Cycling with Axolotl inside

So basically I got given a tank and Axolotl baby a few days later as a gift recently. I set up the tank, put water conditioner in, rinsed and washed everything and bought all the essentials etc. I was expecting to receive the Axolotl two weeks minimum after this, but due To unforeseen circumstances I received him two days after my tank was set up.

I've been really worried about the little guy. To my knowledge, if a fish or amphibian is put in a tank that has-t cycled for a month, theres A good chance they are dead.

I've been Doing every possible remedy to keep the little guy alive and although he seems really healthy and there's no problems as of yet, that whole ammonia/nitrate issue is still in the back of my head. About 2 days ago, the tank absoloutley stunk and I did a 25% water change to find no difference in the smell. I eventually ended up doing about a 75% water change and that got rid of a lot of the smell but not all of it. I've been doing 25% water changes every Day since, and purchased an air filter. Ive left the lid off for most of the days since the smell incident and the smell has pretty much disappeared. (still the faintest of smells when I put my nose right close to the water).

Basically my question is: what do I do now to ensure the little guy survives? I've read lots of different and sometimes contradicting material and it seems as though everything is based on opinion rather than concrete facts. Should I add plants to help with the ammonia problem? (assuming that's what it probably was). How about shrimp to get rid of excess food? Do I keep doing daily 25% Water changes? Maybe I should resort to some of those ammonia removers such as prime, etc.

Also a Side question, when I bought gravel for the tank at an aquarium, I asked specifically for Axolotl safe gravel or surface. The person I was dealing with knew exactly what I was talking about and what he was talking about and recommended this special gravel that will apparently not get swallowed up by the axolotl. Looking at the gravel now, I can't really see how that's the case. Most of the individual gravel pieces are about 1cm in length (some bigger, some smaller). Ideas?

Welcome,

Firstly I would remove any gravel immediately. Axolotls can easily eat it and can become quite sick as it will cause digestive impaction. Most pet shops who sell gravel are just trying to make a bit more money. If you want a substrate sand or big bits of slate are recommended.

I'm cycling my tank at the moment with my axolotl in. Just keep doing what you're doing. I syphon at least 25% of the tank water out each day. Make sure you take out any food and faeces. Keep a close eye on your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. I've been checking mine every other day, if they are high I change more water. Hope this helps. :happy:

Yeah true. At first I sort of got that impression with the guy who sold me the gravel. But then I thought it was only $4 per kilo and I bought 2 kilos worth... He could have very easily made me spend $50+ on Sand or big stone gravel haha. He's either clueless or real **** at business.

Thanks for the advice. I'm thinking I might go out and buy some sand tomorrow as I'm certain he doesn't like having no substrate (he always slips and curls his gills). Am I still able to have a small group of ghost shrimp with Java fern and Anubias plants in there if I switch to sand? Not sure what the requirements and conditions for those plants and shrimp are.

I'll just keep on doing what I'm doing then and hope for the best. Thanks heaps, really reassuring seeing that other people are in a similiar situation as myself.

P.S: Just the image of the gravel I'm using atm I was meant to upload earlier but couldn't via phone.

Yeah, that gravel is EXACTLY the wrong size for an axie's guts... I'd be pulling it out now and leaving it bare until tomorrow. Bunnings has bags of play sand that works really well for $9 a bag. You just need to wash the bejeezus out of it before you put it in.

As to the smell, I had a similar problem with my big tank. The two things that helped me were:
1. An air stone- For me, my tank is 6x2x2 ft, so keeping the water moving (without the current becoming overpowering) was a massive issue. Once I finally got aeration through the tank (one side through an air curtain from eBay, the other attached to the outlet of the internal filter), it was a matter of days for the water to clear and the cycle to spring into life.
2. A (very) cheap protein skimmer- I used this in conjunction with the air stones, and it managed to remove a HEAP of particulate matter from the water, which really contributed to the tank settling.

From there, make sure your filtration is working (And not completely choked up with gunk!), keep up your water changes and keep monitoring your parameters

Hope these suggestions help- I was cycling with ten axies in the tank thanks to our summers, and it was stressful, but in the end well worth it

If you have only recently set the tank up, then your amonia, nitrate and nitrites will take a short while to settle, usually you will begin with high amonia, as that lowers the nitrates may spike and rise, then as they lower the nitrites may rise, then they should settle. I would stick with the smaller 25 percent water changes every 2nd or 3rd day, as changing too much water, won't give your filter a chance to cycle, because if you are changing too much water then the filter is constantly having to fight more and more amonia,nitrate nitrites from the new water. Having recently had similar problems with an aquarium, i found that the higher amount of water change was'nt having the desired affect, i read through quite a few threads on various sites, and basically realised i had been interfering too much with the water, as soon as i started the smaller water changes, every 2nd or 3rd day, my levels began stabilising, and now my levels are usually 0-0-0, occasionally 0.25-0-0 or 0-0-5.. hope this helps.

millerj76 said:

If you have only recently set the tank up, then your amonia, nitrate and nitrites will take a short while to settle, usually you will begin with high amonia, as that lowers the nitrates may spike and rise, then as they lower the nitrites may rise, then they should settle. I would stick with the smaller 25 percent water changes every 2nd or 3rd day, as changing too much water, won't give your filter a chance to cycle, because if you are changing too much water then the filter is constantly having to fight more and more amonia,nitrate nitrites from the new water. Having recently had similar problems with an aquarium, i found that the higher amount of water change was'nt having the desired affect, i read through quite a few threads on various sites, and basically realised i had been interfering too much with the water, as soon as i started the smaller water changes, every 2nd or 3rd day, my levels began stabilising, and now my levels are usually 0-0-0, occasionally 0.25-0-0 or 0-0-5.. hope this helps.

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I don't think you quite understand how cycling works. The bacteria that establish a biological filtration system are found over surfaces, not in the water. Doing water changes daily of 30% keep the ammonia and nitrite at bay until there is enough friendly bacteria to successfully convert it to nitrate.