Question: Is it possible to raise them together?

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porkchop48

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I have a ton of 10/ 15 gals sitting around to raise up some babies but when they get older is is possible to have them in the same tank without having to worry about them biting each other?
 
You could possibly keep 2 to 3 together in a 20L IF you have lots of plants and plenty of hides but ultimately it is not advisable to keep babies together until they reach about 4 in long.

When they are young, they have difficulty discerning the difference between food and tank mates. If it moves, it's food! I would not risk it. I don't know how many babies you are planning on attempting to raise, but small rubbermaid shoebox containers (5 for $3.00) from Wal-Mart are what I was using until I got separators set up in my tanks for my 4 babies.

I ordered my babies online (not from anyone on this forum) and although they were shipped overnight to me, they still arrived with several missing parts as a result of being in the same container. I have a pic in my album if you want to see what I dealt with. While they do re-generate their parts fairly quickly, I still feel this was stressful and halted their growth until all the parts were back to normal. Hope this helps!
 
yes that was helpful.

I have many many of those steralite container for raising froglets, but I have plenty of 10 gals hanging around as well that I can use. So if I keep up with water changes do I need to worry about filtration? I know they dont like agressive moving water and just want to make sure.

Thank you for the advice.
 
Filtration is recommended, but certainly not needed if you keep up with maintenance of the tank and you monitor the water parameters.
 
If you do daily water changes, you don't need filtration. Just make sure you use dechlorinated water for the changes. My tap has ammonia so I also use AmQuel in addition. I keep a 5 gal container with pretreated water set aside for the water changes. I keep one empty container, put the desired amount of water in it, use a net to dip out the little one, put him in the new container and dump his out. I continue the cycle til done. That way, it's pretty non-traumatic for them until they get larger, say around 2+in, then you may want to set them up in the 10 gal tanks. They could go 2 per tank if you use a separator. I have 2 per 20 with separators and use a Tetra 3i in each. I only do partial water changes as I vacuum (very carefully) their wastes out. So far, all are thriving and now since regenerated, they are growing well! Good luck!
 
I keep my babies together.
They are in large plastic tubs.
I have around 7 or 8, 2-3 inchers per tub at the min. And the very small larvae 10-13 per small tub.
They do tend to nip each other now and then but this is bound to happen with them being together.
I have a lot of babies and not a great deal of space.
I dont really think splitting them up into ones is very practical. Not when axolotls produce hundreds, i doubt anyone has space to split them into one per tub or even 2 per tub/tank.
Mine may lose a limb but they grow back within weeks.
The problems i've had with nipping is in the adults. They tend to do a lot more damage to each other if they nip.

Mel
 
As Melfly and the others wrote, the larvae do tend to nip each other. The fact that bitten limbs grow back quickly does not mean that it is pleasant or acceptable to raise them this way. In a large enough container, very small larvae can be kept together for the first few weeks. Once the front legs come in, though, it is best to separate them to increase the amount of space they have between them. If you watch how they lunge when they feed, you can get a good idea of how much space you should have to keep them from accidentally nipping, biting, or eating each other. Once thay start showing obvious differences in size, they should be sorted by size, too - so that the missing limb doesn't become an entirely missing larva! :eek:

-Eva
 
I agree they should be kept with reasonable space.
I wasn't saying that they should be left to nip each other in cramped conditions but any axolotls kept together, at any age, are at risk of nipping.
Obviously you should minimise the risk of nipping, but splitting them up one per tub/tank sounds a little impractical. (this also depends on how many you have)

Just my opinion

Mel
 
Mel has a good point about impracticality. I certainly didn't mean to imply that you should have a hundred containers sitting around your house although I do know a breeder who currently has about 40, while impractical, this breeder is insuring optimal health for her larvae.

I don't know how many babies you are planning on raising there, PC, but you have some food for thought here now anyway. Know that if you keep babies together in a small area, there will be amputations and there is no guarantee that the re-grown part is going to be as perfect as the original. :cool:
 
I have no problem keeping them seperate. My plans are to raise 4 of the babies. Which I have plenty of room on my racks so they can each have their own 10 or 15 gal until they grow up.

Now down the road a few years if I can get them to breed, I also do not have any problems setting up a new rack just for the steralites so they have ample room and ample legs :)
 
Excellent! You'll have to post pics once you get them! I am currently raising 4 and have 2 adults. As a newbie, I think 4 is plenty to keep up with!

I don't envy Mel one tiny bit but send her and you plenty of well wishes in your individual endeavors!
 
Haha is that about my mass amouts of axolots!
I was worrying when i had 40 odd, then these eggs showed up! lol

Perfect axolotl timing i think.

But i dont intend to raise all these eggs just 3 or 4 i think.

Mel
 
As dragonlady said thier limbs never grow back like the original limbs this is one of my males airadonna i brought him as you see him he'd been kept with too many tank mates at the pet shop resulting in nipping and lost his leg from the elbow down When it regenerated only a foot did and it was right from his elbow not a very good pic caz he wouldn't sit still but he has six toes one looks like he is giving you the thumbs up......However it hasn't slowed him down at all He seems to be the boss of the tank out of my males and rules with his thumb..lol
 

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I wouldn't say they 'never' grow back the same as the original.
Altho this is often the case in adult axolotls, young juveniles do tend to grow back legs that are exactly how they should be. (In all cases i have witnessed, not to say that all young juveniles 100% dont have problems with regenerating limbs)

Once again this is not me saying its ok to let them eat each others legs......i'm just saying if this does happen at juvenile stage, chances are it will grow back ok. (just in case anyone is worrying about a juvie with a missing limb right now)

Mel
 
Hi all!

First, I want to say explicitly that I did not mean to imply that Mel keeps larvae under some sort of cruel conditions. I just meant that knowing that since young axolotls tend to lunge and suck at anything that moves, it is best to keep larvae in a container large enough that they do not notice each other moving. Heck, even if my fingernails grow back, I hate to break one - how much less pleasant must it be to lose a leg! :p

Second, I just want to wish porkchop48 every success! I am impressed that a "beginner" would choose to raise "only" four; I in my noobness had 140 larvae and had to weed them out soon enough, which was not pleasant at all. Seems like your question has been answered here and, just in case it isn't automatically clear, we'd love to see photos! :D

-Eva
 
Let me also say that nothing I said was aimed at Mel. Mel is much more experienced than I in this realm, I was basically saying the same as Eva above to beware of juvie nipping. I rely on Mel as well as many others on this forum to help me from time to time and thank them for their attention to my issues.

As Eva also said, we'd love to see photos from you, PC (You too, Mel!!). ;)
 
Ok my new guys will be coming on wednesday I do believe. I am starting with 3" juvies and made sure to ask what they are eating so I was sure to have the same things available.

I have 4 tanks set up. ( actually there is 8 coming but the other 4 are going to 2 friends)

each will have their own 10 gal for the time being.

One more question... Is it ok to have plants in the water with them? if so what kinds are good to use?

I have 190 oz containers every where with froglets in them. Not to mention each individual tad has it's own growing up until it morphs. Worse come to worse I will set up a new rack for axies if the addiction is as bad as people say it is.
 
Sounds like you have really gotten well prepared for your little ones. Kudos for all the prep work you have done!

If you do a search within the forum, there are several posts about plants that should be helpful. I opt for artificial myself - personal preference.

As for the addiction - You have been warned... ;)
 
Sure you can use plants. There are just a few things you need to note when choosing them. The plants should be sturdy because axolotls like to root and climb and fine-leaved plants will get broken and their dead leaves contribute to the waste in your water. The plants should be tolerant of cold water (most are tropical and therefore will die) and low light, and they may not require fertilizer as fertilizers are toxic to axolotls. Good choices are java mosss and java fern and anubias. As dragonlady wrote, search the main axolotl forum for "plants" and you will find lots of suggestions.

-Eva
 
Porkchop48: I promise to ship your babies in individual plastic bags, so there is no opportunity for them to nip each other. I plan on shipping them out tomorrow morning for a Wednesday delivery. It sounds like you have done a great job of preparing yourself for your new pets. I think you are really going to love them! I have been feeding them bits of earthworm (which they go nuts for), and they are growing so fast!
 
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