Setting up my first tank!

Hello! My name is Nikki. I'm planning on setting up my first axolotl tank in the next few weeks. I'm posting to make sure I have everything I need before I start cycling. I'm limited on space right now so the biggest tank I can do is a 10 gallon. I'll be able to upgrade to a 15 or 20 in about a year. I was planning on getting a very young axolotl, about 3 inches, and letting him start in the 10 gallon tank.

I have an aquaclear 20 HOB filter that I was planning on using. I can baffle the flow so there is very little water movement. The tank would be bare bottom. I don't want to risk him eating gravel or sand. For decor, I was thinking a cave and a few live plants in small terra cotta pots would provide good hiding places. My friend has an axolotl that loves to play with moss balls so I'll add one of those too.

Chillers are expensive so I was thinking of using a fan on a screen top to keep the water cool. If that doesn't work, I'll invest in a decent, compact chiller. I have limited space and a very limited budget.

For food, I read that worms are good. Earthworms and bloodworms are readily available near me. Maybe ghost shrimp as a treat? or guppy fry? I won't be getting the axolotl until mid July at the earliest. Likely the beginning of august. So I have until then to figure out food.

Anything else I'll need to keep one axolotl happy and healthy?

Thanks!
Nikki

What you're saying sounds good! I use a fan to cool my ten gallon and it works well enough, but I also have to keep the AC on. Since summer is coming around, if you can't keep the room itself you cool you might want to invest in a chiller - a fan can't keep up with summer temps.

As for food, you'll really just need frozen bloodworms and earthworms. You don't have to worry too much about varying their diet - it's unnecessary, worms are full nutrition, so if you can get those, you're golden!

Yeah. I live right by the coast so we have a couple dozen bait shops around and earthworms are insanely cheap.

Forgot to ask, how much should I feed him/her each day and at what sizes? Obviously a fully grown axolotl will eat more than a 3" one, but how much?

Nikkifro8994 said:

Forgot to ask, how much should I feed him/her each day and at what sizes? Obviously a fully grown axolotl will eat more than a 3" one, but how much?

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The younger axolotls may eat less than an adult but they eat more frequently. I started with mine at 2" and they would eat about half a blood worm cube a day. Somedays I'd feed them twice. As soon as they can fit earthworms in their mouth, switch to earthworms. That will be the healthiest diet. Feed as much as it will eat in 15ish minutes. Its better to add more worms then less, especially during its growing stage.

Another thing I might add, If you do go with a filter, why not a simple sponge filter? cheap and provides enough biological filtration. The HOB filters are great if you have animals that are constantly making the water cloudy with their droppings. Axolotls tend to drop off more dense packages. It also will help you maintain a cleaner environment if you spend 10 min a day removing the droppings. Also filters tend to be forgotten until they stop doing their job and the water gets dirty. Weekly water changes will keep your tank clear. Unless you have a gigantic tank where water changes and cleaning are difficult, axolotls don't require a filter.

I have a temporary 20 gallon now with more axolotls than I should have, but frequent water changes and daily cleaning keeps them healthy. My canister filter only has some filter fiber because I wipe down my tank every week, and I also want as much water volume for them until they get moved into two larger tanks. At which point my canister will become an expensive vacuum for cleaning the bottom.

I already own the HOB filter. And I rinse the media every Saturday when I do a water change. I was planning on having it set for the lowest flow and baffling it if necessary to minimize water movement.

I always try to feed my animals a varied diet when I can. I wouldn't want to eat the same food every day, and I can't imagine they would either. Earthworms would be the staple diet every day, but can I feed them something else once or twice a week? Can axolotls eat guppy fry occasionally as a treat? If not, I'll use bloodworms or maybe convince my boyfriend to feed it crickets. I hate those things.

Axies can certainly eat guppy fry or bloodworms as a treat, those are fine, but again it's really kinda unnecessary. They don't get 'bored' of food like we do. I would advise against crickets - they can be kinda hard to digest.

Nikkifro8994 said:

I already own the HOB filter. And I rinse the media every Saturday when I do a water change. I was planning on having it set for the lowest flow and baffling it if necessary to minimize water movement.

I always try to feed my animals a varied diet when I can. I wouldn't want to eat the same food every day, and I can't imagine they would either. Earthworms would be the staple diet every day, but can I feed them something else once or twice a week? Can axolotls eat guppy fry occasionally as a treat? If not, I'll use bloodworms or maybe convince my boyfriend to feed it crickets. I hate those things.

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I feed earthworms as their main diet and will throw in some guppies and very small softshell snails maybe once a month. I used to feed them small ghost shrimp as well but ran out of those guys. I advise not feeding them any store bought live food (guppies/shrimp/snails) until after a lengthy quarantine time, as they can definitely harbor disease and parasites. Avoid anything that has hard chitin or a thick shell.

You'll also need a kit for testing your water parameters. Get one of the liquid test kits, instead of the test strips. They are a bit more expensive up front, but they give more reliable results and do last a long time. The Api freshwater master test kit is very popular.

Some dechlorinator would be a good idea as well.

Forgot to mention that I have the API liquid kit. I/m out of nitrate tests. I used them all when I had a blue green and red algae outbreak

I was reading up on various substrates the other day. One user has sand silconed to the bottom of the tank. I think I'm going to do the same. I'll also add a piece of driftwood and a couple large river rocks with anubias or java fern tied to them. I'll get a moss ball and some small terra cotta pots with congensis, cabomba, micro swords, anacharis and/or Hygrophila corymbosa. Also, a large upside down terra cotta pot with a hole cut for the axie to hide in. I'll place the large inverted pot underneath the filter to reduce water movement. I may need to add a small piece of slate on top. I'll try it without first and see how well it disperses the current from the filter.