Cost of keeping Axolotls as pets.

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Vesp

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I have a 150 gallon fish tank.
I want to get 3 axolotls.
I have bubbler stones and air pumps.

What I don't have is:
Pellet foods
Other foods
Anything needed for water treatment?
Anything else?

Also I want to address temperature issues. What happen if it gets to warm? How costy is it to get something to cool it?

That probably wont be an issue this time of year but come summertime it might be?
Perhaps I should invest in a smaller tank? Or would that large tank work to my advantage to keep it cool via increased evaporative cooling? Especially with the air bubbles.

Also check out my intro: www.caudata.org/forum/f1-general-topics/f1158-introductions-area/86684-hello-utah.html
 
You are on the right track for things you need. That tank is a great size, I would get some sponge filters to use with the air pumps they provide some filtration and are good for oxygenating the water. The good thing about a larger tank is it is easier to keep good water parameters. You don't necessarily need pellets they are more for a treat. For food you will need lots of earthworms for three of them (I have 3 myself). Bloodworms are good for when they are small but you will need earthworms for the proper nutrients when they are bigger. You will need lots of hides for them such as PVC pipes, pots, homemade hides. You will also need plants to provide them places to hide as well. You can either do a bare bottom or with sand but DO NOT use gravel it can easily kill them. You need to be able to keep your tank relatively cool, below 70 degrees preferably. For your options to cool the tank you can either use fans to cool the water or a chiller. If you tank is in a basement normally you wont have an issue with keeping it cool though.
 
I forgot about water conditioner, You will need something to kill chlorine and chloramines if they are used by your water treatment plant. Something like Amquel Plus is great to use.
 
argray90 is dead on with pretty much everything said. No gravel & provide hides. Some people use high quality pellets as the staple diet, some people use worms as a staple. It's pretty much up to you.

All you really need at this point is a couple of sponge filters, a bottle of Amquel+ and some cheap fishing worms from wally world for food.

A water test kit is also helpful.

If your water is only a few degrees above 70 you can probably bring it down to acceptable levels using just a fan. If your water is 75+ you will probably need a water chiller to keep your water at stable safe temperatures. Water chillers can be quite expensive. $400+

I prefer to use lots of live plants in my axie tank, but that is totally optional.
 
Potentially you could not spend any money on your axolotls. I simply pay for water included utilities without calculating exact costs, and I guess at spending about as much as if I was taking an extra shower or two.

As for food, you don't have to spend anything if you collect your own worms. I don't use pellet food at all- earthworms are better. Plus moving things do stimulate the appetite more. Worms are free!

As for water conditioner, you could just leave the water out for 24-48 hours to dechlorinate. If not, I switched to a no stress coat pond water conditioner that treats well over 200 gallons for ten dollars. Very little cost considering I do a ten gallon change only every few weeks. For small changes I just leave a five gallon bucket of water out. Conditioner is good for emergencies.

So, just continuous supplies wise, I'd say max 10$ a month, which is way cheaper than a dog or cat. For hides and sponge filters and bubblers, max 15-20$ to start, if you get a bubbler. Sponge filters and hides you can get/make for 1-2$ each.

As for if it gets too hot... A 24 pack of water bottles to freeze can be gotten for about $3. They can make a pretty big temp difference if you use a lot of them. Chillers are pretty expensive. If it really gets too hot all year round that you can't just use a fan and water bottles for a few weeks, consider tropical fish instead of axolotls.

Axolotls have very little long term cost. I don't think I spend much money on maintaining them at all, given that supplies is so easily gotten. Just some cost effective ways to keep axies.
 
esn said:
As for water conditioner, you could just leave the water out for 24-48 hours to dechlorinate.


Many areas have chlorine and chloramine in the water. The chloramine won't dissipate without the water conditioner.
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All right thanks!


So it sounds like it will only cost me maybe $50 more to get a really nice setup going at this point.
But if it gets warm for too long too often I will get a chiller. Which paying like $500 or whatever is totally worth it if this also gives me the freedom/ability to induce them to breed.

Ill probably use some sort of large sponge cloth type stuff on the bottom or no bottom at all. I'd prefer they didn't eat sand either.

One thing also is I assume plants not only make look nice but help with water conditions by adding oxygen, bad taking out nitrogen, CO2, and other things.

I plan to have lights on above it on a timer to give them appropriate daylight cycles. However I want want to bother them, so in addition to providing them with lots of hides I want to put duckweed to grow on top, along with the submerged aquatic plants.

Duckweed might block out too much of the light though and prevent the lower plants from growing?


I will probably feed them largely pellets and then additional "treat" things like earthworms, blood worms, and. Shrimps of some sort for variation since that would probably keep them healthier.
 
Oh one more thing, what is the max number of Axolotls for 150 gallon tank? I only plan on getting 3 for now but I might want more for color variation. I plan to just get three wildtype for now. I like the natural looks better but I might want to eventually get other dark colored ones like the melonoid or perhaps the others that are not albino or whatever other whiteish colors.
 
Vesp said:
Ill probably use some sort of large sponge cloth type stuff on the bottom or no bottom at all. I'd prefer they didn't eat sand either.
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Just go bare bottom, it's easier. I do bare bottom with dried oak leaves for them to hide in.

Vesp said:
One thing also is I assume plants not only make look nice but help with water conditions by adding oxygen, bad taking out nitrogen, CO2, and other things.
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Absolutely 100% correct.

Vesp said:
I plan to have lights on above it on a timer to give them appropriate daylight cycles. However I want want to bother them, so in addition to providing them with lots of hides I want to put duckweed to grow on top, along with the submerged aquatic plants
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I bought frogbit and duckweed on ebay for my tanks. The duckweed will reproduce inanely fast. The frogbit takes a while longer to get going, but is way cooler once it's established. I scoop out several handfulls of duckweed every week just to give the frogbit more room to grow.

Vesp said:
Duckweed might block out too much of the light though and prevent the lower plants from growing?
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Only if you have high light plants. Lower light plants like java moss, naja grass, etc will do just fine under it.


Vesp said:
I will probably feed them largely pellets and then additional "treat" things like earthworms, blood worms, and. Shrimps of some sort for variation since that would probably keep them healthier.
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If you're gonna go with pellets make sure you're getting something good. I hear high quality soft salmon pellets work great. Earthworms & nightcrawlers are really good for your axies because of their incredibly high calcium content.

Here is my tank setup. From what you've said I think this is kinda what you'll be aiming for. I hate the bare tanks with two hides and no plants. I like for mine to look as natural as possible.

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Another way to sustain an axie is through the use of a worm bin. Eisenia hortensis (European nightcrawlers) and Eisenia foetida (red wrigglers) are very easily cultured, but do secrete a bitter tasting fluid that some axies may not accept. I have not had to purchase any other worms species because all my newts accept European nightcrawlers, but Lumbricus rubellus (litter worms) and Eudrillus eugeniae (African nightcrawlers) are species that can be cultured while lacking foul-tasting secretions at the same time.

Overall, it is a very easy and cheap way to grow healthy food for your axies.
 
So far everyone is right about just about everything. I just wanted to give you a tid bit of info. If you're planning on doing a heavily planted tank at night plants actually will suck up oxygen instead of producing it. So just watch for that at night if you notice your axolotls gasping for air.
 
Awh, so perhaps I should not plant too many under water plants and focus on the top floating plants if CO2/O2 levels in the water drop at night.

Also -- what about the idea of having Scuds live in it as a food source, and to also keep the plants at bay?
Amphipoda - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

They grow and breed easily. Hopefully the salamanders would not eat ALL of them, and allow for some to live above and grow/eat off the duckweed?


Additionally -- I love your tank, but why is the water that low?
Wouldn't it be better to have a higher level of water?


Also yes I love the natural look! Hence why I want wildtype Axolotls as well. :)
 
Cam -- Is your name Cameron?
If so -- That's pretty freaky!
My name is also Cameron, and after looking at the border and size of your tank, I have the exact same one I do believe.
In addition to decided to get the same style of setup, same plants, and same pets..
That all adds up to be a bit unlikely. :)

Also, I now I am not so sure of my tank size. I remember it being 150 gallons as a child, but maybe it is only 100, or something?

What size is your tank? Did it orginally come with two fluorescent lights that doubled as lids?
 
Vesp said:
Awh, so perhaps I should not plant too many under water plants and focus on the top floating plants if CO2/O2 levels in the water drop at night.
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I dunno. I never heard of that being a problem. If you have a couple/few sponge filters going in there at night it should take care of your oxygen levels. Also, I believe the floating plants are always absorbing oxygen from the water, because plants absorb oxygen through their roots, and that's the only part of the plant that's in the water on duckweed and frog bit. I would imagine most of the oxygen those plants produce is lost into the air through the tops of the leaves. In that sense aquatic plants are better for oxygen than floating plants. BTW, all of this is an educated guess based on stuff I've come to believe as true. If anyone has a scientific reason why I'm wrong please educate me.

Vesp said:
Also -- what about the idea of having Scuds live in it as a food source, and to also keep the plants at bay?
Click to expand...
I keep scuds in my tank. They seem to do okay-ish. They definitely cannot keep up with the plants though, they will do nothing as far as controlling growth. From what I understood they eat mostly dying or decaying plant matter anyway.

Vesp said:
They grow and breed easily. Hopefully the salamanders would not eat ALL of them, and allow for some to live above and grow/eat off the duckweed?
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Mine seems to ignore the scuds, they are too small to catch their attention. I would imagine a few get eaten here or there, but they do not actively hunt them.


Vesp said:
Additionally -- I love your tank, but why is the water that low?
Wouldn't it be better to have a higher level of water?
Click to expand...
It's an old tank, it has a crack in a top corner and that's as far as I can fill it. However, I like it that way because I don't have to put a lid on the tank, and there's no way an axolotl is going to jump that kind of distance out of the water. More water volume is always good, but the most important thing is floor space.


Vesp said:
Also yes I love the natural look! Hence why I want wildtype Axolotls as well. :)
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Wildtypes are SO underrated. I love them! The breeder gave me mine for free saying "no one likes wildtypes anyway, so just take it."


Vesp said:
Cam -- Is your name Cameron?
If so -- That's pretty freaky!
My name is also Cameron, and after looking at the border and size of your tank, I have the exact same one I do believe.
In addition to decided to get the same style of setup, same plants, and same pets..
That all adds up to be a bit unlikely. :)
Click to expand...
haha, yeah it is short for Cameron. That's a little too coincidental, eh? XD

Vesp said:
Also, I now I am not so sure of my tank size. I remember it being 150 gallons as a child, but maybe it is only 100, or something?
What size is your tank? Did it orginally come with two fluorescent lights that doubled as lids?
Click to expand...
Mine is only a 45 gallon, and I got it second hand, it did not come with any lights or a hood. Use this calculator to figure out your volume: Aquarium System Volume Calculator


mackinthebox said:
What is this plant called? the plant behind the axie of course, hehe
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The plant he's on directly is java moss, the plants that are way behind him in the blurry background are naja grass.
 
KingCam said:
The plant he's on directly is java moss, the plants that are way behind him in the blurry background are naja grass.
Click to expand...

Cam if you are ever looking to sell some java moss or naja grass I have been looking for a good deal for a while and it is hard to come across.
 
argray90 said:
Cam if you are ever looking to sell some java moss or naja grass I have been looking for a good deal for a while and it is hard to come across.
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I just recently acquired mine, but if it keeps growing as fast as it has been I'll have lots of extra in no time. PM me in a couple months and I bet I'll have extra for ya.
 
Oh you can never stop spending money on axies, although i have the basics there's always room for change ;) (and more stuff)
 
The attached image is what I have setup so far.

1. Ignore the insanely bright light - I am just keeping that help the duckweed grow until I get the Axolotls.

2. I need to find some hiding places and things for them to crawl around on. What would be the cheapest and best to use? I want to shy away from rocks simply because I feel large rocks and glass tanks full of water can result in fairly unfavorable situations.


3. Anything else I should be doing? Any special tricks to establish a good nitrogen cycle?


So far I have spent $0 on this, since I already had all the stuff but the three axolotls will cost me probably close to $65.
 

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