Question: Changing my babies water???

Hey guys,

I have been told to.do frequent water changes with my baby axolotls but i havent been ableto get someone to explain how to do water changes with the babies affectively.
Does anyone have some useful tips on how to clean their water without harming the babies.

Thanks phippsy

Normally i just pour the water out of the tub through a net, catching the babies, quickly refill the tub and plop them back in. Theyre in the net for maybe 5 seconds max.

Seems to be working for me so far, i have around 60 2 week old larvae in tupperware tubs.

I would purposely avoid netting young juvies, what i do is slurp the muck off the bottom of the tank with a turkey baster, wipe the bottom with a sponge every couple of days to remove any bacterial build up, then remove most of the water with a jug, replace the water with de chlorinated tap water which has been allowed to stand in the same room to get to room temp and avoid thermal shock. Fill the tank slowly and gently to avoid swishing the babies about too much.

xxianxx said:

I would purposely avoid netting young juvies, what i do is slurp the muck off the bottom of the tank with a turkey baster, wipe the bottom with a sponge every couple of days to remove any bacterial build up, then remove most of the water with a jug, replace the water with de chlorinated tap water which has been allowed to stand in the same room to get to room temp and avoid thermal shock. Fill the tank slowly and gently to avoid swishing the babies about too much.

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I do the same thing, minus the letting water sit [I have well water]. Turkey basters are the ultimate tool for Axolotls, babies and adults alike.

Psychopathic963 said:

I do the same thing, minus the letting water sit.

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Letting the water rest in the same room as the tank allows it to get to the same temp, this prevents the axolotls from getting a thermal shock, if the new water is too cold it is like throwing you in a very cold bath , a little care and consideration for your larvae goes a long way. If your well water is the same temp as your tank water it is not a problem.

When I had my larave in tubs together I strained them into a net and then put them in an identical tub filled with water that had aged at least 24 hours and had dechlorinating solution added at the beginning of the 24 hours. That way, like everyone else has said - the babies won't get thermal shock. I could also scrub the bacteria out of the old tub and fill it with new water and rotate it with the other one the next night.

Now that my larvae are bigger and in their own separate housing or in pairs, I have a 3inch net I use to scoop them out and transfer to another identical container. I find the larvae usually swim straight into my net and I transfer them to their new contaner straight away so the stress is over for the individual larvae in less than 10 seconds. I probably wouldn't recommend that technique for someone raising hundreds of larvae... I've only got 50 so it doesn't take too long to transfer them 1 by 1 haha

xxianxx said:

Letting the water rest in the same room as the tank allows it to get to the same temp, this prevents the axolotls from getting a thermal shock, if the new water is too cold it is like throwing you in a very cold bath , a little care and consideration for your larvae goes a long way. If your well water is the same temp as your tank water it is not a problem.

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The water is the same temp, give or take 5 degrees. Their tank water in the basement is about 62 F, and they love it. They love the 55 F temps in the winter even more, aka breeding time.