Question: A novice setting up an axolotl tank

Thank you in advance for your help, Caudata forum-goers. My family is interested in starting an axolotl tank. We have a large fish tank from years ago where we used to have freshwater fish. We are turning it into an axolotl tank. Now, my mother can advise me with her knowledge of how to care for freshwater fish (such as cichlids and angelfish) but we don't know how different axolotls are so we are turning to you for help.
I want to prepare the water for my tank and I have found conflicting information as to how to prepare the water. Some sites recommend using regular water and replacing it very often when you first get new axolotls, some sites recommend buying a few small fish to introduce into the water, and so on. What method do you recommend for preparing the water? Or are they all equally effective? My gut feeling is that it would be a good idea to get water from someone who already has an active aquarium but I don't want to go with intuition, especially since there aren't any axolotl tanks around here. Should I find a tank that has frogs, or that has some other fish, and introduce some of the water to the new tank?
On Michael Shrom's referral, we found a seller coming to our area on June 10th so we have 13 days to prepare. I will probably be asking many questions on getting ready and afterwards hopefully we will be able to post pictures

Our tank is roughly 45cm deep, 50cm high, and 120 cm long, which is a holding capacity of approximately 270 L / 70 gallons. We plan on building a partition in the tank to have a little mini-tank in case we need to house a sick or injured axolotl separately. Where and how do you think we should set up the barrier? My idea is to put it in the back corner at an angle, that is, that the smaller tank will be triangular, and the main tank will be, looking down from above, a rectangle with an oblique line connecting the right and top sides.

Starting with seeded filter media (rather than water) from an already established tank is fine. It's probably the fastest way to cycle your tank. The beneficial bacteria that you need live on all surfaces of a tank, such as the filter, the walls, the substrate, plants, etc. They don't really live in the water, so introducing water from an established tank won't do you much good.

That's a nice size tank! You're lucky to have a lot of room to work with!

When it comes to building a quaratine tank, you might want to reconsider. Many times, quarantining an axolotl also involves putting them in the fridge (hopefully something you'll never have to do!), so sectioning off a piece of tank won't be all that beneficial to you.

Check out this article on how to set up aquatic tanks for some ideas. And have a good read-through of the Axolotl Site to give you some good starting points!

ok, for the basics, start here:

Axolotls: The Fascinating Mexican Axolotl and the Tiger Salamander

Ideal tank environment:
for a substrate, washed play sand is the only option. some people use large washed pebbles, but these trap waste and mess with water quality. filtration is not always a must but is recommended. have a filter with a gentle flow as axies hate current, and be sure that you pick one that can filter the volume of your tank 2 times a hour, (eg, if your tank is 100L, get a filter rated for 200L).

axies like hides too, at-least provide 2 hides for every animal and on that note, they don't like bright lights so your tank does not have to be lit.

as a general rule, you can keep one adult axolotl for every 10 gallons that your tank has. for ease of keeping, under-stock your tank. axies like the cold, temperatures under 20-21 (Celsius) are ideal, anything over is dangerous.

Feeding:
a staple diet of live earthworms is best, supplemented with bloodworms. feed young axies daily, if they are very young, (under a few cm's) feed them on microworms and brine shrimp. adult axies can be fed every other day.

as for your mum having previous fish-keeping experience, I trust she and yourself are aware of the nitrogen cycle? if so, you can start a new tank with axies right away. they need clean, cool water that has been treated with a aquarium water conditioner to remove chorine.

keep in mind too that younger axies can be cannibalistic, so you may have to keep them separate for a while, but when older they are fine in a larger tank with lots of visual barriers and hides, so there is no need for a permanent divider, just a removable one

if you have more questions, feel free to ask, and start reaserching now!

Is colored sand okay for substrate?

It is. Many members here use it. Just make sure it's NOT calci-sand or reptile sand. It must be aquarium sand. Others can leach chemicals into the water.

You can use crazy Sand. they have loads of different colours.. I have orange and it's cool!

I suggest you plant plants in pots or mugs, to prevent axie's destroying them as usually happens!

Tank set up, new thread here http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...62-axolotl-gallery/77304-my-new-axolotls.html

Question though. Some of them freak out when I turn the fluorescent light on above the tank. (I don't leave it on when no one's looking). But they don't do it consistently, even when they're out of their hides when it happens, and some seem to never mind it at all. Should I buy more (fake) plants and things to create more shade for them, or will they get used to it? Or is startling them no big deal?

They prefer low light, so either use plastic/silk plants, or buy live ones which need little light...

With mine, one doesn't like it but the other is fine with it on, I leave it for a few hours a day then turn it off.