Heat Issues!

Well, I'm not exactly sure if this is in the right spot to post but they will end up sick if I don't do something. . .

I'm Australian and right now it's getting up to 32C+ the past few days and will do for the next week or more and get hotter as we're only going into summer.

I have two axolotls, so far they're fine. My tank without the light on is 24C already, and I currently don't have any water to cool them down. I do have some water bottles to fill and freeze but I was wondering if anyone else could suggest some ideas for me to keep them cool? Other cold water tanks have easily gotten up to 29C in summer, in the past.

They're in my room and it's the coolest room in the house. They're near the door and can get a breeze from the back entrance. My room has little light and sun come in. There's water plants, air and a filter in the tank.

Any help would be great! Thank you.

Hi Sky - sorry can't help but I'm having same issues in Sydney. Can't keep enough ice bricks ready to maintain temp. My tank is at 26C at moment. Wondering if I need a chiller.

Hope you get some answers soon :happy:

You can buy fans that will drop the temp by about 2-3 degrees, combined with an air stone, another option is to wrap the tank in sheets of polystyrene foam, oh and having no lid also helps. If you can afford a chiller and have he space then that's another option.

With such high temperatures I would remove the axolotl from their tank and temporarily keep them some where cooler. Maybe you have a cooler room? Or perhaps a shaded cool area of the garden? If not a spell in the fridge for the duration. In smaller containers you will need to do daily water changes with dechlorinated, like temperature water.

I'm in Perth and we are known for our long hot summers.

I have a chiller which maintains the tank at a comfortable 16 degrees celsius. you may have to consider one too if you can't come up with a long term solution.

I lost a couple of axies in the past due to high temps, hence why I got a chiller. the temperature swing from hot to cold when you use frozen bottles/ice bricks as they thaw can sometimes be more damaging to them than a constant high temperature so it's sometimes not the best way to cool the tank.

Thanks for the help guys. I maybe able to buy a chiller, but where do I get them from? I've never seen in them in my pet shop. Also, how do you set them up?

I don't have any place outside to put them. The house is double bricked so it's always cooler than outside, and also we have chickens and ducks running around and I think they'd eat them. Can't use the fridge as it freezes everything one minute, and turns everything hot the next.

What temp is dangerous for them? And what are some signs of stress? These are my first two axies so, I'm still getting used to what they need.

Go to " axolotl.org" and it has a section of health and diseases

anything over 20-21 for a longer period of time is dangerous.

check out this website: Chilling & Heating - Hailea Chillers - Hailea HC-150A 1/10hp Chiller Marine Aquarium to 400L - Guppy’s Aquarium Products Online - Hailea HC-150A 1/10hp Chiller Marine Aquarium to 400L
I've ordered from them before. that one a basic chiller. my one cost me $800 for a bigger one.

basically if you use a canister filter, you run it inline with the filter after the outlet.

typical signs of stress are kinked tail, gills curved forward and over-activity. a happy axoltol should do pretty much nothing.

Thanks for the advice everyone. My axolotls seem fine. They've always been a little active since I got them. Well the past two days my tank has gotten to 24.5C though I've used a 1 litre bottle of ice and it has came down to 22 over an hour or two. My tank is normally around 22 with the light on.

I'd be checking constantly- I'm in a similar situation with my baby Trouble at the moment- his tank is at (the hot end away from the air con and chiller my dad made up) 23c, and currently quite zonked out and looking pretty normal (And enjoying the shrimp zooming by...), however if the temp doesn't go back down to the 22 mark tomorrow I'm considering putting him in the big tank with the chiller (And the other axies-He's about an inch shorter than my others and is a sook...also he tended to be the one who was picked on a bit when he was a baby ). If you can, there are some really good and cheap fans at Kmart that'll pull you out of the Danger Zone until you can get a chiller/more reliable fridge- 45 degree angle and as big as you can get your paws on!