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New Axolotl, and New Member

Hello! - Just considered this could be in the wrong place but as it was more an Axolotl Question/Random nonsense about my axolotl post I put it here... Sorry if this is wrong!!

My name is Richard, I recently got 2 4ish month old Axolotl, a black (more like flecky silvery grey, sometimes I wonder if it's a dark dark green even but my wife says black) one and a white one they're apparently too young to sex at the moment but I've named them Asherah and Nemo. Nemo (named by my 3 year old) because when we got the white one I picked it up from the store, got home and discovered the ******* in the shop had handed the bag to me with it facing one way, then when I turned the bag around at home it had 3 legs! I wouldn't of said "No put it back!!" if I'd seen that in the first place, but it felt like they had tried to con me some how. Asherah was a name I found after a couple of hours of looking, it's a Mesopotamian name meaning "She Who Walks Upon the Sea" which I thought was perfect for an axolotl! So shortened the name to Ash, which obviously fits in with her black/flecky colour also.

I originally signed up in a fit of panic a week or so back because Ash had a white cloud around a broken leg (something that also happened at the pet store) and I thought this was the end of the line after reading several forums, I tried to sign up but had to wait for approval so went to try out some suggestions. After a rather bodged salt bath (I misread the instructions and luckily my wife noticed after only 5-10 mins!!) A quick transfer back into it's tank and the leg came off, the (presumed) fungus stayed on the broken part (which was fished out and disposed of) and a 2.5mg dosage of Pimafix a day is being administered to the tank for 7 days (upto day 3 at the moment after searching around for the most reliable anecdotes I could find...)

Anyway my axolotl seem fine now, had a brief panic where the water temperature rose to about 24 degrees on a rare hot day here in the UK and while they are the opposite side the room from a window I was giving them ice and water changes to get the temperature down and sure enough it's down to around 21 degrees and they're suddenly lively active little things!

I thought I was very prepared for them, having cycled my tank (160 litres 100cm wide * 40cm high * 40 cm deep - is that worked out right?!) and bought all the bits and pieces I thought I needed. (Heater = not needed yet it turns out...) Had a couple of moments since where I've ran out to buy something or had to change something (EG I originally spent a week soaking a huge bag of rocks from the beach, cleaning them, ensuring all the salt was gone, they lasted about a week in the tank before I found cleaning all the dirt out from in between them was a nightmare! So now the tank is just glass bottom)

Each axolotl has their own amphibian cave to live in which is quite cute as they both sit opposite one another on opposite ends of the tank and regularly make the trek towards one another to swap ends.These are big enough that they can grow into them quite well. I left 1 rock in the middle which my black axolotl seems to enjoy sitting on a lot, and a couple of floating plant bits that my white one loves to follow about if I put it near by, it swims around after it which is cute but I worry slightly that it might be thinking "Why can't I catch this food!?!" so I've not done it more than once.

Hoping to become a regular part of the forum, really love my new family additions! My daughter adores them too and my wife is really involved in feeding them. Our only worry is some sites say they wont eat unless they're hungry, others say they eat when they are given food. I have been feeding them frozen blood worm packs, cat fish pellets, at first I was giving them garden worms too but heard they may carry parasites so stopped! Lately it has been more blood worms and pellets - my 2 questions are:

A) I feed them once cube of blood worms in say the morning or afternoon and then a bit later in the day, or that evening they are rushing around again in the same sort of place, looking as though they want food. If I put another cube in they wolf it down within minutes, without fail. Am I feeding on demand here in a good way? Or am I just succumbing to the trickery of greedy axolotl? Ash for example went a bit ballistic when my wife fed them earlier, she said "As though it hadn't eaten in ages!!" it wolfed the food down in no time at all. Later on I fed them because she'd told me that Nemo didn't really get as much of the food today as Ash (it still ate, and often it's the other way round!), and while it got plenty of it this time, Ash also ate a fair bit again as though it was very hungry. Do they need 1 cube each a day, or should 1 cube between the 2 be enough? Should I just stick it in until there is food left over after 15 minutes or so and syphon the rest out, or what?

B) I was wondering what other options are a good idea? Some places mention Daphnea, not sure what this is? Would it live in the tank and get eaten as and when? Is it a good idea to get? Crickets were mentioned but some say they damage the axolotl, some say otherwise? All very confusing. Been told they were raised to this point on blood worms and pellets so have kept that regime going. Help would be appreciated here too, although I am aware there are plenty of threads so sorry for repeating!

Re: New Axolotl, and New Member

Sorry looking back this was a bit long! Hope I didn't bore anyone.

Noticed today that Ash was swimming to the top of the tank and just floating around there for a bit, never done this before, is that normal playing around?

Re: New Axolotl, and New Member

Hanging out at the top of the tank is normal, as long as Ash doesn't have any trouble getting to the bottom.

At that age, they probably don't need to be fed daily, but perhaps every other day. Your goal is to get their belly to as wide as their head, give or take. If their belly isn't as wide as their head, go ahead and feed a little more. If it's too wide, feed a little less. Juveniles will grow quickly. They are opportunistic feeders, and shameless beggars. I'm sorry, but you've been played!

As they're already 4 months old, I imagine they're too big for daphnia. Earthworms are the most nutritious staple, but there are lots of threads on what to feed axolotls.

Is it normal for a 'black' axolotl to go really light sometimes? He almost looks like a wild-type now, making me wonder which colour he is. I know they change when they hunt, etc. But he's looking far less black lately and wasnt that black to begin with.

Turns out my " melanoid" is actually more likely a dark wild type - only thought to question it because one of the babies apparently looks like a light wild type (rest of the dark ones are more like their dad).

I really enjoyed reading your posts

Chugga said:

Turns out my " melanoid" is actually more likely a dark wild type - only thought to question it because one of the babies apparently looks like a light wild type (rest of the dark ones are more like their dad).

I really enjoyed reading your posts

Click to expand...

Thanks Chugga been meaning to respond to this all week!

I imagine it is a wild type then. My images and the responses here suggest as much!

They've got a bit chubby looking lately so I am having to cut back their feeding, (those pics aren't recent enough to show what I mean) should I just let them eat a bit less, or wait for them to get a bit thinner then feed them again?

I tend to feed when their gills light up really bright as it suggests they are frantically looking for food. That tends to be once a day in the evening, but I am wary that I could just be training them to get into hunter mode in the eve so I try and alternate the times I do it a bit, or sometimes get my wife to feed them in the day to kind of catch them out of routine so they don't just become conditioned to it (I figure in the wild food wont come at 5:30pm every day right?)

No idea if that is a good idea or not but it seems to be working.

The only burning question I have at the moment is suggestions for anything to 'entertain' them with. My xmas list is going to be written up soon and I keep thinking I want to add something for the axolotl to my list but what do they need beyond caves to live in, a filter, an air pump and regular feeding/water changes? I should probably pop some weed back in (I took it out when Ash started floating around on it because I thought he/she was ill at the time but turns out it was just playing I think!)

I have to fight the urge to meddle with the tank I think. I always want to be adding/doing something with it because I like them but I imagine they just need to be left to it to an extent?

Axolotls are curious, especially when new things are put in there tank.

I think plants are a good idea. I asked what plants should I put in my axies tank and people were very helpful in responding.

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be.../87269-what-plants-safe-use-axolotl-tank.html

Here's the thread ^^

FireStar said:

Axolotls are curious, especially when new things are put in there tank.

I think plants are a good idea. I asked what plants should I put in my axies tank and people were very helpful in responding.

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be.../87269-what-plants-safe-use-axolotl-tank.html

Here's the thread ^^

Click to expand...

Thanks for that!

I have been trying to find some decent hiding places for them that would look nice in the tank, I got a pair of caves from a pet store but the thing I hate about them is food and waste gets stuck inside it, so when I lift it up loads floats around, also sometimes the axolotl hide in it for ages and it concerns me when I don't see them for a while. Can anyone recommend a cave/house that would give them the privacy/security they crave and still enable me to see them, also without trapping all the waste in one place?

I also want to make the tank look more interesting in general but now matter how hard I look I haven't come across any ornaments that were suitable, any website recommendations or anything?

Thanks guys!