Photo: Pics of Squishy my axolotl

Hello, just wanted to share the pictures I took of Squishy my first axolotl! Let me know if she is looking ok, I think she looks happy and healthy but I could be completely wrong. Thanks! (I hope this picture thing works I am having some trouble with it.

Although very pleasing to the eyes, the stones in the bottom of your tank should be removed. As squishy gets bigger he will be able to swallow them, and that is not good as he will not be able to pass them and can be very fatal. I would recommend a sand or bare bottom tank.

He does look happy and healthy and beautiful.

Yes, everyone keeps telling me to get the stones out of the tank and I am right now looking for stones that are really big to put on the bottom of the tank. Her mouth is quite tiny right now so I'm hoping this will allow me time to find something better suited for the bottom. I live in a tiny town with no pet stores and I have to drive an hour to the nearest one. So soon there will be a trip to the pet store to find a bed substrate. Thank you :happy:

Also, once I get to the pet store I am going to demand that someone tell me where to buy earthworms! I really want to feed her something wiggly ha. I will make sure to cut them up though thanks for the advice, everyone here is so helpful I really appreciate it.

Childrens play sand is excellent. But if you choose to use large rocks, it will be harder to clean. Axies are VERY messy and if left over food or poo gets under those rocks it will cause your water readings to go bad and that too can be fatal for him. Make sure if you go with sand bottom you rinse the sand very well. And be sure to get your chemical test kits to keep an eye on your water readings. If you only had the tank for 7 days before you put him in the tank, then the tank is not cycled yet. And 20% daily water change will be needed till your tank has cycled completely.

I just did a google search for bait shops in Waynesburg, pa and there are few listed there but in near by towns. Do a google search for bait shops in your town and chose a shop closest to you for your earthworms

Yea, I had quite a scare when she first arrived because she was very stressed and her gills were so curled they looked like circles on top on her head. I will look into the sand, but won't she eat that too? Or is it easier for them to pass sand than rocks? Also, I saw your post on my other thread and yes it was extremely difficult to find an axie in Pennsylvania or really anywhere other than down near mexico, I had to have mine shipped from California too and then I found out that they are illegal there! But as for water and such I had the tank for about two weeks before Squishy was added and everything is testing fine, I am right now trying to decide where to put her while I clean out the tank because it definitely needs it haha.

Ok, if you didnt have any live animals in the tank even after 2 weeks, the tank will not be cycled. You have to alive products in the tank to produce the bacteria to cause the tank to cycle. So just dont be surprised if your water readings sky rocket, it means that your tank is cycling and you will have to do 20% water change every day till your readings are back to zero. I had my 2 axies in the tank while it cycled, very stressfull for me and my axies, but they weathered it just fine.

As for the sand bottom, they will eat some of it but they can pass sand very easily. I had sand in mine but when I got them a 55 gallon tank, it was just easier to keep the bottom of the tank clean having a bare bottom, so I didnt put sand in it. Took them a few days to get used to the bare bottom tank, but they are doing just fine now.

What kind of test kit do you have to check water readings? Do NOT get the strips, they are not reliable. Get the test tube type.

As for cleaning the tank, she can remain in the tank while you do this. If you feel more comfortable get a container and put enough water from your tank into the container to cover her and put her in there while you clean the tank.

Oh, well so much for me thinking I have everything under control! I do have the strip tests, I will have to get a new kind of test. I thought I was prepared for this axie but it seems I have overlooked a lot of things. I have been taking water out of the tank and putting some new in almost daily to try and keep it clean but I was thinking I would put her in a bowl and give the tank a good cleaning that way I can remove the stones. Sand does seem like a better idea, does it take a really long time to settle in the bottom of the tank after adding the water?

I would remove her if you are going to put sand in the bottom. It will settle within in 24 hours as long as you have rinsed the sand very well. When adding new water be sure to also dechlorinate the water before you add it to your tank.

When you clean the tank do not scrub everything. Dont clean the sides of the tank or any items that are in the tank. You need the bacteria that is building up on plants, hiding things, and the sides of the tank to get your tank to properly cycle.

Wow I have to say I really appreciate your advice you are being so helpful! I will go ahead and take her out of the tank and put her somewhere safe and remove all the rocks and put some sand in. Thank you so much for your help with all of this I would feel terrible if I didn't do something right and something happened to her.

Wow that is one psychadelic tank. Axie looks fine to me, bearing the usual battle scars (bit of tail missing) but nothing that a bit of time and good care wont fix.
Once you remove those stones and get some live food coming in your little axolotl will have a bigger smile.
Good Luck!

ps love the name squishy....I guess they are kind of squishy!

You are doing just fine. You are educating yourself and doing what is needed to make sure your axie stays healthy and happy.

If you need any other help, post and post and post LOL. The people here are GREAT!! If I can be of any other help feel free to pm me anytime.

Becky, I have to admit that I picked the name Squishy because I love the movie Finding Nemo and there is the scene where Dori and Marlin are swimming over the trench and she finds the tiny jellyfish and doesn't know what it is and she is going "Look at the cute little squishy! You are so squishy, and I will call you Squishy and you will be mine." So of course when I get something adorable that lives in water I had to name it Squishy ha. And thank you for the post I'm glad to know she looks ok.

Terri, thank you so much I will be sure to keep you in mind for any questions I have because you are in the same state so I'm sure we have some of the same issues.

Thank you everyone for being so helpful! I can't explain how appreciative I am.

I was just wondering, the older Squish gets and the bigger she gets, her gills will grow with her right? Will get the more red? a lot of pictures I see of axolotls their gills are big and fluffy and like bright red, is this just a luck of the draw thing or is there a specific thing i can do to help her gills be big and fluffy?

Its more down to water quality I think as to whether the gills will remain very bushy or whether they will die back slightly or a lot. Also down to the individual axolotl.
I have a wildtype and a leucistic, both females, near enough the same age in the same tank. My filter is turned to low, water quality is good and I dont have an airstone. The leucistics gills although still pert and bushy have not grown with her as much as the wildtypes has. The wildtype gills have grown quite long and remained very lush looking and sway around looking very feathery when she moves.
Sometimes adding an airstone to the tank will cause the gills to shrink back as the oxygen is being pumped into the water by the airstone and the gills dont need to be as big to collect oxygen.

The gills will look a different shade of red depending on the colour of the axolotl and the amount of activity the axie has.
When they are resting the gills can fade to almost white on a leucistic, whilst remaining blackish on a wildtype. As soon as they begin to move about the gills fill with more blood and the leucistics turn a very deep red, whilst the wildtypes turn reddish black.

http://www.caudata.org/photoplog/index.php?n=1

The above link may help you getting the right conditions for gill growth. You will also note that an airstone was used so it doesnt always affect the gills too badly.