New to the Axolotl community!

Recently, my fish of 6 years died and I was looking into a new species. I stumbled upon these Axolotls while searching different aquatic animals on google. When I first saw a picture, I was very intrigued and looked more into the species. I have come to the conclusion that I would very much love to own one of these creatures. I figured this community would have a great deal of important information to help me get started.

I have a few questions and would greatly appreciate it if you guys could help :happy:

1. Where is the best place to buy and Axolotl?
2. If I do purchase one, it would likely be my only one, would it be healthy living by itself?
3. I read that gravel and sand can cause issues with them, what is the best option for the bottom of the tank?
4. Is a 10 gallon tank large enough?
5. I read some sites saying a filter is a good option, and others that it is not. Do you guys have any opinions on the subject?

Again, I would greatly appreciate any help you guys have to offer! ^.^

Firstly, welcome to the community!!

1. You may be able to buy local, but if you do, I suggest you make sure the shops are taking care of them properly. No gravel, not together with other species, happy, healthy specimens, etc. If they're not providing proper care or they look sick, talk to the store manager and if they just shrug it off, report them. If not, you could probably find someone selling them in US on this site (check the selling area). Be prepared to pay 50-100 or more for overnight shipping.

2. They can be perfectly happy living solo. Easier to prevent surprise litters that way! Unless you feel comfortable with dealing (euthanizing, raising, selling, etc) with eggs and you do want more, separate males from females, or buy only one or the other (ie. get older specimens that are sex-able).

3. If they're <5" bare bottom is the way to go. Once they're bigger, you can use sand that is smooth, < or = 1mm in size, such as play sand (rinse really well), silica sand, or pool filter sand (which can be bought at pool/hot tub store, and can be silica sand). You can use slate pieces but those would require constantly being cleaned under or being siliconed down so nothing can go underneath. You could keep it bare bottomed, though some axies get stressed once they're bigger because they cannot get a good grip when they're older.

4. I'll never get tired of posting this: Axies can get 7"-17" as adults, with the average being 10". A 10g tank is 20" x 10" footprint. (footprint is what matters because they are bottom dwellers). Would you like to live 10-15+ years in an environment that is 2x your length and 1x your width? I suggest 20g long bare minimum (30" x 12" - gives 80% more footprint!), but the larger you can get, the better for multiple reasons: 1) more room for axies to move about, 2) much easier to keep water parameters normal. More water to buffer spikes in ammonia, nitrate, etc.

5. Definitely go for low-flow filtration! I recommenced sponge filters. 1) it gives beneficial bacteria a great place to inhabit, which is needed to keep tank cycled and water parameters normal for a healthy axie. 2) low flow aerates the water so it helps keep it oxygenated. 3) it helps keep waters cooler since the aeration gives water movement, thus increasing evaporation. It's VERY important that it be low-flow. Axies will get stressed in fast moving waters.

Cheers!
Ashley