New (And First) Axie

Greetings all, preparing to take delivery of the new addition to the household (the other being a Banded Flatrock Scorpion) on saturday. The set up that it will come with (Hopefully) is basic and the tank is getting a bit small. The tank we have (Octagonal, 1ft across and 1.5 high apprx. no additional hardware bar a lid. Jas been standing since last night with 8 inches of water, to allowit to de-clorinate and warm to room temp.) will do i think, for the time being untill i can buy a new one is i use the equipment from its existing tank. Im not entirely sure what is coming with it, enough to have kept it alive the past year or so!

My one concern at the moment, is cleaning . I know the recommended is a 20% water change every week, with a big clean every month. Now, i know this sounds bizarre, but what is the best way to go about these two operations. I have no wish to kill the poor thing at first attempt.

Your help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers!

Hi mate, I use a tube to siphon out 20% of the old water into a bucket. I have no substrate so I sort of vacuum the bottom of the tank.

Got a great tip from this forum - Turkey Baster - got one for 99p from Sainsburys - for spot cleaning daily.

I only do a big clean every six weeks or so. I take out the hides, clean them and rinse off the plants. Do a 50% or so water change.

Couple of days before I do the water change, I fill a bucket up and leave it out side.

Might not be the best way, but that's how I clean!

Using the turkey baster to vacuum up detritus from the bottom of the tank sounds useful.

So; Leaving (ordinary tap water???) to settle for a day or so first, then remove water from tank and gently pour in the replacement?Is it ok to leave the Axie in during this or would a short term removal be the trick?

BFX said:

So; Leaving (ordinary tap water???) to settle for a day or so first, then remove water from tank and gently pour in the replacement?Is it ok to leave the Axie in during this or would a short term removal be the trick?

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Yeah, that's what I do - I'm by no means an expert - but my Axolotls seem healthy enough. Some of the other members will have better ways/advice.

I siphon the water in from the clean bucket - takes a little longer than pouring but doesn't make as much as an impact on the habitat.

I leave the Axolotls in, unless I'm actually doing the big clean (sometimes I do a full water change rather than a 50% or so). Regular spot checks help in my opinion.

I used to test the water all the time at first, but now I rarely do - and it's always been about perfect when I have. Better to be safe than sorry where the water is concerned.

Sounds good to me, ive just been given the run down on whats coming with it. Sounds like i may need to buy an under gravel air filter, an air stone and a pump. Advised to feed it on garden worms? May have to try with soft pellets, blood worms or similar, as garden worms arent readily avaliable during the winter. Will get some pictures up as soon as i can.

BFX, a great place to start looking for pointers is www.axolotl.org and then post any specific questions you have.

That was the specific question, i just needed some clairty thats all. Thanks for the help, phil!

I have a filter that is stuck to the side of the tank ( fluval) , I believe an undergravel filter is not efficient enough. Don't use gravel on the base but sand or bare flooring , gravel will harbour all sorts of mess and is potentially dangerous if the axolotl ingests it. I do a 20% - 30% water change weekly, syphon out into buckets and replace the same volume, I pour mine in through a colander to break the flow!. You could also do with testing the water quality with the ammonia/nitrate/nitrite tests as if the water is poor it will cause problems with your axolotls health. I have noticed too that there are now slightly less worms around , but they will eat quite a large selection of other foods...my lot have earthworms/ thin slivers of raw lean meat/heart/ raw tiger prawn and live river shrimp...I am awaiting a delivery of amphibian pellets for 'just in case'

Well that lot was on recommendation on its previous owners, but as the tank its coming from is, and i quote, "too small". So im thinking that an alternate filter may be needed. As for flooring, im going to see what my local Hydroponics/Aqautic store has. And since they have one themselves, they should know what they are talking about!

Do you have a "free cycle" where you are?
Thats where I get my tanks from - just thouroughly clean them out first.

If I may add the web address for freecyle... (moderators delete at will)

www.freecycle.org

No, but i have easy access to a Hydroponics store in Manchester city center, and also to Manchester Hydroponics. Both of which cater heavily to the exotic pet fan. (Its where i got my scorpion from) They also have an Axolotle for sale, and depending on what the one im getting is like size/sex wise, we may get that one as well as a proper tank.

BFX, sorry about that. I failed to read the entire post in my haste this morning.

Best of luck!

russell said:

Do you have a "free cycle" where you are?
Thats where I get my tanks from - just thouroughly clean them out first.

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Yeah, I get tanks off FreeCycle too - also the local car boot is a good source (or yard sales for our US friends). I picked a nice 2ft tank a couple of weeks ago for £2.00 ...without haggling.

Infact; the 5ft tank (and stand) my adult Axolotls are in was bought from a car boot - only £10.00 (haggled down from £40.00 )

Hi BFX

The best substrate is no substrate. Gravel/pebbles can cause blockages which can lead to death eventually. Alternatively you can use sand, playsand available from hardware/DIY or garden centres, which needs to be rinsed well till it runs clear. This can be placed in the tank or permanently siliconed before adding any water. This method also works well in that it's easy for cleaning/feeding (food doesn't get trapped/hide within substrate.

That tank does sound too small for an adult axolotl, basing it on a 30cm adult. Try and get a 2ft long minimum (long rather than high) for one adult, but better if you get a 3ft+ long if you get 2 axolotls.

If you do intend getting the other axolotl, you have to quarantine it for minimum 30 days, don't go by the amount of period the shops had it or the fact you've got them within a few days and should be ok, you have to ensure the other axolotl doesn't have anything that could be passed onto your "new" one and vice versa. People make the mistake of introducing companions early (before quarantine is up) for a no. of reasons, lack of tanks and time to care for two separate tanks; which invariably is where some of the problems come from. You can use buckets or big plastic storage bins as temporary and quarantine tanks.

Make sure your new tank you're currently setting up for your first addition is waterchanged daily or every two days (20-30%), especially if the water isn't cycled. see: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml and http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/waterquality.shtml

Cycling can take 3.5-10.5 weeks, so lack of frequent partial waterchanges on a daily basis, especially the tank being that small, can mean your axolotl will get stressed/sick from any ammonia/nitrite toxins building up in the water. Don't add any chemicals to fix the water other than the tap dechlorinator. The frequent partial waterchanges will keep the toxins safe enough for your axie to live and still allow it to cycle.