Help, need advice

Hi, I'm very new to the world of Axolotls and have only had them for a week. I'm not sure I'm doing this very well. They are about 3 inches long and I have been feeding them a block of frozen blood worm every 1 to 2 days and I have been attempting to clean out old food and poop with a long armed tea strainer. I added a sachet of stress coat and stress zyme to the tank and I have also used tapsafe as well. They have a filter and the temp is staying at about 19 degrees. There is a light but it doesn't seem to bother them, they spend a lot of time in the open either lounging, swimming eating or looking at us. The light in the pet shop was brighter so I guess its just what they are used to.

Anyway, both seem to be eating the blood worm and they seem to get on well. Theres been no biting and all limbs and gills are present and correct. They are also very sociable, sometimes following each other Athena was nosing at my fingers while I was removing old food from the tank and Aristotle climbed on my hand. So far they have seemed really happy in thier 1st week with us. They don't hide much so I am guessing they are happy.

But then last night I found Aristotle sitting on top of the filter. He was still submerged in the water but I gently directed him off of it and he went and sat on the bridge instead. Then this evening I noticed he was floating almost on the surface. He went back down again like he was in an elivator. But then shortly afterwards he slowly floated back up and wasn't moving. i thought he was dead so I put my hand in and tapped him, to which he started nosing at my fingers and then floated away. Then for a while he was riding about in the water, just letting the gentle flow of the water take him about. I've seen Athena do this but she doesn't go all the way to the top. Is this a new fun trick that he has learned? He's not doing it now, he's lounging on the bottom next to the cube. His gills are a lovely pink colour and they have both defineatly grown in their 1st week. They didn't seem bothered when I put the camera inside the tank either. Although I accidentally set the flash off once but i was taking pictures of the decorations at the time.

Oh and I have ordered an API freshwater ph master test kit from vetuk. I got it from Amazon for £4.99 but they sent me the wrong thing. When I looked on there the price is now £22.99 but my amazon order clearly states I did order the right one and it was sold to me at £4.99 so they have to honor it right?

Also I have ordered a superfish aquavac (because using a tea strainer isn't practical), some spare vacume bags, a bottle of api stress zyme, api stress coat, and some replacement filter pads and carbon for my filter.

Please give me more suggestions as to how to make my pets as happy as possible. They had a big audience of kids today, I'm hoping it didn't scare them. But then again they do seem very interested in my girls and aren't shy about coming up to the glass to see them.

Am I doing everything right so far? Please don't be horrible to me if I'm doing things wrong. I'm feeling a bit emotional at the moment.

Do you have a test kit? If not, you should go and get an ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate test kits. You do dechlorinate your water correct? I hate to ask, but some people don't realize they need to. Have you cycled your fish tank? If not, and you don't know what cycling means you need to start googling the nitrogen cycle for aquariums, and get ready to do daily waterchanges. Frozen bloodworms will work while they're young, but ideally earthworms, or chopped up earthworms are the best diet for axolotls. Young axolotl's are known to float more than normal. If your axolotls aren't struggling to go down, and just seem to be floating because they want to it's not a problem. If they're having a hard time reaching the bottom they may be constipated. If you have any more questions feel free to ask

I used the tapsafe that came with the tank which removes the chlorine and I let the tank run for a while before I brought them home from the shop. They tested the water in store before I brought them home so that was 8 days ago. I used filter start when I 1st set up the tank. I have purchased an API freshwater master test kit but they sent me the wrong thing so now I need them to send me the right one. I'll take a sample down to the shop next week if I haven't received it by then. I'm using an internal filter which Athena seems to like sitting near to all the time so it cant be too powerful. I will be starting them on something new like earth worms soon, but they are still only small so I thought I'd hold off for a bit.

Oh and they don't seem to have any problem going back down to the bottom again and staying there. Aristotle is sitting at the bottom still and looks ok at the moment.

If they tested the water before you got the axolotls there shouldn't have been anything in your tank to give an ammonia source, so your water would have good parameters, have you had the water tested since you added the axolotls? If you havn't cycled your tank yet it means your axolotls have ammonia in the tank, which is the most toxic of the 3 toxin's you'll find in your tank. If they've been in there for over a week or so the cycling process may be on its way, but have you done waterchanges? For instance my tank cracked, and the rubbermaid bin I'm now keeping my axolotls in is not cycled. I'm doing water changes every other day to keep my ammonia down to prevent my axolotls from being in poor water conditions. You may not need to do waterchanges, but if your not sure if your tank is cycled, and you havn't tested the water to see if your getting nitrates then I'd recommend 20% waterchanges at least every other day until you test the water to see how far along you are on the cycling process.

I've prepared some water for the 1st 20% tank change, how long should I leave it before adding it? I used tapsafe in it to get rid of the chlorine. I have also added a pipette of filterstart to the tank. I removed more poop and blood worm and gave them some fresh which they both hoovered up. I just hope I am doing everything ok. I cant teast the water until I can get to the shop or vetuk actually sends me the test kit I ordered. I will have to try and get to the shop tomorrow. I've turned the light off in the hope it will help and moved the ornaments a bit to give them more hidey holes. Although they don't hide much anyway. Aristotle has been floating a lot and sitting on the top of the filter again. could it be there isnt enough oxygen in the water? How do I sort that out?

I seriously doubt your tank lacks oxygen. Floating at the top and gasping at the surface is a sign of ammonia/nitrite poisoning. However, whether your axolotl is just hanging out at the surface for fun(possibility) or your tank has some toxins in it I don't know. Just so you know products such as filterstart usually don't work well. I'm not actually familiar with that specific product, but I'm skeptical of anything that claims to have beneficiall bacteria in a bottle. Have you done research on the nitrogen cycle for fish? That alone should help educate you on taking care of axolotls, as maintaining water quality is the 1st step. I don't use tapsafe, but if it's like every other dechlorinator it should be instantly dechlorinated. That being said, I usually swish it around in the bucket for a minute or two just to be safe.

I think I have the problem solved now! He burped up bubbles and now I can't really explain it but he just looks happier. I've done the 20% water change and fished out more old food that was under the rock and they are both happily tucking into thier fresh food. Athena was just sitting on Aristotles head for a moment there. I can't wait to get the things I ordered from vetuk and they had better send me that water test kit. Its not my fault they advertised it for £4.99 and sold it to me for that. I will begin religiously testing the water and making sure everything is perfect for them.

juveniles are known to get air bubbles trapped in their bellies, totally normal. Sounds like you got things under control