Question: New owner, Need advice, tips etc.

Hello, my name is Asuka and I have gotten a new axolotl a day ago, right now he's a juvy living in a 5 gallon (temporary), today I got a 20 gallon tank which he will be moved to tomorrow.

Now I have tons of questions, not because I do not research on my own but I figure the more opinions and information I get, the better, and some are out of curiosity, because you can never know too much about anything, so sorry for bombarding you guys with questions.

1- In an uncycled 20 gallon tank with a single axolotl, how often would you recommend water changes? (I have been feeding him Mysis, and they get a little messy at times.)

2- What kind of substrate do you recommend and do you think that sand made of Silica is alright? Or bare tank better?

3- How to tell when an axolotl is sick?

4- How do you know when an Axolotl is healthy?

5- How do you feed your frozen foods and lessen the mess?

6- What can house in a 20g other than 1 more axolotl?

7- What are good decorations to use for him to feel safe?

8- How can you sex an axolotl?

9- How can you tell how old he/she is?

10- If injured how quick do they regenerate?

11- Do all axolotls gulp air?

12- How do you manage lighting with axolotls low tolerance for it and with live plants?

13- What plants (species included) are recommended for axolotls?

14- If bare-bottomed, how do you stabilize decoration without the axolotl tossing it down

15- What is a good stable diet if worms and pellets are unavailable?

16- What are the pros and cons of live foods?

17- What are the pros and cons of breeding feeder fish?

18- What is considered normal axolotl behavior?

19- What does healthy axolotl poop look like?

20- How often are teen axolotls fed?

21- When is an axolotl considered an adult?

Lol sorry again for all those questions xD a giant cookie to the one who answers them all o.o

cor, what a lot of questions, it's well worth searching this site for the answers as well as asking - I know I've seen really good photos on here showing how to sex them for example.
Quickly, I'll answer what I can, I've been keeping mine for a couple of months now though so I'm no expert.


3- How to tell when an axolotl is sick?
I think their tails curl

4- How do you know when an Axolotl is healthy?
like babies, are they eating, pooing, moving around.....

5- How do you feed your frozen foods and lessen the mess?
I feed frozen bloodworm cubes and I put them in a jam jar until they defrost, then as quick as possible I sink the jar into the tank so the open bit is to the side, some escape but they tend not to last long - search for feeding jars on here.

6- What can house in a 20g other than 1 more axolotl?
I think they tend to eat everything else

7- What are good decorations to use for him to feel safe?
Mine have lots of hiding places, big plant pots cut in half (sand the edges) a plastic tube, lots of places to hide behind and plants growing above the tank with roots that they can hide in.


11- Do all axolotls gulp air?
mine do

12- How do you manage lighting with axolotls low tolerance for it and with live plants?
the plants grow at the top of the tank and provide shade for the axies underneath.



14- If bare-bottomed, how do you stabilize decoration without the axolotl tossing it down
I've got aquarium sand in mine and things are weighed down with rocks.



18- What is considered normal axolotl behavior?
they are all as mad as bicycles, mine currently spend a lot of time watching me, or watching their reflections.

19- What does healthy axolotl poop look like?
small, less than 1cm long rubgy ball shaped things, mine eat theirs if I am not quick enough to get it out.

20- How often are teen axolotls fed?
mine are 5 inches long and they get a worm every other day, sometimes with a gap of a few days and sometimes they get some frozen bloodworm.

Honestly, try the search funtion because it will tell you a lot more quickly than doing it this way.

All those questions are answered clearly in the care guide.

http://axolotl.org

esn said:

All those questions are answered clearly in the care guide.

Axolotls: The Fascinating Mexican Axolotl and the Tiger Salamander

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I read the site, I just want to see other people's opinions on the matter, and I'm browsing the forums as we speak. I'm a researching freak XD

And this doesn't really reply my water changing question which is the one I truely am in need to know. And it doesn't really tell me what poop looks like, how to lessen food mess...

I like to get my information from more sources than one, animals are different and sometimes need some specific way of care, plus I figured getting some info here even though it's present in many sites and books that I'm reading, however here I can get more feedback from actual owners and see what has worked for them and what hasn't-- I want to know what works for people and to form my own knowledge from it, even though everyone pretty much says the same--- what can I say I'm a curious one lol.

But thanks I appreciate it XD if you have any other links that could be helpful feel free, I love reading more stuffs about the lotls XD

10-20% Once a week, or as needed. Water changes are to control water parameters. It depends on your individual readings.

Browse the forums, but the information is there. These same questions are asked by people over and over... Which is why there is a guide and FAQ on it.

1- Daily spot checks and removing uneaten food will help keep ammonia spikes at bay. 10-20% weekly should surfice. While the tank is uncycled, always keep a test kit at hand so you can check the water quality regularly so you can make sure ammonia and nitrite levels are kept at an acceptable level. This may sometimes require daily partial water changes until the levels are stable.

2- Bare bottom is by far the easiest option but silica sand should be fine. Avoid gravel and quartz sand.

3- It is usually quite obvious but illness shouldn't occur if the axolotls tank set up is adequate and water is cool, dechlorinated and clean. Axolotls get ill when they are affected by stress long term. Most common symptoms are hooked tails, curled gills and fungus. Have a read through this: Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity

4- It will be of a good weight, eating well, going to the toilet regularly and not being overly active.

5- Frozen foods such as blood worm, daphnia etc can be fed using the jar method: Place the cube in a large jar, then place the large jar in the tank for the axolotl to climb into and eat freely. Dishes can also be placed in/on top of the substrate, let the cube defrost slightly then squeeze it. It will crumble in your finger tips and can be placed on the dish. Avoid frozen brine shrimp and daphnia for larger axolotls as it will go ignored and foul your water.

6- I don't recommend mixing species. No fish, newts, etc. You could possibly keep 2 axolotls in a 20 gallon tank.

7- pvc pipes, mugs and untreated plant pots make cheap effective hides for axolotls. I use large reptile caves. Plants of course, are always attractive and make great hiding spots. Always make sure material is aquarium safe before placing it in the tank and soaking it in dechlorinated water overnight before adding it to the tank will be useful.

8- Males have much larger cloacas than females. Females can also look rounder around the abdomen whereas males are quite streamline.

9- It's hard to say. I've found axolotl development depends on their diet and feeding routine. Some axolotls grow faster than others. It's difficult to pin point an age unless you've hatched them yourself.

10- It depends on age. I've found juveniles can regenerate rather quickly (usually a couple of weeks, depending on the extent of the injury), whereas adults, it can take longer.

11- Yes.

12- Lighting shouldn't bother them in short periods. Plants will only need several hours of light a day. If the axolotls bothered, it shall hide.

13- ambulia, water sprite, valls, liliopsis, java moss, and similar are all practical for axolotls.

14- Fish tank safe sealant. This will need a long time to dry, however.

15- If worms are unavailable, pellets are readily found online.

16- I feel there are no cons to live foods so long as you're giving them the right ones.

17- I don't recommend feeder fish if their are more suitable foods more available.

18- eating, pooing regularly, gulping air occasionally, hiding, sitting in plants, fanning their gills.

19- A black/brown jellybean.

20- Mine are fed every other day. Once fully grown their feeds are gradually reduced to 3 times a week.

21- I'd say once they're fully grown and sexually mature. Females generally mature later than males.

Lets see if I can answer some of the questions
2. I recommend sand cause, personally, I think it looks better and a little bit more natural. And I think it gives good bacteria a place where it can grow
3. Signs to look for are a curled tail, forward pointing gill and white fluffy looking fungus
4. Eating, pooping, swimming, walking and demanding more food
5. I thaw it and wash it in a bit of tank water using a pipette, but not washing it into the axolotl tank (Axolotl Tucker)
6. Axolotls don't tend to like other species, as others e.g fish, nibble their gills and/or the axolotls eat them
7. Pots with no sharp edges for the axies to cut themselves on and plants
8. Males have a large bulge between their back legs
11. Mine do
18. Nose pressed up to the glass and using their eyes to hypnotise you into feeding them again

Like Elena posted, Axolotls: The Fascinating Mexican Axolotl and the Tiger Salamander is a very good web site

When you say un-cycled you mean that you won't add a filter or going to cycle with your axie in the tank? I tried cycling with my axolotl, and he got very ill. So I stick to no filter what so ever. Could have cycled then put her in but cycles crash and I was paranoid of that lol

Have you considered keeping him in the 5 gallon until his permanent home is cycled? The advantage is that you can clear up waste and do daily water changes easily in the small tank and the big tank can go through all the stages of the ammonia and nitrite peaks without your axie being in it. This, of course, will depend on how big he is.

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wandering said:

Have you considered keeping him in the 5 gallon until his permanent home is cycled? The advantage is that you can clear up waste and do daily water changes easily in the small tank and the big tank can go through all the stages of the ammonia and nitrite peaks without your axie being in it. This, of course, will depend on how big he is.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

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Problem is that I cannot find a good testing kit. And I do not have enough money to spend on a 75 euro kit at the moment... I have him in his new tank now with thin sand substrate and some fake silk plants/java moss and cured mandragora wood.

But anyways I will not cycle.

Plus I'm paranoid that I may do something wrong. Cycling with fish is stressful no matter what and that is unnecessary stress, considering it's a 20g, I don't think he needs daily water changes do I will probably just do 20% like someone recommended or 50% twice weekly and 100% twice monthly (similiar to my betta tanks)

I do not mind at all doing daily water changes and such, I may not have much money but I sure can have time to do them I know it's tedious and all, but I find it fun lol.

kaliko22 said:

When you say un-cycled you mean that you won't add a filter or going to cycle with your axie in the tank? I tried cycling with my axolotl, and he got very ill. So I stick to no filter what so ever. Could have cycled then put her in but cycles crash and I was paranoid of that lol

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I put a waterfall filter but just for the sake of oxygenating water and removing floating debris but no, I will not cycle.

A tank will cycle eventually, whether you do it consciously or not.

A cycled tank is much less stressful than than doing large water changes. Axolotls are amphibians, not fish. They don't do well with huge swings in water quality, such as with 100% water changes.

If you or a friend has a freshwater fish tank that is established, just take a big chunk of the filter media and add it to your filter on your new tank. Or, take a bunch of gravel and put it in a nylon and put that near the filter in your tank. Both these methods will give you a bunch of beneficial bacteria, which is a lot faster than starting from scratch. Sometimes it will even instantly cycle your tank. If you have no way of testing your water (try to get a hold of an API master test kit) you can take water samples to most pet stores to test. If I was flying blind, I would do a 20% water change every 2-3 days for 6 weeks. That is a total estimate though, and each tank cycles at a different pace.

I would skip using the mysis shrimp, or any frozen messy food if you can. Get some earthworms from the bait/petshop/out of your yard/ect and cut them to the a size your axolotl can eat. Feeding this way will stop uneaten food building up and causing a high ammonia spike.

JessKB said:

If you or a friend has a freshwater fish tank that is established, just take a big chunk of the filter media and add it to your filter on your new tank. Or, take a bunch of gravel and put it in a nylon and put that near the filter in your tank. Both these methods will give you a bunch of beneficial bacteria, which is a lot faster than starting from scratch. Sometimes it will even instantly cycle your tank. If you have no way of testing your water (try to get a hold of an API master test kit) you can take water samples to most pet stores to test. If I was flying blind, I would do a 20% water change every 2-3 days for 6 weeks. That is a total estimate though, and each tank cycles at a different pace.

I would skip using the mysis shrimp, or any frozen messy food if you can. Get some earthworms from the bait/petshop/out of your yard/ect and cut them to the a size your axolotl can eat. Feeding this way will stop uneaten food building up and causing a high ammonia spike.

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sadly no gravel Q_Q I'm tempted to ask the store, but we know how dirty that can be-- with illnesses and such... fish keeping is rare here... and keeping amphibians even more. I do not have a yard, I'm allergic to the worms both blood worms and earthworms :/ thus the mysis shrimp. I know it's not good for the hobby i know... I try sometimes-- but I suffer a lot. My pet > me lol.

I found out while keeping my bettas and when I got the axolotl. I'm hypersensitive to them.

How I usually feed him is that I let the shrimp there, let him around 20 min to find it and eat what he can, then I siphon the leftovers to keep water quality.

My water changes take around 3 hours to perform.

I remove 50%-20% of the water and then re-add 10% every 30 min-20min. Just as if I were adding new fish to a tank, I'm sure there are more efficient ways but well-- this works for me.

The water is at ambient temperature with conditioner sitting 48hours before the water changing day. (In a separate bucket that I always have prepared)

I will try to get my hands on an API test kit, I found it here for 75 euro.... yeaaaaaaah... it's gonna take me a while before I can spare that much Q_Q but I will get it eventually-- I hope.