Axolotl care, leaving in the chlorine?

mamatoulouse

mamatoulouse

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I was browsing a website that stated that leaving in the chlorine can help prevent bacteria and fungus from growing in the tank.... i was just wondering what you all thought of this... i dechlorinate the water but i thought this was interesting
"[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Water Dragons have lungs like we do and are air breathers, unlike fish that has gills and would breathe the chlorine in the water. The chlorine will turn into a gas and be out of the tank within 24 hrs. By leaving the chlorine in your water it will kill any harmful bacteria and fungus that may be on the Water Dragons or in the tank.

One last point regarding chlorine, as you know swimming pools have chlorine levels that are 1,000s of times higher than drinking water. Can you please tell me how many people have died from swimming in chlorinated pools? Please include Babies and competitive Swimmer who swim up to 4 hrs per day in a chlorinated pool; in your total. ... And the ANSWER is 0 ... No person has ever die from swimming in a chlorinated pool, which has chlorine levels 1,000s of times higher than drinking water; because Water Dragons and Humans are air breather and use their lungs to breath the Air not the Water. By taking time to do water changes each week this will greatly extend the life of your Water Dragons."[/FONT]
 
chlorine can also kill all the beneficial bacteria in your tank. Axolotls don't actually breathe air as a primary form of respiration, so while yes they have a rudimentary lung they still breathe water. It would be like saying it's ok to stick labrynth fish like betta's in chlorinated water. The fact that they even refer to axoltols as "water dragons" says everything I need to know, they clearly don't know what they're talking about.
 
unfortunately many websites are full of false information. Anyone can upload anything :(

- axolotls have lungs ... true, but "unlike fish who have gills"... um, false! duh you can see them hanging off the side of their heads! of course they have gills.

i wouldn't trust any website which started a page on axolotls with that statement.

it is true the chlorine will leave the water after a period of being inactive, its called 'ageing', and that why you add water ager or 'dechlorinater' to the tank water. Chlorine is a chemical and although it will not hurt us, axolotls have a fine membrane for skin that is meant to absorb things in the water, they can even breathe through it. The comparison of chlorine on humans vs. chlorine on axolotls is a terrible one. It is toxic to them, and even if it is only in the tank for 24 hours it is very harmful to an axolotls health and will shorten their life. They will survive the abuse and that is probably why this website states that it is 'ok'. It will kill all the bacteria (there is a lot of good bacteria responsible for cleaning waste from the tank naturally included in this too), but also slowly kill your pet.
 
I've actually read chlorine suffocates the fish while it burns their gills, so not only does it physically harm them, but they suffocate as well. Humans can be in chlorine without breathing it in, but axolotls breathe it in.
 
i just thought that a website that sells axies with 70 dollar shipping should have better info......
 
lol, you'd think. I mean a little chlorinated water probably wouldn't be too harmful, but recommending people to not even dechlorinate their water's pretty poor.
 
don't worry i found it... they also sell "near perfect" axolotls for $99.00! (not including shipping) :mad:
 
Human's don't breathe water, so of course it is safer for humans to be exposed to chlorine in water.

chlorine gas is harmful to humans. I believe this is how they introduce it into a municipal water supply, hence why it evaporates after the water is let to be exposed to air. what people forget is that humans are different to aquatic life (well, duh?)

chlorine is used to stop bacterial growth in water. it also stops beneficial bacteria growth in biological filters.
 
Is this not a water dragon? :p I read the first post and the person is a tad clueless imo... I bet that, whilst rare, there have probably been a few hundred deaths over the years since chlorine was introduced to public bathing water with chlorine as a cause. Axolotls have 4 different methods of breathing, does that mean we should choose one for them and force them to breathe using only that method? :p Personally I feel sorry for the author's animals.
 
Yeah - thats a Water Dragon!

And, I accidentally killed the cycles in my two tanks once by leaving water out for 24 hours, thinking the chlorine would have dissipated by then. It mostly had, I guess, but not quite all. Cycle - doom. Took weeks to get those tanks back in shape! :mad:
 
i will admit i bought my very first axie under the title water dragon from a mall when i was like 16,it was in one if those plastic 2 gallon tubs for traveling with your critter. the guy charged me 20 for it.... anyway i was given the most horrific info about its care 'just give it a few crickets a week" "it can live in this tank its whole life" if "the water gets warm toss in a few ice cubes'......
 
Star said:
Is this not a water dragon? :p I read the first post and the person is a tad clueless imo... I bet that, whilst rare, there have probably been a few hundred deaths over the years since chlorine was introduced to public bathing water with chlorine as a cause. Axolotls have 4 different methods of breathing, does that mean we should choose one for them and force them to breathe using only that method? :p Personally I feel sorry for the author's animals.
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Yeah, that's what I think of as a Water Dragon, but axolotls are also known as Mexican Walking Fish, Mexican Water Dog + Water Dragon in various different places. Probably have other names too!
I always use a water treatment + leave the water for 24hrs when doing water changes - I like to be safe :eek: That reminds me - after 1/2 filling my new 4ft tanks, I desperately need some more Tap Safe, as I've run out (managed to get each tank 1/2 full using 1 whole bottle in each, so keep the remainder of the other bottle I had already opened, for weekly changes until I got more) :D
 
memojo1979 said:
Yeah, that's what I think of as a Water Dragon, but axolotls are also known as Mexican Walking Fish, Mexican Water Dog + Water Dragon in various different places. Probably have other names too!
I always use a water treatment + leave the water for 24hrs when doing water changes - I like to be safe :eek: That reminds me - after 1/2 filling my new 4ft tanks, I desperately need some more Tap Safe, as I've run out (managed to get each tank 1/2 full using 1 whole bottle in each, so keep the remainder of the other bottle I had already opened, for weekly changes until I got more) :D
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Ha! Just bought some off eBay - seller's name is Star! ;)
 
mamatoulouse said:
Water Dragons and Humans are air breather and use their lungs to breath the Air not the Water.
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To compare the respiration mechanisms of aquatic amphibians to that of humans in an effort to make a point about the safety of chlorine is very peculiar.

Chlorine binds with the oxygen in the blood and reduces it's oxygen carrying capacity. The binding changes the colour of the blood and creates a burnt brown look. This has been anecdotally reported in some axolotls when exposed to chlorinated water. As axolotls breath through their skin and gills it makes sense they would suffer from chlorine "burn".

To make a fair comparison I suggest the author jumps in a swimming pool and tries breathing through their skin.
 
Damn ambiguous common names :p Definitely not me Mojo! I have a different name on there :p
 
mewsie said:
And, I accidentally killed the cycles in my two tanks once by leaving water out for 24 hours, thinking the chlorine would have dissipated by then. It mostly had, I guess, but not quite all. Cycle - doom. Took weeks to get those tanks back in shape! :mad:
Click to expand...

This is an important point, actually. I've done some testing for chlorine level, and found that at cool temperature almost none of it dissipates overnight. The old recommendation to just "let it sit overnight" is wrong, particularly at cool temperature.
 
Jennewt said:
This is an important point, actually. I've done some testing for chlorine level, and found that at cool temperature almost none of it dissipates overnight. The old recommendation to just "let it sit overnight" is wrong, particularly at cool temperature.
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Which is exactly how we let it sit overnight - cool, because that's how the axies like it! Poop! Now I'm glad I've been going OTT by doing both!
 
I actually bought my axolotls through this website, although they did not call them water dragons at the time. They were in VERY dirty water when I got them, so I put them in their tank right away. I then fed them some gold fish, and by the next day they had their gills nibbled off, not sure if they did it to each other, or the goldfish nipped them but they never grew back completely, or correctly.

I stumbled upon this website again a week ago, and thought WOW, if only I knew then what I know now... I read the question and answer section for the website (which they did not have when I got my Axies) and I just think :eek: The man who answers all the questions is just so wrong in so many ways...

I am even more thankful for this forum and all the awesome people who post, and answer the tons of questions. :D
 
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