Stressful Tank Cleaning!

*Takes a deep breath*
...
*exhales*

That's better. I don't know who's more stressed after my first tank clean, me, or my Axolotl Colin
I went out and bought a siphon filter today, and my plan was to capture Colin in a tub and feed him whilst I went about cleaning things.
That was the plan...
OMG - Axolotl's move like lighting! Lol. After several attempts at cornering the lil fella, I just decided to clean around him instead. Turns out my siphon filter sucks up water like an Elephant! Before I knew it, my 25% water change was turning into 50% So I removed the big suction cylinder and just used the hose which worked a lot better. I got there in the end, but there was a lot of disturbance & curfuffle - Colin went a bit nuts with the bits of debris flying around etc.

Does anybody have any cleaning tips/advice? Would it be more stressful for Colin if I attempted to catch him, rather than clean around him, with bits flying about?? I'm going to find a Turkey baster asap so I can do little spot cleans here and there.

P.S. I have some Marimo Moss balls that got squashed in the post. When I cleaned them today, I tried to squeeze them back into shape and rinse the bits caught in the moss - any more care tips for these?

I really was so stressed before... I hope cleaning the tank gets easier the more I do it.
THANKS!!!

Hi Benh,

Syphons can take some getting used to - that's not so bad for your first attempt . In fact, you did better than I...I ended up with a mouth full of tank water on my first try - so you'll get no sympathy from me!

A turkey baster for the daily spot cleans will certainly make life easier for you (and Colin). I find that there is rarely much cleaning work for the syphon to have to tackle after the baster has been on daily duty all week.

There is no need to remove Colin from the tank whilst cleaning - moving him too and fro may cause unnecessary stress. However, if you are using large rocks or stones as substrate - then yes - please remove him to prevent crushing mishaps while cleaning under, and around the rocks (your use of the tub is the safest way to catch an axolotl).

My axolotls stay in the tanks while I'm cleaning. When using the syphon for the weekly partial water changes (and cleaning) I keep movements very slow as not to startle the axolotls. If an axolotl does freak out and 'do the dash' - I will stop what I am doing - leave the tank for 10 or so minutes to allow the axolotl time to calm down - and then resume cleaning.

You'll find a routine that works for you - and when you do - cleaning up after Colin will become a pleasure.

Thanks for the advice Jacqui! :happy:

I hope my next cleaning goes much more smoothly - think I've got my head around the siphoning now. Some useful video's around on Youtube which helped.
I look forward to the day when cleaning is a calm, fun experience, lol.

Still need a turkey baster - Colin only seems to eat if I drop his pellets so they land right near his head, otherwise he pretty much ignores them... There's instances where there's 3 or 4 pellets sat right in front of him, and he seems oblivious Can Axolotl's smell their food?? I'm definitely not over-feeding him. Oh well, I guess I could try hand feeding him - but not sure if that would freak him out?

Axolotls sense lateral movement, so anything moving or falling in front of them will be gobbled up. Their sense of smell and sight is rather poor.

My 2nd attempt went much smoother! Hurrah! Minimal stress.

I still can't find a turkey baster - but with any luck shops will start stocking them soon with the run up to Christmas approaching.

benh said:

My 2nd attempt went much smoother! Hurrah! Minimal stress.

I still can't find a turkey baster - but with any luck shops will start stocking them soon with the run up to Christmas approaching.

Click to expand...

Have a look on ebay, was loads on there when i looked

I had my first tank clean last week also and im really suprised on how well it went.. its a shame I dont have a siphon would save a bit of time.. although I dont have that big of a tank so I dont think its very necessary so I went with my own approach.

Step 1: Remove axolotl put in a deep dish with some tank water, put a tea tow over the dish.
Step 2: Remove all the water into a clean bucket using a scoop.
Step 3: Run the water through a fine strainer into another clean bucket.
Step 4: Run it back once agian through the strainer.
Step 5: Let the bucket sit for a while so anything missed by the strainer will sit and settle , in the meantime give the tank a good rinse over.
Step 6: Clean the filters, bubbles, any other objects in the tank.
Step 7: Place the water back into the tank, filling at least half the tank by scooping the water out. Leave a bit of water in the bucket, leaving the remaining dirt behind.
Step 8: Put filters, bubbles, features back in the tank.
Step 9: Place axolotl back in tank with water in the dish, fill the rest of the tank as necessary.
Step 10: Detoxify the water.

Too easy !
Hope this helps any newbies like myself!

Pauly said:

I had my first tank clean last week also and im really suprised on how well it went.. its a shame I dont have a siphon would save a bit of time.. although I dont have that big of a tank so I dont think its very necessary so I went with my own approach.

Step 1: Remove axolotl put in a deep dish with some tank water, put a tea tow over the dish.
Step 2: Remove all the water into a clean bucket using a scoop.
Step 3: Run the water through a fine strainer into another clean bucket.
Step 4: Run it back once agian through the strainer.
Step 5: Let the bucket sit for a while so anything missed by the strainer will sit and settle , in the meantime give the tank a good rinse over.
Step 6: Clean the filters, bubbles, any other objects in the tank.
Step 7: Place the water back into the tank, filling at least half the tank by scooping the water out. Leave a bit of water in the bucket, leaving the remaining dirt behind.
Step 8: Put filters, bubbles, features back in the tank.
Step 9: Place axolotl back in tank with water in the dish, fill the rest of the tank as necessary.
Step 10: Detoxify the water.

Too easy !
Hope this helps any newbies like myself!

Click to expand...

Step 11: Let the treated water sit overnight before adding it to the tank.

Anybody have a tried and tested method for capturing your Axie? Would appreciate some tips or little tricks please :happy:

I was thinking of trying to subtly lure him into a fish-bag sort of thing... I'd get freaked out if I had to corner him and he was writhing and zipping about like mad - would be worried he'd injure himself.

You just need to have a large fish net, and get him cornered. Depending on the animal's personality, it may work to move very slowly, or you may have to move quickly once he's in the net. I always clean "around" my animals, so I don't catch them very often.

Regarding the siphon, how exactly do you control it? I hold one end of it in the tank with my right hand, and I put my left hand at the other end of the hose, and use a left finger over the end of the tubing to control the flow rate of the water. This might help tame the Elephant effect

benh said:

Anybody have a tried and tested method for capturing your Axie? Would appreciate some tips or little tricks please :happy:

I was thinking of trying to subtly lure him into a fish-bag sort of thing... I'd get freaked out if I had to corner him and he was writhing and zipping about like mad - would be worried he'd injure himself.

Click to expand...

I just had to do this today.
What I did was I took my tupperware container and put it in the tank with him. Then, I slowly pushed him into the container.

It was scary when he nearly jumped out, you have to be fast about getting the lid on that thing or he'll jump on to the floor!