Good morning from Kat and Amigo

Hi everyone

I'm Kat and I got an axolotl which I named Amigo yesterday
I got him from the pet shop, and was told he is probably 6 months old.
He is the white type. And I'm not actually sure if it is a he. There were two in the tank and they were both the same sex but I just can't remember if they were both girls or both boys.

I have him in a 35L fish take from bigW which has a filter and a light attached to the lid.
There is nothing covering the glass bottom of the tank because I was advised for no gravel. I'm noticing he slips around on the glass so I wonder if there is another option I can use instead of gravel?

There is a long grass looking water plant and a tank ornament which space to hide if he wants to .It is shaped like the ruins of the Eiffel tower. He was climbing on it yesterday. And also climbing on the grass.

Today he is not active. I'm worried for him. Today I plan to buy a water tester to check on the water levels. Especially as the filter is not making bubbles like it was yesterday. So I don't know if it's working

Last night he was very messy when eating and the food floated all over the tank. I was told he is blind and needs hand fed. I am using frozen blood worms and frozen turtle food. As advised by the lady in the shop. I watched a YouTube on feeding axolotls and it was with the use of a turkey baster and a dish that goes in the tank. It looking like a smart way of doing things. So I'm off to the shops again today. I am also wondering if I need to train him to go to the dish. If so how to I do this.?

Any help is appreciated. From Kat

Hi and welcome!

You will find loads of help and advice in the Axolotl section of this site. I wouldn't worry too much about a lack of activity, Axolotl's are notoriously lazy

You can use sand or slate tiles as a substrate. Have a look in the tank setup bit of the axolotl section and the photo section and I'm sure you will get many ideas.

You don't need to train them to go to a feeding dish, just keep putting the food in it and he will follow his nose

Welcome again

I took a sample of water to the petshop and they analyzed and said ammonium was high so I have done a 100% water change.

I also have a turkey baster now and have just fed amigo. It still made a mess however most of the mess seems contained . He has been eating the mess slowly for more than half an hour with me watching. He seems interested in more. When should I take what he hasn't eaten out?

Amigo seems interested in the roots of the plant as well.

Hi there and welcome.

You may need to do frequent water changes (maybe even daily 20% or more) to keep the Ammonia down in a 35L tank cause it builds up really fast in small amounts of water. Once you get your test kit you can get more of an idea how much and how often you need to change water.

How big is your Axolotl ? If feeding bloodworms, you could try a feeding jar (check out the great thread "I wanna see your Feeding Jars" on here to get ideas. Also get some Earthworms as they are the best staple diet for them or some Hikari Sinking carnivore pellets.

Hope to see some pics soon :happy:

Sorry didn't answer all your questions.

Bloodworms shouldn't be left in for more than about 10 mins - 30 mins maximum as they mess up your water really quickly. That's another reason to feed live worms as they don't mess up the water as much and stay alive for a while.

Also I've heard that some Axies are really keen gardeners and will dig up plants for you - good luck with that - try some floating plants maybe

Hi again.
I just did a 100% water change and now Amigo is back in his clean water. He seems pretty calm. I think I should have fed him before I cleaned the tank. Oops. Late last night I noticed bubbles at the surface that didn't disapate near the outlet. I cleaned the whole tank with a clean cloth today before putting clean water back in. I also rinsed the bucket I used and the hose for the siphon a bunch of times just to make sure there was no detergent on them.

Thanks for the advice. I'll make sure to clean out the food within 30 minutes. That's how long he took last time to eat . And I'll try the jar for the food as well. Just a question? Can the axolotl walk backwards to get out of a small jar or should it be a big jar with room to turn around?

Do you feed the axolotl once a day or more of less? So far I have given one cube of either turtle food or blood worms daily. He leaves approximately half a cube as left overs. He seems thinner than the other pictures of axolotls online. I think this is because he is still growing.

And are the worms from my worm farm good for him do I need to wash the dirt off first?

Hello, me again ....

Now you've done your 100% water change and cleaned your tank, you will need to start your cycling again. By cleaning so thoroughly, any good bacteria build up in your tank is likely to be gone ..... Oops. From now on, you should only need to do 50% maximum and don't wipe any decorations, glass surfaces or filter media (this is where all the good stuff is that keeps your tank healthy). Just change the water only.

No Axies just don't seem to get the idea of backing out of their jars .....lol so you need a jar that is big enough for Amigo to turn around in and swim out (they can turn in a fairly small space, I use an old pickle jar).

With the worms, just rinse the dirt off with a little tank water, if Amigo is only little you might need to chop the worms up for him - no wider than his head, scissors are best for the job.

Feeding depends on their size and age, babies need to be fed 2 - 3 times a day, juveniles 1 - 2 times a day, adults every 2 or 3 days.

What size is Amigo or how old ? Can you post a photo ?

Hope all goes well, good luck and hope to Amigo's photo soon :happy:

I was told he was about 6 months old but the lady wasn't sure. He is about 15 cm. there is some pictures in my profile . I'm using an iPad which won't upload photos to the Internet. The pc is busy at the moment doh!.

I was also told by the pet shop to do 2 or 3 100% water changes over three days for the first 3days of owning the tank. After that 50% once a week or more if the water tests are bad.

My mum is out to look for a jar now. I think a pasta sauce jar might do.

I'm not sure how to link my profile photos to this read? But if you visit the profile they are in the album

Also I can't see a bump behind his leg for the genitals does this mean he is a girl

What a cutie your little Amigo is love the Eiffel Tower too.

With the 100% water changes, I think they should probably have been done before you got your little friend, but the main thing now is to get your tank cycling and that means smaller water changes more often sometimes daily or twice a day if needed. Don't forget to dechlorinate your water and if possible let it stand for 24-48 hrs.

Need to keep readings as follows:

Ammonia < 0.25 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate < 40ppm

At 15cms long, Amigo is still a juvenile and you probably won't be able to sex him/her for another couple of months. Just keep feeding him/her daily and really recommend the earthworms as best food.

My larger Axie (Gandalf) is around 18cm and I am only just starting to see a bump behind his back legs. My other Axie (Frodo) is around 16cm and shows no signs of anything yet.

You can post photos from your iPad, go into the "attach" icon at the top of your post, choose file (from your computer), select existing, camera roll and upload. I can only work out how to attach 1 at a time though. Have a go and see, I've attached a pic of Frodo in his feeding jar :happy:

The choose file buttons is deselected. So I can't click on them to open my files up . The same choose file button when accessed from a pc let me select files from my computer. But not on iPad

I'm on tapatalk now and I'm testing out the attachments capability.
This is Amigo visiting the Eiffel tower
Here goes