl.org/biology.htm This will give you an approximate idea.

How long is your axolotl? This should determine whether the size of your 50cm x 30cm tank is too small.

It can be kept in the tank, but even if the tank is cycled, just keep an eye on the water parameters (ie test ammonia/nitrite) and water temperature, especially as we go into summer. If ammonia/nitrite rises above 0, just do partial waterchanges every few days (30%). If the tank is too small it will heat up faster and foul quicker (dependant on size of axolotl and how often you clean the tank, ie uneaten food/waste not just waterchanges).

A 4ft long tank can generally hold 3 axolotls plus plants and hiding places comfortably.

Any new axolotls/companions need to be quarantined separately for 30 days minimum. You can invest in large rectangular plastic storage bins, they're cheap and work just as well as temporary or quarantine tanks.

An axolotls toes are generally long and pointed unless of cause they've had some damage through fungus, wound or infection. Then the toes can become webby/stubby or deformed looking and may never regenerate properly.

I know you're probably keen on getting another axolotl or two to keep, but if I were you I'd hold off for several months, till it starts cooling down again next year. The hardest months for new axolotl owners (especially australians) are the summer months - trying to keep their axolotl healthy and maintaining cool temperatures. The majority of Australian owners have found this forum due to the fact they were struggling with their sick axolotls during summer.

Check out www.axolotl.org.

Thanks for your reply. :happy:
I already know about water parameters and temperatures, because I keep heaps of fish (I know an axolotl isn't a fish)
My axie is about 20cm long, I really do think that tank is too small but it's the only available one I have right now, unless it wants to go hang out with my fighter fish or my tropical fish, which I doubt it does! :rofl:
I wasn't planning on getting any more axolotls anytime soon, because I'm having enough trouble with this one!
Another question though (sorry for all my questions, just don't want the poor little thing to die!) how do you get your poop out of the water, right now I am using a fish net and it's not very affective, I have tried using a turkey baster but failed miserably to get anything apart from water with it..

Beccy.

My friend has a few big aquariums and she told me the best way to clean tanks you can use a siphon tube, basically you get some plastic hose and put one end in the tank and then one end in a bucket (make sure the bucket is lower than the tank) and then suck on one end (only for a second til the water starts moving and you'd want to clean it first). Then just drag the tube around the bottom of the tank to pick up stuff and it will be sucked up automatically.

Though if you get the tube near your axolotl, it can do a lot of damage. So I take him out of the tank whilst I do it. Only had him a couple of weeks tho so only cleaned twice Other ppl might have better ways!

So yeah I am not that experienced looking after axolotls, but on axolotl.org it says for an adult 'the accepted minimum would be a 45 cm long aquarium (18 inch) for one adult'. My tank for one 15cm axolotl is 60L (or 15 gallons) but I think that is above the minimum. 2ft tank I believe but I don't have a ruler

Our smallest adult is 25cm, our largest 32cm+.\\

The siphon tube is good for waterchanges/weekly siphoning, but turkey basters can be quite handy for daily spot cleaning.

If you have a plastic tubed turkey baster, you may need to cut part of the tip. We have quite a few turkey basters, for each tank and also for quarantine/hospital tanks. Had a few hit and miss affairs with turkey basters, so always handy to have extras! The water would suck up the tube then fly straight out again, till we cut the tip and angled it. Didn't help when one of my kids stuck pinholes in one of the bulbs (to make eyes!).

Persevere as they are handy little cleaners and saves having to pull the siphon out daily, unless you need it.