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Huzzah I got my axie!

wreckgar

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Hi all, got my Axie on Saturday morning, very chuffed! I bought a nice resin cave for him, but realised when I got it home that it was too wide and took too much of the tank (he's temporarily in a 35 cm tank for a month) so I sawed it in half, thoroughly sanded and cleaned it. I did the same to the cut off bits and broke them into smaller pieces, so they look like rocks littered around the floor.

Foodwise, I got catfish pellets (hope this is ok? They have 10% oil content and was told they were similar to salmon pellets) Chucked one in the tank right near his mouth, he wouldn't eat, so I used a chopstick to push the pellet around and he munched it. I have concerns though, could you help me by answering the following?

1) The place I bought him from had him in temps of 28 degrees c, I now have him in a tank at 20 degrees, awaiting an aquarium fan from Ebay to bring the temp down more. Could the high temp have damaged him?

2) He is passing gravel, so far about 8 pieces in 3 days - I know this because I have no substrate! The gravel pieces are about .5cm wide. Is there anything I can give him to help pass the gravel?

3) He has yellow spots on both his sides, I have attached some images, you can just about see them. Is this normal or indicatave of disease?

4) He doesn't do anything much in way of movement, is this quite normal?

5) Feeding - how do you get them to feed if you cannot get in their eyeline, when he is in his cave sometimes I can't manouver the chopstick so he sees it. At the moment I am having to lift the cave off him, this can't be good for him!

Thanks for your help everyone!



 

digger

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HI AND WELCOME,
how old is your axie as it looks like a girl to me, maybe just its age though.
it does look awfully pale, mind you my leucistic goes pale when he needs to poo, and if you say he is full of gravel i should have thought that was the reason for his paleness also.
fridging will help him pass more gravel without to much stress.
as for food you could always try him on something live like blood worm or earthworms.
something that moves might just spark his interest a bit more.
once he is clearer of gravel and eating he should get more active,this said as they get older they are less active.
hope this is helpful
 

kapo

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Just wondering if your axolotl is possibly younger. Looking at its side view, you can see the darker colour along its side by its front leg, that would possibly indicate its a juvenile if under 15cm.

Yes try live food if you can get it. They can sometimes take a few days to settle down, which could be the lack of food interest.

Keep an eye on the tankwater chemistry/parameters every few days especially if your tank was not cycled, ie test for ammonia/nitrite and nitrate. If any ammonia levels go over 0, then do frequent partial waterchanges (20-30% at least).
 

gr33neyes

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my axie has the same yellow/gold dots along her side...think they are just markings. i found with mine live food was the key to settling her in, she loves to stalk the bloodworm and now she swims to the waters surface when i have food for her and takes it from my hand...i've only had her just over 3 weeks but she is so fascinating and friendly . i think its the same as any creature, give it time, patience and love and the rest will fall into place, also this forum is excellent for advice and i have pestered (digger) Frances almost daily for tips and she has always helped (thanks Frances)...have fun with your new friend :D
 

wreckgar

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Thanks for your feedback, yes I was told that the axies were all juveniles, mine is about 9cm from head to tail. I also think that it may be having difficulty moving, as there is no substrate and a bit of a current caused by the filter. I have tried to speed up the cycling process by adding half of the filter sponge from my cycled goldfish tank. Tested water yesterday and Ammonia/Nitrite were 0, Nitrate 10, PH 7.8. I will test the water again today. Maybe the size of the tank is restrictive, as it is in a smaller tank for a month?

I had the following plans for the 2ft tank. I was going to cover the bottom of the tank in Aquarium sealant, and then sprinkle sand onto it, plus some glow in the dark beads (I presume they are safe, as they were included with some triops) just to give some grip and character to the tank. Would i be better off watering down the sealant, or should I be able to brush it thin anyway?

Thanks guys!
 

kapo

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Hi wreckgar, after looking at the gallery of Axel, then yes I'd agree most definitely a juvenile. Leucistics, what he is, and even some dark wildtypes still do tend to keep the slight yellowish colouring until they get larger (usually as they reach the 10-12cm length and the dark colour/insides showing disappears as the translucent skin thickens).

My sister did the aquarium sealant thing both in gravel/pebbles in one tank, sand in another. From memory it took a couple of weeks for her tanks to cure, Jennewt mentions 3 weeks to fully cure.

A month, even a little longer will be fine in that tank, as long as you keep an eye on the water parameters, then you can sort out your main tank, ie siliconing etc... Our axies no problems with finding their way in the few tanks that have no substrate.

Here's the thread that Jennewt posted many moons ago :p , where my sister got the idea from, http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/793/77098.html?1170154180
 

wreckgar

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Hi wreckgar, after looking at the gallery of Axel, then yes I'd agree most definitely a juvenile. Leucistics, what he is, and even some dark wildtypes still do tend to keep the slight yellowish colouring until they get larger (usually as they reach the 10-12cm length and the dark colour/insides showing disappears as the translucent skin thickens).

My sister did the aquarium sealant thing both in gravel/pebbles in one tank, sand in another. From memory it took a couple of weeks for her tanks to cure, Jennewt mentions 3 weeks to fully cure.

A month, even a little longer will be fine in that tank, as long as you keep an eye on the water parameters, then you can sort out your main tank, ie siliconing etc... Our axies no problems with finding their way in the few tanks that have no substrate.

Here's the thread that Jennewt posted many moons ago :p , where my sister got the idea from, http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/793/77098.html?1170154180

Thanks Kapo, that was a useful link! In the link though it says that they only waited 2 days to cure the sealant - maybe some cure faster than others?

Thanks :)
 

kapo

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It may very well be dependant on silicon, if you can get a fast curing aquarium silicon. When it's fully cured it loses that vinegar smell. I know I've added rocks siliconed to pvc pipes to our tanks within a week or so of doing them that still had the vinegar smell to them. The rocks eventually came off and had to remove the pipes from the tank to redo (well husband redid them and made sure the smell disappeared before returning to the tanks.) Jennewt mentioned 3 weeks curing on a recent thread; my sisters were at least a couple of weeks.
 
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