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New axie issues

bex255

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Hi, I only just got my axie and have a few questions.

Firstly, I cannot get her to eat. She used to eat guppies at the pet store and seems very uninterested in her pellets, even when i hold them in front of her with forceps. I can see something dark in her stomach that may be yesterdays fish or may be her stomach??

Also, she has a lot of excrement. I woke up this morning and there was a whole heap lying on the bottom of the tank. It is mostly brown and black dust-like particles, but there is one or two strands of white very thin ribbons, should I be worried? And if not, how should I be cleaning this? I dont have pebbles or sand yet.

And she keeps coming up for air. I'd say every 10 minutes or so. There is an air pump/filter (btw what is the difference, mine doesnt say anything on the box.. I'm not sure what I have but it is blowing out water) but she still comes up for water and then releases a bubble or two, but she isn't floating and is quite active.

Thanks!
 

slimer

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If you just got the axie I would not be to worried yet about it not eating right away, give it a few days to settle in, then try again. They can go a few days without eating. I like that you're using forceps thats what I use and I think they are great, way better than just dropping food in the tank.
How big is your new axie and what color? The dark stomach is most likely because it's full of food and could be the reason why it's not interested in eating right now.
Coming up to the surface and gulping air is normal behavior mine do it occasionally, nothing really to worry about. Did you cycle your tank and also what's the temperature of the water ?
 
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alana

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I siphen my axolotl poo with a turkey baster. It works really well. It seems like it takes a bit for an axolotl to get used to pellets. Worms are always a good choice!:D
 

bex255

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She is about 15 cms, so I think that's about 6.5 inches. She is a golden albino. Okay that's good I feel a bit better about her eating now, hopefully it will pick up again soon.
Yeah I thought it was normal but she is doing it a lot, like I said, probably every 5/ 10 minutes or so.
The temperatue is 16 and has stayed pretty much the same for the last two days. And no I didn't cycle it, I'm pretty new to this I'm not even sure what that is, even though I have been ready avidly for about 3 days now. Guess I'm reading the wrong thing. But I left the water in the tank with the ager for a day before putting her in there, according to what the guy at the store told me. Do you think I should change the water again though?

So what about the excrement? Is that a worry? And any ideas of how to clean it? There really is quite a pile building up there.
 
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bex255

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Oh sorry just saw the second post.

What is a turkey blaster? I tried googling it but didn't seem to see anything, I'm from Australia and not sure how common they are. Not really sure where to get the worms from either. They don't sell live food at any of the pet stores around here and bait stores generally just have frozen prawns. I don't have much of a backyard either. And sorry, what is siphoning? does that suck it up? I feel like I've been living under a rock, I have no idea about any of this.
 

Toptex

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Hi Bec I know the feeling as I too had no idea that there was another world out there for caudata loving carers. My knowledge is right up there (though Im no expert) since becoming a member which is why I didn't hesitate to donate some $ as so many people are kind enough to share their knowledge to keep us worry free (and these 4 legged amphibians alive) :happy: I've only had "Jim" for about a couple of months now and as advised by a fellow member I have changed his tank bottom from gravel to sand in that time. To clean poo I use a gravel vacuum cleaner which works well on sand or otherwise a tea strainer. I have been meaning to get a turkey baster (about $15) but just haven't got around to it. You can buy them at any kitchen shop in Oz. As far as worms go, its worth ringing around some pet shops to see if they stock them. If they dont sell them they have the contacts who will or will order them in for you. I bought a small container (about 100 worms) for $10 at a chain store, Pet's Paradise, (they ordered them in for me) and made up a mini worm farm with an old cardboard box lined with newspaper, some dirt and some scrap peelings of food. Cover with cardboard or old square piece of carpet and put in a dark spot and your axie will be rewarded with worms for a long time. I hope Ive helped a little bit. :D
 

bex255

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Oh yes definately, thank you so much! That really helped.

I will definately head up to Pet's Paradise tomorrow to ask about the worms, although when I went yesterday they didn't really have any idea what I was talking about. I'll try a different store though and use your method once I find some.

Thanks to everyone. I changed the water completely because I didn't think what I did the first time was right and I had no other way of getting to the waste without a baster. She is still going up for air pretty regularly though. I think I just saw her burp too.

Guess I'll just keep trying unless anyone has any better ideas.

Oh! And, I have no substrate at the moment but am thinking of getting some sand because she looks like she is having difficulty getting hold of the glass bottom, but wouldn't they suck up the sand when they eat? And won't the turkey baster pick up the sand too?
 

Gothica Lily

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Hi Bex,

Me and my other half have seen several stores around for axolotl goodies and info. One called "Best Friends" was the one with most knowledge and food availibility. There is a selection of food you can breed: juicy earthworms, bloodworms, young mollies or guppies... We tried brineshimp, but it seems to be too small (maybe) for them. So, buy you food and breed it. This site has forum links on how to breed those:

http://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=57734

Check out Best Friends, they are lovely...

Also, I don't know about other axolotl lovers, but we chose to have big gravel (10-12 mm pebbles)to stop them from swallowing. And we a use gravel vac with it, this works well. The big gravel was ordered from a shop called Pet Stock (a chain store like Best Friends or Pets Paradise).

Hope this Helps!
Angie

PS: We just fed a mollie to our little girl! She seemed to have liked it. The other mollie disappeared overnight (we got a couple to see if they would eat them)... :proud:
 

Bellabelloo

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If you use anything on the base of your tank , sand is best and by far the easiest to clean and safest for your axolotl. Anything generally smaller than an adult axolotl's head ( 2cm or less )may be accidentally swallowed.
Earth worms are the best food source, any live fish you use must be quarantined 30 days in a separate tank.
While your tank is cycling take out approx 20% of the water daily and replace with dechlorinated water .
This will help.

http://www.axolotl.org/housing.htm
 

bex255

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Thanks so much guys.

I will take out that water and try get some earth worms.

Also, the pet store told me to add one heaped tablespoon of aquarium salt to increase oxygen uptake and vitality. So I have done that but am now worried there is too much salt in there.. I have 22 litres and about one flat tablespoon of the salt in there, because I was too nervous to heap it. Does that seem alright? My axie seemed to get extra energy the second I put the salt in there but it might have just been my imagination.
 

Riene Noir

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G'day Bex,

I know the feeling of not knowing what to do when you get your baby home! This sight is awesome to give you all the info you need. As for feeding your Axie, don't worry that it hasn't eaten yet - he will need time to settle in to his new kingdom.

When I got mine home I introduced my 4 Neon Tetras into the tank with him (even though they are tropical fish I have never had a problem with them in water at 18 degrees. However, I slowly bring the temp down over a couple of weeks so it isn't as big a shock for them) and he ate them all up! I also find the Feeder Fish you get from pet stores also work well. I don't like my local 'Pets Paradise' too much as their prices are usually much higher than you aquariums and little independent pet stores. I buy my feeder fish at around 10 for $8 and I can usually get Neons for that price as I already have a good relationship with the store. However, remember to quarantine the live fish for 30 days before you put them in with him. :D (something I forgot to do my first time! :eek:)

I also have a tiny back yard and I manage to get enough worms from it. Because we have had alot of rain and its coming into winter the soil is nice and moist for them so its easier to find them! :D Also, I know the Bunnings near me has little Childrens Worm Farms/ Compost Bins for $5. You put the worms and dirt in the top and feed them your vegie scraps, and after a little while their 'worm juice' drips into the bottom container and you can use this on your garden and plants! I just dig the worms up from there when I need them and make sure the soil is still moist/damp for them.

Also - K-Mart had little tank vacuums for about $14 the other day. They work great as they have two functions - 1)they pick up all the poop and stuff from the bottom of the tank and 2) they take out he 10% of water from the bottom of the tank that you need to change, and not the clean water from the top. K-Mart and Big W sometimes have good deals on aquarium stuff so its best to keep an eye out!

Hope all goes well - can't wait to see pics! :p

Cheers - S.J
 

bex255

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Oh thanks so much, you gave me so many good ideas. I will probably check out K-mart tomorrow as well.

With the feeder fish, when you talk about quarantining them, what does this involve and why? Do I just leave them in seperate de-chrlorinated water for 30 days and what do I feed them during this time?

Is it okay if there is pesticide in the garden or would this make them unsuitable for feeding?
 

Dalabrae

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From reading on one of the other threads, the one linked by Angie above, and talking to my favourite pet shop, if you were to get a few guppies and have them quarantined for a month you will probably find you will have a small colony of them by then, or at least a good start to your own little food farm.

I'm almost as new at this as you, so maybe someone else could suggest if it is better to quarantine in a different aquarium or possibly in a sectioned off part of your main tank??
 

Bellabelloo

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The feeder fish will need to be quarantined in a separate tank. You may well find in that period the numbers increase. Once the original ones are quarantined you can feed them to the axolotl. I feed my guppies regular fish food and micro worms. Quarantining them will make sure that they are less likely to infect your axolotl with any infections/ parasites etc.
Regarding earthworms, they will need to be collected from chemical free environment.
 

Riene Noir

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G'day

My guess would be if you were to section off a 2 ft tank then you would be taking precious space away from your Axie. If you have a bigger tank then a tank divider may work. Anyone correct me if I'm wrong as I am only new to this!

With regards to Guppys, they wont breed if you get only one gender. However, it probably is the cheapest and safest way to feed live fish to your Axie. A male will cost no more than $4 and females should be less than that. You will need one male to 3 or 4 females if you are wanting to breed however. If you have 1 to 1 then the male will kill the female as he sees her as a threat to his territory. If you are breeding for food then mum eating :frog: the fry won't be a problem as they are like the rabbits of the aquarium and will always breed. If you have enough plant coverage around the fry can hide in that and it won't matter if you loose a few fry as there will always be more on the way. Remember, you will most likely have upwards of 3 females giving birth in any 1 month - so you won't have a shortage of fish once you are established! And if you have too many fish - bag them up and take them down to your local pet store and sell them to them. Who knows what deal you can do with them! The beauty of breeding is you have to quarantine the fish you buy for 30 days anyway, in that time the Guppys will most likely have done what they do best and you will have little ones swimming around your tank nearly ready for your Axies!

Tropical fish food (K-Mart, Safeway or even Coles stock it in their pet food section) will be fine to feed them (this will also do fine for tetras or feeder fish - these fish will not reproduce as easily as the Guppy's as I don't believe they are live breeding fish (they lay eggs)) and it will last a very long time and is really cheap. I've had my new container for about 4 months and I have hardly used any!

Good luck

Cheers
 

Riene Noir

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G'day,

With my comment regarding tank division - I was only referring to breeding them in the sectioned off part of the tank. :p The quarantining will need to be done in a separate tank with a filter and possibly a heater. You will need to keep the water temp at about 20 degrees, any lower and it may stress them out too much! However, stranger things have happened and you may find your Guppys like it a little cooler than most. ;)

Cheers
 

SludgeMunkey

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Gambusia affinis often sold in pond shops as Mosquito fish, are guppy relatives that thrive in cooler water temperatures.

They are readily available here in the US for mosquito control, I am not sure about down under.
 
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