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Flint the Axolotl

Jellybean

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I just got an axolotl 2 days ago. His name is Flint and he's very friendly and adorable ( all axolotls are adorable!) He is seaweed green with purple-ish gills. He isn't housed with any fish. He's very mobile and swims around a lot. He is about 5 inches long. So far his diet consists of small earthworms, blood worm cube things, and nutritious sinking wafer things. Does anyone have any tips i could use for feeding or happiness? I want my axie to be happy as can be in his new home.:happy:
 

PatchworkClocks

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Sounds like you're feeding him all the right stuff. If you want snacks for him, you could feed him butter or wax worms every couple of weeks or so. Keep in mind axolotls need a diet that doesn't have a lot of fat in it, as too much fat can cause kidney problems. If you're feeling up for it, you could get some cherry or glass shrimp for your axolotl to chase around. You would need to quarantine the shrimp for a couple of weeks (I've heard 30 days from some and two weeks from others), but after that you would be fine to plop them into the tank.

As for happiness, it all depends on what your axolotl's personality is like. Some of them like to float or hang around at the surface of the water, so for that you could get some little shower caddy platforms with suction cups for them to sit on. Some of them like to play in hides with lots of holes (like my own!), so for that you could find a cave or a ceramic log with lots of holes. And there are still others that love hanging on plants and other "precarious" places (again, like mine), so for that you could get some fake (or real) plants for them to sit on. Or, and I thought this was genius, you could buy one of those parrot toys made of plastic rings. I bought a star-shaped one a couple weeks back and my axolotl just loves it!

Anyway, sorry for the paragraph. :eek: But I hope I helped a bit!
 

Jellybean

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Thank you for the help! Flint likes to move around a bunch, sometimes sitting in a small cone house he has. Im planning to get aquarium plants and another hide so he would be more corfortable. Thank you for the idea with the shrimp; like i said hes a very mobile axie. But i have one question: how do you quarintine the shrimp?
 

Jellybean

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2iqfr43.jpg
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Here are some pictures! Thanks for the websute! I'll check it out!
 

Jellybean

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I was changing my Axie's tank and switching gravel for sand. I washed the sand really well with hot water and put it in the tank. Once all the sand settled, the waterbwas still a little foggy. Will that go away?
 

layna

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Yes with all your partial water changes, it will settle on the bottom and clear the water.
Just remember to clean your filter in a bucket of old tank water often to get rid of the sand particles until your water is clear :D
 

Jellybean

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Thank you for the help, my tank is clear now! But, a new problem has arisen. :( Flint started rejecting worms about 2 days ago. He only consumed the pellets i fed him from time to time. He refused the pellets today. What happened? :(
 

layna

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What is the water temp?
Did you cycle your tank before you got your axie?
The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling - Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community

If you didnt then you will need to do it. You can either do a fish IN cycle which involves daily water changes to your tank with your axie in, or you can do the above guide and keep your axie in a separate tub (but you will need to clean his tub 100% every day)

If you havent cycled the tank and its not the temp thats an issue, then you will need to do a partial water change in his tank.
Also what worms do you feed him? Dendrobaena worms can secrete a nasty slime and some axies wont eat them.
You can try offering shrimp, bloodworm, waxworm, blackworm, small feeder fish, bits of fresh salmon, or rinsed and thawed prawn to get him interested in food again :D

 

Jellybean

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Thank you, but i cant get those at the moment. :(:( He has little patches of white on his head and his gills are grey please help!
 

Amy82

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I agree it sounds fungal, check you tank temps and treat it with a salt bath.

As far as things to decorate the tank and keep your axi happy. I have Marimo in with mine and he rolls them about, sits on them, and hides under them. When you axi is stable and eating again you might want to add a few.
 

Kaysie

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Could you post a picture of the patches? They could just be an overaccumulation of slime coat.
 

Jellybean

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Here is a picture:
http://i39.tinypic.com/20k3igk.jpg[IMG]









[IMG]http://i41.tinypic.com/2u5giz9.jpg[IMG]
Lol
 

Amy82

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I don't see anything that looks like fungus. He looks healthy to me. You really should get ALL the stones out. If they're small enough for him to ingest they can cause an impaction. Stones bigger than his head would be okay as long as they're not jagged and you watch as he grows to make sure they don't fit in his mouth.
 

Jellybean

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Flint has been hanging around the filter side of the tank recently. It has larger rocks on that side. He has some greyish stuff on his head and body. Is that just his slime layer? Is it normal for him yo be only on the filter side of the tank?
 
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