Getting my first axolotls soon, a little anxious

I am bringing my new axies home in about a week and I'm a little anxious about whether or not the water condition will be okay...I haven't had time to do a full cycle and I'm worried about how harmful that will be to them. Are axolotls particularly sensitive to water conditions?
I am getting all the supplies today and will hopefully have the tank all set-up by tomorrow. A friend who has lots of experience with fish is coming by to educate me a bit more on water-testing and the like.
So, I plan to bring the axolotls home on Wednesday. Today when I buy all the supplies for the tank, I was thinking that I could get some live brine shrimp to help with the cycling? Or should I try to do a five-day cycle?

Also--once I get the axies, how do I introduce them into their new tank?

Thanks!

Cycling doesn't really matter. Clean and cold water matters. As long as you keep an eye on your water parameters and do water changes often, you should be fine. I don't cycle my tanks. If you want to finish your cycling before you throw them in, keep them in some plastic tubs with clean cold water until the tank is ready. Don't get the brine shrimp if you intend to add axolotls to your tank as soon as you get them, that'll just create a ton of ammonia in your tank because they'll die very quickly out of brine.

As for introducing them, just do the water acclimation trick where you set their bags or containers in your water for the temps to change, then slowly put a cup of water from your tank into their bag every 15 minutes or so until it's pretty much all your water. Then dump them in. They aren't as sensitive as fish. This'll just help against shock from different water temps and qualities.

Easiest solution: don't worry too much about cycling and just do frequent changes to keep parameters down. It's not necessary, and it just complicates things for new owners.

Thanks, that really makes me feel better about it. (and just by the way, I was planning to buy the brine shrimp today and put them in a few days before the axolotls.)

Don't put their brine in with them, strain them out. Prepare for an ammonia spike.

Ask your fish friend for some ornaments or filter media from their tank, that was yours will cycle quicker because you're introducing some bacteria

A few more questions--
When I'm cleaning the tank with a siphon, should I remove the axolotls and put them in a temporary container? I assume so, just want to know what other people do.
And they're pretty young right now, I've seen them at the pet store and they're around three inches long. This would be too young to determine the gender, right? I'd just prefer not to end up with eggs someday
On the same note: should I wait to house them together until they're a bit bigger? Would it be all-together a better idea to keep them separate in a few plastic containers and wait until I have the tank properly cycled and they're bigger and less likely to attack one another?

If you're siphoning you don't have to remove them when they're bigger.Just be careful. If they're very small, just use a turkey Baster to siphon.

Best just keep them in separate tubs until they're bigger. It'll save you a lot of trouble and possible injury. Let your tank cycle over time, they won't be good size for a few months.

What kind/size of tubs would you recommend? Will they be fine without a filter for a while? Thanks for all the help! I've been panicking the last few days.

6 qt works, 28 qt even better. Filters aren't needed, that's why you siphon out their poop and food debris. Shoe boxes are perfectly sized. It just depends on how many you have and how much room you want them to have. Be careful, as they can jump. Put a lid on them with holes or get a deeper tub and fill it only halfway.