Question: So, what got you into Axolotl?

Hi!

I'm not sure if this has been posted before, but what got you into caring for your beloved Axies?

For me, I'm pretty new. I've had him 5 days now. But it was bad advice. Got told at the aquatics store that there are no special requirements, can live with goldfish, all the rest of it. But since discovering this place, I have become fascinated in my short experience with this wonderful creature and can see myself keeping them for many years to come.

What about you?

Cheers, Mike.

I was avidly breeding Betta spendens, but did not have the guts to cull my spawns.

A friend suggested I get an axolotl or two and use the undesirable fish as food for them. I ended up rescuing a pair from a pet shop window, and the rest is history. Then I ended up with five spawns in seven months! Shortly thereafter I discovered a brand new axolotl.org...that site taught me almost everything I know about them. While I am currently not breeding them, I have two females left from different spawns of that original pair. Axies led me into keeping other species, ultimately leading me into the torrid lifestyle of caudate addiction.

I love oddball aquatic creatures. Anytime I see something different at the pet shop I must have it! Too bad the first time I purchased the axolotls many years ago I just took the pet shop's advice instead of doing the much needed research(the lack of internet service didn't help). Thanks everyone, this site has been very helpful!

To be honest, when I first saw them I told myself I would never own one cause I thought they were so ugly. After lurking on this site for sometime, some proding from Jacq (Havelock), and constantly looking at pictures of them, they started growing on me. Now a hundred or so later it's safe to say I am addicted to them.

Hi Crazy Fish Lady!

Can you explain your signature? I'm intrigued

Cheers, Mike.

Greatwtehunter said:

To be honest, when I first saw them I told myself I would never own one cause I thought they were so ugly. After lurking on this site for sometime, some proding from Jacq (Havelock), and constantly looking at pictures of them, they started growing on me. Now a hundred or so later it's safe to say I am addicted to them.

Click to expand...

Hi!

You HAVE a hundred? Or HAVE had a hundred?

Cheers, Mike.

flan123 said:

You HAVE a hundred? Or HAVE had a hundred?

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I have a little over a hundred, granite all of them but 3 are still juveniles.

Hi!

So, from a recent spawn?? What age is classed as Juvenile?

Cheers, Mike.

Hey there, well I may say that I´m like some of you... Going to a animal-shop isn´t a easy task... Some times I get realy mad and want to bring many new things witch it isn´t good al all...:crazy:
I remember that in the last weekend I saw some Fresh-water crabs, some bambo shrimp and some Danio Galaxy and wanted to bring them all! there were some very nice corals, and tropical saltwater fish... But that´s too much for me ... Well it the end I haven´t brought nothing...
But in the past was realy worst...
Just a question, have someone here breed Puntius titteya? Or some Tetra? I would like some advices... Thanks,

Eljorgo

I had my eye open for them. They were hard to find around here. One year I went to International Amphibian Day. Their was a guy there selling juvenile axolotls. At the end of the show I bought all he had left. Now I have 5 color phases and green fluorescent protein of most of them.

HHMMMM....

Ever since I was a kid I was in every stream we came across looking for the life I knew that should be there. Catching glimpses of a slender something or other. Years later I found them captive in bait shops but my dad said they wouldn't live long. 1. because we didn't know enough about them, 2. because of the poor treatment they got in baitshops.

But that didn't stop from looking for them every where we went. Because I was the only person who LIKED slimy critters in my family - getting information on what they were and how to take care of them was difficult.

FINALLY decades later (hush!) I have my own home, property and I can do what I want. While I was working for a petshop someone came in asking for a waterdog. That sparked my memory.

I went home and looked up "water dogs" after some searching and a lot of studying. I decided that pet salamanders weren't for me. I already had one and was keeping him in less than optimal conditions and I didn't really find any info that would help improve his care much. So that left axolotls - a permanently aquatic creature with a lot of ways to keep it in the best conditions.

Now, with the advancement of axolotl.org & caudata - my salamanders are living more comfortably and I have axolotls, newts and am anticipating more salamanders.

They aren't cuddly and I doubt many would call them cute, but I adore them and get alot of enjoyment just watching them move about their tanks.

flan123 said:

Hi Crazy Fish Lady!

Can you explain your signature? I'm intrigued

Cheers, Mike.

Click to expand...

I'd be happy to!

I have a 29 gallon Oceanic Biocube saltwater. It houses; 2 false perculas(captive bred clownfish), firefish gobie, dusky jawfish, pajama cardinalfish, skunk shrimp, and many corals.

Here's more pics of that: http://www.fishforums.com/forum/general-saltwater/21812-if-your-thinking-about-oceanic-biocube-look-here-pictures.html

I have a 72 gallon saltwater bowfront that houses our Green Spotted puffer and a snowflake eel.

We also built the refugium a 20 gallon long w/ mangrove trees. Here's an old pic of it w/out the trees.


I have a 46 gallon freshwater bowfront with live plants, albino bristlenose plecos, albino corydoras, a ropefish, bala shark, iridescent shark, mollies, swordtails, bettas, and flounders.


I have a 20 gallon long freshwater with all my babies. Swordtails, Mollies, and Bettas.


My 30 gallon long houses the three axolotls.


Then I have 2 10 gallon tanks one is a nursery for pregnant livebearing fish(since my south american lunfish found the only hole in the tank and escaped)such as the mollies or swordtail. and the other is for my newts.


Then there's two gerbils that have lived past their life expectancy! They just won't die! heheheh

And my Puggle half pug half beagle.


There are better pictures of the tanks but, I have limited access right now.

We have also sold our place and are moving in w/ my husbands mother until we find a home that we're interested in. Of course, one w/ a basement for a potential fish room,(heheheheh). I have to try and salvage all the water I can from these tanks so they don't cycle again! What a headache! And to think we have to do this again once we find a house we're interested in!

...Wow...:bowl:

I have always been an animal lover and always wanted to be a vet when I was younger. I started college doing a national diploma in animal care and the college kept 2 piebald axies which i just fell in love with straight away!! I mean how could you not fall in love with them?! Then i read up about them on the net and happened to cross this forum and the axolotl website (this was around 2003/2004) then one day i went in to college and they had 2 axies brought in what somebody no longer wanted. I told my course lecturer that I would be willing to rescue them (and i was well prepared with all the continuous reading of the site). So i got them home and after finding out they were a male and a female they bred and laid over 400 eggs and i managed to keep alive and raise 2 of them. Then after another few months another batch of the same amount of eggs was laid. I also managed to raise 2 axies out of this batch so ended up having 6 altogether!! Crazy!!! But because they were staying at me ex's at the time i said he could keep 2 of them to say thanks for looking after them for ages. But unfortunately when i moved in with my current boyfriend my 4 all died after a few months with the stress of the move.

I had been going on at my boyfriend for ages about getting more but he said if you want more you better get a nicer tank than my deceased ones were in. So i thought nothing more of it and xmas 08 he got me a massive 3ft tank and i recently got 2 axies in feb and just bought another a couple of weeks ago. They couldnt make me anymore happier when i watch them eatin their food and walking and swimming around their tank. They are facsinating creatures and im sure i'll own them for the rest of my life!

Claire.

Back in the dark ages ( I was about 5) I saw some in my local pet shop and was fascinated by them. My father bought me a reference book on amphibians and I remember looking at the pictures and dreaming of the day I could have my own . 30 plus years later I was given the book back and it rekindled my interest again...I realised I could actually now own one!!. I was fortunate enough to find a lovely lady who was re-homing her 2..they bred and as they say 'the rest is history'.

Well, I have just contacted with axolotls in 1 year ago. I remember to see them in books and enciclopedias but I have never dreamed to get here I am. In 4 years I have passed form clod- freshwater fish, to tropical fish, then to first amphibian and 2 years ago, my first caudates, that I have breed 3 of the species respectively. I have kept then, One axolotl but in some holidays my friend kill him and my pair of S.s. Gallaica. Poor friend, he had something like a depression!
Of couse, like the nice person I am, havent asked nothing for them...

I remember when I was younger (maybe like 8), I saw some at a pet store, just wildtype ones I think. I remember thinking how weird and ugly they were.
Last year or the year before, I went to the petstore again, and saw the golden axolotls swimming around. My opinions had obviously changed because I thought they were so adorable (in an odd way) and I vowed to own some. I bought a tank off my friend only to have my mother tell me I couldn't have any as long as I was in her house. I was heartbroken but the moment I moved out I got one =) I'm a poor student but all my money goes into my two babies, I love them so much.
Still havent got a hold of a gold one though someday...

I was just clicking from one page to another on Wikipedia, as I seem to spend ages doing (like when one looks up a word in a dictionary and spends hours reading the pages either side of the page you want, or is that just me?)

And one of the pages I happened upon was the axie page. After seeing a photo of one that was it. I just had to own one!

I think mine must be the most absurd and embarrassing reason to start keeping axies. Despite being a vet (and vet student at that time), i have a phobia of anything lizard like. That includes reptiles like goannas to amphibians like axies. I started keeping axies as a means to overcome my fear. I succeeded. (I would still run if i come across a parentie or megalania type creature though!)

I visited a zoo or something, I can't really remember where and they had axolotls, I thought they were really cool looking animals! Then I was reading a novel in which one of the characters kept an axolotl in a tank and I found out you could keep them as pets.
I was hooked, I wouldn't rest until I got one!
I got lucky and saw an advert for someone selling juvies and got myself two leucistics. Turned out they were male and female and reared some babies. I now have Lottie and Lexi, their two babies Maxi and Stumpy and a small wildtype called Paddy. Jacq (Havelock) was so right when she told me they're addictive! It's only lack of space the restricts how many I keep!