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Question: Newbie... Just want some Clarification

Nolski

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Hi,

I just got myself an axolotl four days ago and I just want to ask some questions and get some clarification on a few things...

I have gravel which now reading previous threads and other infomation is not the best thing for my axolotl. I got it at the pet store and it looks like it could have been an upsell and I assumed it to be alright because they had him on gravel in the pet store before i bought him.

So my question is should I change to Sand or Pebbles about a cm in diameter maybe bigger or have a combo? And if it is sand what type? would the play sand that is made for sandpits be fine? and how deep should I have the covering like a half a cm or a cm or an Inch

I only have a 45cm tank which is recommended as the minimum size to house one axolotl, I have approx. about 17-18 liters of water in the tank but the filter I have is internal and was the smallest they had at the pet store which is a 30L tank pumping 300 litres/hour. So I have the spray bar pointing out of the water and against the wall as to soften the force of the water. Should I scrap the pump altogether or keep it or have it on occasionaly or maybe make a custom spary bar that goes the length of the tank to lessen the force of the pump?

When i was at the pet store I asked the consultant if feeder fish would be fine(they also had those in the tank.) They said yes but I noticed that they nip at his gills, so I removed all but 1 into another tank, so if he needs to eat it he can. Should I scrap the Feeder fish all together because i have like a bazillion worms in my compost or keep the fish as a treat?

The water temp is at 20-21 is that fine or a bit to warm? it says ideally 17-18

He also hasnt eaten in two days he ate the feeder fish on day 1 and 2 should I be worried? he is about 15cm long? Should he be eating daily? I have tried to feed him worms today but no takes or should I wait till dusk when it said to be their prime eating time?

Last thing, with the worms if i leave them in the tank they will burrow through the gravel or sand or pebels, will he dig for them or should I hold the warms out for him and let him take out of my hand?

I know there is alot of questions there but if you could answer any of it it would help me a lot.

Cheers
 

Greatwtehunter

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Ok lets see what I can do to help you. First, the decision to use sand or pebbles is purely based on which one you like the looks of the best. But if you use pebbles please, please, please only use ones that are as big as the axies head or larger, preferably larger. Personally I prefer sand as it tends to be ALOT easier to keep clean. With pebbles wastes gets down in the cracks and plays havoc with water quality. I also would scrap the whole notion of using feeder fish, there is just too much risk of parasites or infections to even be worth it. Worms would be your best bet, although the ones you have in your compost bin may be the red wiggler kind which gives off a noxious smell when the axolotl tries to eat it. You will find out imediately if this is the case as the axie will spit it out. Most people also only feed there axies every other day or even every third day, so a few days without food is nothing to worry about. I am sure I missed something so here is a link to http://axolotl.org in case I missed anything but it sounds like you have checked it out already.
 

Darkmaverick

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Hihi,

I share Greatwtehunter's sentiment on using sand. I personally use sand for my tank. They are overall easier to keep clean compared to pebbles. You may acquire the sand from an aquarium shop meant for cold freshwater fish (not marine fish sand or tropical fish sand), or you can just wash and use the sand from a kids' sand pits. Do not use beach sand. It is recommended to just fill the sand to about 1 inch in depth. Any deeper and you may risk getting trapped air pockets, which to say the least, smells pretty nasty.

I would try getting a larger tank if possible because the more space for the axolotl available the better. A larger water volume also allows for a more stable (less fluctuating) water chemistry and temperature, diluting out toxic nitrogenous wastes etc. and comparatively to a small tank, would not require as frequent a water change. Are you able to adjust your current filter settings to the lowest flow rate possible? Three hundred litres/hour turnover appears to be rather excessive for your tank size. It was a good move on your part to adjust the spray bar against the wall to soften the force. Your idea of a customised spray bar is also great. I would give it a go if i were you. Personally, i would still aerate the tank with an airstone with pump, because an aerated tank besides providing oxygen, also supports the growth of beneficial bacteria to colonise. However, be sure that the pump is not excessively strong to prevent air bubble disease. You might like to take a look at this site. Also on another note, is there enough room in your tank to provide environmental enrichment like a log/pipe/cave to hide?

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/filters.shtml

Feeder fish has its advantages and disadvantages. Like Greatwtehunter mentioned, it has the risk of introducing parasites and other microbes. Therefore, if you want to use them, you would still have to quarantine them in a separate tank for a month before you feed them to your axolotl. Feeder fish does make a tasty in between meal snack but its not appropriate as the staple primary food source. Earthworms, bloodworms and a good quality axolotl pellet would be more nutritionally balanced as staples. The advantages of having feeder fish though include allowing somewhat an instinctive hunting behaviour for the the axolotl, and i look at it as a form of welfare to promote its natural expression of behaviour. Also, feeder fish makes for a 'non-decaying' food source that is available all times. However, remember to take into account that including feeder fish in your axolotl tank will also mean there are more wastes. You do not want to overcrowd your tank. Do you know what type of feeder fish they are? From what i gathered, guppies and small minnows may be more appropriate as feeder fish because they are less aggressive (nippy).

The optimum water temp is between 16-18 degrees. A temp of 20-21 is not perfect but it shouldn't be overly stressful to your axolotl if the temp does not fluctuate wildly or creep up further in the day. There are ways to cool the water such as having a marine chiller, using mounted fans to promote evaporation, using ice bricks or simply to place the tank in a shaded cool part of the house out of direct sunlight.

Sometimes an axolotl will take time to adjust to its new environment and may go off food for a while. By eating the feeder fish on the 1st 2 days is a good sign. You can try feeding it like you said, during dusk where it is most actively feeding. Also try offering a variety of food sources. Earthworms, bloodworms, pellets, beef heart strips, fish or shrimp bits etc. This would sometimes encourage feeding. If your axolotl is rejecting earthworms, you may like to first soak the earthworms in some clean water for 15min to allow them to 'purge' and then proceed to chop them into smaller bite size pieces before offering. There are various types of earthworms too and some types (reddish in appearance with rings) tend to ooze a foul tasting yellow secretion which may turn off the axolotl. However, many axolotls over time would tolerate this and resume feeding on them.

Cheers
 

blueberlin

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Hi Nolski,

So my question is should I change to Sand or Pebbles about a cm in diameter maybe bigger or have a combo? And if it is sand what type? would the play sand that is made for sandpits be fine? and how deep should I have the covering like a half a cm or a cm or an Inch

As Justin wrote, 0.5 cm to 1-inch pebbles would be dangerous. You can use gravel that is 1-3 millimeters, but I find that even if it says 1-3 mm there are always larger pebbles in between, which then need to be fished out by hand before the axolotl can swallow them. I'm a sand fan - I use children's play sand, and others here also recommend pool sand (pool filter sand? I've never had a pool) which is also inexpensive.

I only have a 45cm tank which is recommended as the minimum size to house one axolotl...

Considering that an axolotl will grow within its first year to around 35 cm, I would say that that is a minimum size indeed. I am admittedly a strong supporter of the "more is more" philosophy of tank size, but I will always insist that 70 cm is the minimum for one axolotl (and could also then hold two, given enough hides to keep them out of each other's way). And then you have a filter in there, too, taking up more space? Perhaps you could use the 45 cm tank as a fish breeder tank...


I have approx. about 17-18 liters of water in the tank but the filter I have is internal and was the smallest they had at the pet store which is a 30L tank pumping 300 litres/hour. So I have the spray bar pointing out of the water and against the wall as to soften the force of the water. Should I scrap the pump altogether or keep it or have it on occasionaly or maybe make a custom spary bar that goes the length of the tank to lessen the force of the pump?

Running the filter only occasionally is counterproductive. The bacteria that help to break down ammonia and nitrite are aerobic as well as anaerobic - the aerobic bacteria need a constant supply of oxygen to live. If you turn off the filter for more than a few minutes, these bacteria will die. In that case, not only are they not helping support your nitrification chain, they are dead things adding to the water pollution.

When i was at the pet store I asked the consultant if feeder fish would be fine(they also had those in the tank.) They said yes but I noticed that they nip at his gills, so I removed all but 1 into another tank, so if he needs to eat it he can. Should I scrap the Feeder fish all together because i have like a bazillion worms in my compost or keep the fish as a treat?

I use feeder fish. Have them right in the tank with the axolotls. The main point (besides quarantine to rule out disease, as Justin and Ray wrote) is the kind of fish. You need fish that stay small and - very important - can tolerate the cold temps of an axolotl tank and, as you have already noted, do not nibble at plants and plant-like axolotl gills. I have guppies and platys (although the platys would prefer the water a few degrees warmer, they still thrive). Other small killifish, cardinal fish, and mountain minnows (something like that) are all acceptable. It is also fine if your axolotl does not eat all of the fish at once - it is a lot of work for the axolotl to catch a fish, so he needs to be really hungry 8or in the mood for a chase scene) to want to hunt them. If you put floating plants (live or plastic) in the tank, guppies will often even live long enough to breed, providing you with free axolotl snacks.

The water temp is at 20-21 is that fine or a bit to warm? it says ideally 17-18

That temp is still ok but you don't want to let it get warmer. Isn't your summer just starting now? You may want to read this article to be prepared: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cooling.shtml

He also hasnt eaten in two days he ate the feeder fish on day 1 and 2 should I be worried? he is about 15cm long? Should he be eating daily? I have tried to feed him worms today but no takes or should I wait till dusk when it said to be their prime eating time?

Are you only feeding him fish? As the others wrote, worms are excellent food for axolotls. I feed mine compost worms, too - I rinse them first to get the compost off of them anyway, and if you don't chop the worms the axolotls will probably not mind them at all.

Last thing, with the worms if i leave them in the tank they will burrow through the gravel or sand or pebels, will he dig for them or should I hold the warms out for him and let him take out of my hand?

The worms will burrow, yes, and no, the axolotl will not dig them out. Eventually (takes a few days) the worms will drown and pollute your water. You should only be giving the axolotl one or two worms per feeding anyway so it should be fairly easy to monitor the situation. You can just drop the worm down to near the axolotl and the axolotl will find it, or you can feed with a feeding tweezers, or you can use your hand (I got tired of hand feeding, because the axolotls became fixated on my hand and I couldn't put my hand in the tank at all anymore without getting "attacked").

Just my two or three cents. Hope I didn't make too many typos. :D

-Eva
 

Nolski

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Hey,

Thanks for all that I'll get rid of the gravel tomorrow and I think I'll go for the sand. I dont have the money at the moment to get a bigger tank but I will as soon as I get the money too, so probably a few weeks time.

At the moment the weather has been a bit cooler at the moment then usual but i will move it in the next few days to a cooler room that gets less sun, which should be alright and I'll get a water cooler aswell.

Im not sure what type of Feeder fish I have I'll look in to it, it only seemed that some of them were nipping at him, I think I might keep the fish seperate now that they are now.

Im gonna get a tunnel aswell at the moment dont have one. I think i might do the extension on the pipe to see how it goes and see if that works out fine. I'll have a look into the air stones and air pump

Cheers again, I'll start doing the things you recommend it
 

Abrahm

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I'll throw in my 2 cents even if everyone else had provided wonderful answers already.

I'm the one who always recommends pool filter sand. I've used that and play sand and I think pool filter sand is superior. Since it is used in filtration it usually comes precleaned and has far, far less dust that needs to be rinsed away first. It is also a bit heavier and cleans with a gravel vacuum a bit easier.

The other option for substrate is no substrate. A bare bottom tank is fine for your axolotl and presents the easiest to clean surface possible. Obviously, this isn't pleasing aesthetically to most people but it is easy to maintain.

In regards to feeder fish I would be careful with them. You don't want to use them as staple food, that is what worms or good quality axolotl pellets are for. It is best to quarantine them before feeding. You will really want to stay away from goldfish because they are messy, grow to be large, can be nippy and are high in saturated fats. Livebearers, like guppies, platties and Endler's, are some of the best feeder fishes available. Guppies benefit from the fact that you can grow your own in an ice cream bucket with a few floating plants in it. A steady supply of tasty fish for your axolotl.
 

blueberlin

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@Abrahm: So you're the source! Good to know; I like to give credit where credit is due. Meanwhile the pool sand tidbit has become "common knowledge". I read yesterday, that it "looks more natural", too.

@Nolski: Your axolotl is 15 cm long so the tank size is ok for now, you have a bit of time to get a new one. As I try to convince my husband, "There is no such thing as too many aquaria."

I also forgot two of your questions:

First, at your axolotl's length, it is a good rule of thumb to feed it once daily, although you can skip one day a week; the best guide is to watch whether your axolotl is getting fat. It's belly at the broadest section should be roughly the same breadth as its head. If the axolotl is fat, you can feed less at each feeding or skip a second day in the week and in this way fine-tune your feeding rhythm. As the axolotl grows, you can skip one day more each week to keep it slim and trim and healthy.

Second, the sand should not be too deep as it can form "dead" pockets that can (again) foul your water. About an inch of sand should be fine - you can have more, too; you then just need to stir the sand each time you clean the tank to break up any air pockets it may have (makes a dust cloud but it settles quickly).

Lastly, if you haven't looked into it already, you might be shocked to discover what coolers cost... I certainly was. Summers here in Germany keep getting warmer and I found the best method to be closing the windows and curtains during the day, say from 11 am until late evening when the air outside finally starts cooling down again. Then open the windows overnight to let in all that cool air and let out any humidity in the room. In this way, I was able to make the room itself quite chilly, and maintain an acceptable temperature (20°C) in my tanks. Directing fans across the top of the water is reputed to cool the water a few degrees but I wasn't able to make any difference with fans; probably this technique is too complicated for me. :eek:

-Eva
 

Nolski

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Thanks again guys,

Just one more quick question water clariety?
Crystal clear or is a bit murky alright?
I just swapped over to the sand and I cleaned it and the run off water from the sand looked clear but when I filled up the tank it wasnt as clear as I thought. Should I rinse the sand again or leave it for a while until I do another full clean out of the tank?

And I was thinking of using a lid to submerge and put under the sand as like a serving tray so say if he doesnt eat the worm I'll know where it is burrowed itself into so when it dies i can remove it and he will learn where abouts to get food from. What are your thoughts on that?

Cheers
Nolski
 

Greatwtehunter

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If it's just a little cloudy then thats normal and will clear up in a day or two. If it takes longer than that it probably wouldn't hurt to rinse it again.
 

Nolski

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Hey guys thanks for all of your help, you guys are brilliant!!

He seems to be going fine back to eating, seems to love the earth worms and is also taking them out of my hand.

He seems really active today, for some reason he is always swimming and when he goes to the bottom of the tank he doesnt lie flat but keeps his body off the ground. We had a warm day today and the water temp is 21 could that be a reason? I'm trying to keep the water temp down by rotating ice bottles through the tank and dropping Ice blocks into the water as well.

The tail of my axie has a cleft or a space (like a V) were there is a gap. Not in the flesh bit but more in the skin part. Any suggestions on that?

Also I'm looking at the stages of morphing not that I think mine is. I'm just curious at the stages and what happens does it loose the gills first or tail.

I've looked at the axoltol.org and the other threads about morphed axoltols( the one from freekygeeky) but nothing said about the stages. So another link or thread would be great.

Cheers again
 

Nolski

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Hey one more thing when cleaning my food i have been doing it under just running water.
Thats probably not the best Idea is it? or is it fine?
Should I just take some of the tank water out and wash the worms in that?

thanks again
 
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