Sudden axolotl parents!

Hi all ! Me and my partner have become sudden axolotl owners. Our friend felt like he wasn’t the best axolotl owner and he is also travelling for the next 2 and a half months. So, he asked us to permanently take his axolotl Zuko.

We haven’t had the opportunity to fully research into axolotl care and so I wanted to air a few concerns we are having instead of going through tons of webpages with all differing opinions.

So…

Currently we feed Zuko “Super Cichlid Sinkers” pellets. They are hard and sink to the bottom of the tank. The analysis on the back says Min. Crude Protein 45%, Min. Crude Fat 13%, Max. Crude Fiber 4% and Max. Moisture 10%. My friend was advised by a pet shop to give Zuko these, but after reading some of these forums and websites, I’m not so sure how reliable pet shops are. I generally feed him by wriggling it in my fingers and after the third go Zuko generally grabs it out of my hand. I only feed him 1 pellet every two days, is that too little? I feel like he is constantly looking for food. But my partner believes he will just eat no matter if he is hungry or not. So, I would like anyone’s opinion if this is suitable food and if we’re feeding him too little.

The largest problem we are having is temperature! It’s heading into summer here and maintaining Zuko’s tank temperature is difficult. It is usually always over 20°C, the only way we keep it down from 24°C is by putting ice in ziplock bags taped onto the side of the tank. We don’t like the ice idea though as its hard to keep it at a consistent temperature. So we are trialling a fan above his tank at the moment.

Our long term solution for this problem is by building Zuko a bigger tank. Currently he is in a tank 35cm x 22cm (14 inch by 9 inch), which I also think is too small for him as he seems like he wants to explore more. We are also going to filter his water through a styrofoam box of ice, and have a mesh cover instead of a plastic/glass cover. His current tank also is filled of small gravel of about 5mm diameter; we’re changing this ASAP though.

I’m worried that Zuko is stressed. He has white spots on his head and often just swims around the tank, bumping into the walls and plants and sometimes seems like he’s in a real frenzy. I think it’s the temperature so we’re trying different techniques to work out what’s the best way to keep his tank consistently cool at one temperature.

I refer to him as a male, but I actually have no clue either

Any comments or advice will be very appreciated!

Hello and welcome, I too am reasonably new to the world of axolotls.
Do you know how old your axolotl is ? if not what size is it?

from what i have read on the forums and the caudata website juvenile axolotl's need food more frequently than a fully grown adult does.

my axolotl is 16 cm long now and not yet 4 months old. They reach maturity sometime between 12 and 18 months and adults only need to be fed every other day where as I am currently feeding my juvenile twice a day. I feed him frozen bloodworms that are made by aqua one and i just bye them from the pet shop and store them in the freezer.

soft salmon pellets are apparently good for adults, so when my axie is a bit bigger I am going to start trying a few with him to see whether he likes them or not.

some people buy worms for their axolotls and feed them to them, not garden worms but worms from a pet shop.

some others use turtle food pellet's ( i am not sure what these contain)

I too am in australia and it is predicted that it will be 36 degrees C on christmas day, so i am going to use bottles of frozen water in the tank to help keep the temeprature down.

If you have the money to invest in a chiller this would be the best option, given that axolotls have a lifespan of 12-15 years.

Also the dimensions of your tank seem rather small for an axolotl. from what I have read on this site the recommended minimum size to house one adult is 45 cm long. The height is not as significant as the width and length because you dont feel the tank too high for the axie.

good luck and I hope you have as much fun with your new role as parent's as I am having with mine.

regards Dad of Axle

Zuko is at least a couple of years old now. His current tank is definitely too small for him, but unfortunately his last owner just didn't have the time for Zuko. My partner has made a new tank which is 80cm x 40cm which is finished and we will start to get it ready tomorrow! Is there a good website/thread which will tell us the best way and how long it takes to get his new tank suitable? We want to put him in there ASAP.

I've seen that salmon pellets are preferable, so I think we will try them also and see how he goes.

And it's definitely been wonderful already! We've got plans to get more already and we've only had him for 4 days!

Welcome to the forums!

This article will explain how to cycle a tank and the nitrogen process:
Caudata Culture Articles - Cycling

I assume Zuko's current tank is cycled which means if you use the same filter from his smaller tank (even alongside another filter for the bigger tank) it should help seed the cycle (as bacteria that breakdown waste live in the filter) and the process should take a matter of days, as opposed to weeks. Using objects from his current tank in his new tank will also be beneficial because the same bacteria in the filter live on all surfaces in the tank.
If your filter is being seeded, you can probably put Zuko in the new tank while it's cycling but be very careful to monitor the ammonia levels with a drip test kit (the dip sticks are notoriously bad) and do water changes if needed.

Earthworms are without a doubt the best food you can give an axolotl and they will love you for it. Earthworms out of your garden will be fine as well as long as no chemicals/pesticides have been used in the soil. Frozen bloodworm cubes are also good alongside your pellets, it is nice for them to have a variation in diet.
An axolotls appetite increases when it is warmer, one pellet every second day is probably not enough to sustain Zuko in the current temperatures. I've fed my axies an earthworm everyday over the past week because of the increased temps and they have just been ravenous, constantly staring at me through the glass. But they do tend to just eat whenever so it is a good idea generally to limit their meals, but they will be hungrier in the warmer temps.

Temperature is a real problem here, I am at the point where I am seriously considering investing in a chiller - unfortunately they are quite expensive. Axolotls can be fridged (Axolotl Sanctuary) so that their metabolism slows right down (they won't eat but can survive for months) and they are kept in a cool temp. I believe some Aussie members of this forum fridge their axolotls over the summer just because it's a whole lot easier than struggling with the temps - but this is definitely not ideal. You may have more luck with the frozen cube trick in a slightly larger tank with more water volume; I think you should be able to put the cubes in the tank as long as they're in sealed bags, or the water is dechlorinated, this could bring the temp down better than having them on the outside.

Also, I'd say the white spots on his head are from heat stress if they're not part of his natural colouring. My melanoid tends to get white patches of skin when it gets hot. I think these are just a kind of bacterial skin reaction to the heat, not exactly sure. You can order some Indian Almond Leaves online (some aquariums stock them as well) which have anti-bacterial properties and can help with the skin issues, they will dye your tank a dark tea colour though so some people use them with their axies in a separate container.

Hope any of this helps!

Thanks! That was heaps of help. We've set up his new tank today and everything is looking good so far.

We're thinking about having a worm farm but we've already blown our budget!! So it will have to go on the back burner for awhile.

In the long term, I think a chiller is probably one of the better options for us too. The fan we are currently using is working fairly well but seeing how long axies live its probably better to invest in a chiller.

We're not going to do anything about the white spots on his head until we've moved him into his new tank. His current tank is ridiculously small and I feel he's not amazingly happy in there. His current tank also lacks plants and only has one place for him to hide which he can't really hide in anymore as he's too big.

Cheers for the help!