Axolotl mania

Hello there,

I've got a couple of questions regarding my axis, and I would be grateful for any advice.
I have 2 wild axolotls that have laid eggs about 3 times since December last year, and I'm now raising 2 generations of their babies, about 50 of them. As the first generation is about 4 months old now, I'm considering to move them to their parents' tank. Would that be a safe move?
My other question is regarding ill axis. Three of them are floating around. The argument is that they may have swallowed some gas. The only advise I found about this was to remove them to a shallow tank to reduce their stress. Now I don't see how lower stress levels would lead to reduced gas levels. I don't give them fresh tap water, I keep the water very clean, the temperature is below 20C and there's no gravel in the tank. I tried to massage them but I'm a bit unsure of that.

I'd be happy to try any suggestions. Thanks for your help! :happy:

Yvette said:

I'm considering to move them to their parents' tank. Would that be a safe move?

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How large is the tank, and how many babies are you thinking of moving in? I would say no that's not a good idea, because the size difference will be pretty significant, and the parents could do a lot of damage to the little ones.

As for the floaters, if you are referring to the babies floating, this is pretty typical, so I wouldn't be too worried.

If it is an older axie having this issue, you could indeed remove some of the water, but if there is no gravel to indicate impaction, just see if things work themselves out.

Thanks for the prompt reply!

The tank is about 100 L big, so there would be plenty of space for the 2 big ones and the 7 babies, but I guess you're right. I should just wait until the kids are big enough. As for the floaters, it's the baby axis that are having the issues and I feel so sorry for them. I hope they will recover. Having said that, I give peas to my goldfish when they blow up from the pellets. I wonder if I could try that with the axis. I know they're purely meat eaters, but would that do any harm?

Anyway, thanks a lot, Shizeric.

To be honest, 100L is only enough for 2 Adults axolotls, any more than that is not suitable. And no, do not feed peas to your axies, it is completely normal for baby axolotls to float, so you can just let them be.

Shizeric said:

it is completely normal for baby axolotls to float, so you can just let them be.

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I don't know if common equals normal. I doubt it is normal, and I also don't think they're happy in their current state. So what is your experience, do they recover after some time? If yes, then you're right, there's no reason to make any rushed decision about possible cures.

Hi Yvette,

It is actually normal for babies to float around just as Shizeric said. Common can mean it happens often or on a regular basis. I have four 3 mo. olds who make quite a sport out of floating around, they are really little clowns. Watch the feeding habits of the ones who like to float and see if they have any problems getting down to the bottom. If it looks like they are struggling, then you may want to lower the water levels some to help out. Good luck, it sounds like you are very busy with all those little ones!

Hello Dragonlady,

Thank you for your post. My floating axis can not sink or swim to the bottom. They can barely turn from one side to the other. Thanks for the reassuring words though!

Search "floating baby" in the search section at the top and you will see how many other people worried about their little axies just like you are.

I'm sure they are. It's a fair enough question especially when nobody seems to know neither the reason nor the answer. Thanks though.

Hi again,

Have you checked the parameters of your tank? Meaning have you checked the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH recently? What are they? How do you prepare the water for them? Babies can be more sensitive to little changes than older ones. You can lower the water level for these guys and see if that helps too. If you could show a picture, that might help too. Babies do float a lot but they should be able to move about freely too.

As someone who is also raising a few batches of baby axies, I would NEVER add the babies back into the adult tank. My pair of breeding axies would eat them in about 30 seconds. The size difference is just too substantial.

Just resist the urge to add the babies to the adult tank. It will save you a great deal of heartache in the long run.

Best of luck with all of your babies! It sounds like you are pretty busy with them.

Thank you for answering that question. I thought that might be the case, but whereas the Net is full of warning articles about separating baby goldfish from their parents, I didn't come across anything like that regarding axis. How about if you don't remove the eggs from the parents' tank? Would they eat their babies then as well? Also, I'm planning to keep one of them when he reaches his parents' size. Could there be any problems?

Yes, the parents will eat the eggs, there is another section of the axolotl forum that covers eggs and larvae quite extensively. Axolotls (<i>Ambystoma mexicanum</i>) - Eggs, Larvae & Breeding at Caudata.org Newt and Salamander Portal

Also check this out Axolotls - Rearing from Egg to Adult

Hope these help you! You can find everything axolotl here. Take care!