Final review before Juvies arrive. Input appreciated!

The funny thing about Axolotls is the more you learn about them, the more you want to spoil them! I started out this crazy idea of keeping an axie in my high school art classroom. I asked my students for an "old tank lying around" that they didn't need. That went from aquiring a 10 gallon from a student. To buying my own 29 gallon tank to finally exchanging that in favor of a 40 gallon breeder. Sure, I've gone from an inexpensive class pet to a couple hundred dollar excursion, but I know it's worth it!

After countless hours of research, I'd like to compile a list of what I plan to do. I know theres a lot of conflicting opinions, but I tried my best to find a happy medium. I apologize that this will be so lengthy! Please let me know if I've left anything out or if I'm doing something incorrectly!

When the 2 juvies arrive (they should be 4-5 weeks old):

*Raise them at home where they can be monitored.
*Keep them seperated in medium sized tupperware containers with lids and air holes
*feed them frozen bloodworm (can't find live in my area) twice a day, as much as I can get them to eat in five minutes.
*100% water changes daily

When they become large enough where they won't get lost (3-4 inches? Is this big enough?), move them to the 40 gallon tank. Together.

*Tank will (hopefully!) be completely cycled with the addition of carefully monitored ammonia drops and a baggie of gravel from a healthy established tank.
*feed them on a varied diet of bloodworms, salmon food soft pellets and chopped up, axie bite-size live earthworms twice a day (earthworms from Walmart or bait shop, anyone have problems with parasites? I could try ordering organic.).
*Transistion bloodworms out of their diet.
* Keep 6 or so cherry shrimp in their tank for cleanup and snacks (since they'll be left alone over the weekend).


Tank Setup

*40 gallonbreeder. Not sure on specefics but I think about 18 inches wide and over 30 long.
*Leslie's pool supply Filter sand substrate, no deeper than 1 inch
*Tap water treated with standard dechlorinator and slime coat (brand suggestions?).
*Large resin mangrove root (with spaces for crawling underneath and a built in ramp).
*Live plants: ava moss, java fern, banana plant, a plant with four big leaves that was in with a betta previously but has been in it's own jar of water for a few months.
*fake plants: soft plastic with no sharp edges
*Rainbow slate tile from Lowe's that will be caulked together with GE brand waterproof caulk (not the kitchen mold resistant kind) to create a hides.
*Clear aquarium lid that covers all escape holes and LED light with moonlight setting.
*Submerged filter box (the clear acrylic box style with filter floss and charcoal) with air pump. Its said to not create any movement in the water. I'll have one in the corner with the plan to monitor if another one is needed.
*My classroom is pretty cold, but I know to keep the temp in the 60's, no higher than 71 F (75 F being danger zone!) My house is usually around 68 F. I'm guessing my windowless and cement walled classroom with be a few degreees lower (my hands always ache from the cold!).


Maintenance

*Feedings once or twice a day, varying the time so all classes get to participate.
*siphoning up leftover food and any visible waste after five minutes of feeding
* 25% water change weekly
* stirring up sand (with my hand) and vaccuming sediment and everywhere every three weeks (including under rocks, hides and the under the mangrove root).
*keeping "moonlight setting on from 8am to 4:30pm. No light the rest of the time (no windows in my classroom, either).
*Swishing around plants and filter floss in bucket of aquarium water when they start to look grungy. Maybe every three weeks with the major vaccuming? Replace filter floss when it starts to fall apart or has too much permanently stuck to be efficient. Leave a piece of old floss to establish good bacteria when transistioning to new floss.

Hello, looks like you've done your homework - well done.

Just had one thought, don't forget to test your water parameters at least weekly to keep on top of ammonia / nitrites / nitrates and check the use by date on your test kit.

With the dechlorinator, I use API Stress Coat which contains Aloe Vera. It removes all of the nasties and helps maintain the slime coat. I think it's pretty widely available but there are a lot of brands out there which are just as good. Perhaps check out some other posts about water quality, a lot of them mention different brands used by others that might be better or easier to buy.

Good luck, look forward to some pics when it's all up and running

Great to see someone do their research first! The only thing I would advise you to do differently is to use a screen or eggcrate lid. The added ventilation promotes evaporation which keeps the tank cooler. However I suppose it would be easier for foreign (potentially deadly) objects in an art room to find their way into the tank with a less secure lid.

I don't know about using dechlorinator with slime coat additives. I never have and all of mine are fine, they're also a lot more expensive than a simple dechlorinator. But i guess that'a all down to what you're willing to spend etc. Good luck! Post some photos of your babies when they arrive

At least in the US, stress-coat is no more expensive than any other dechlorinator. It's what I use, as it's most likely to be available here and I dislike changing brands.

The only other thing I would add is to make sure you're getting axolotls. Oklahoma is notorious for "baby dinosaurs", which are tiger salamander larvae, and not axolotls.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

As for the slime coat being more expensive, I haven't really noticed a price difference here and I already had the bottle on hand from previous aquariums.

The glass tank lid has a two inch plastic strip that detaches. Too small for an axolotl to jump through but hopefully large enough for evaporation.

I'm getting my two juvies from a member on this site and I'm almost positive she's sending me genuine axies That makes a lot of sense that Oklahoma would be selling a different species. A friend of mine works at a pet store and pointed out their axolotl or "mud dog" as he called it and it looked unlike any axie i'd ever seen.

Oh thats fine then, the supplier i get stuff from is very pricey :/