summer temperatures

First my apologies, maybe this topic has been described before but I can't seem to find how to search for keywords in the fora :uhoh:

Summer is coming and I love it, but it worries me because of the tank temperature.
Usually I keep the tank at room temperature, which is 19 degrees Celcius.
I live on a houseboat which has less isolation than a brick house, which means that temperatures rise during the day, and when I come home I flick on the airco.
Now with the summer, the water reaches 22 degrees Celcius. I have read 24 degrees is critical. At 22 degrees my axies are rather slow and don't eat so much.

Because I want to give them good care *I love my little axies * I'd like to cool the water. Now putting in a sack of ice seems rather crude, but cooling equipment seems rather expensive. And it's only summer for about 5-6 weeks, in the Netherlands. The rest of the year is no problem for axie temperatures.

I have a good pump which is on rather high speed (4 out of 5) because my axies like to sit in the streaming water. So icy water will be spread evenly. The tank is 100cm x 40cm x 50cm so 200 litres. I have two axies.

I'm thinking of a sack of ice being put in every morning. Or something like that.
Does anybody have any experience and/or tips? Thanks in advance

22 should be ok as long as it does not go above 24. You can freeze bottles of water and just float the bottles in the tank until they melt then change them. You have to keep an eye on it though as if you don't the temperature can fluctuate a lot. I got through nearly five months of heat in Australian spring and summer so I am sure it will be even easier for you!

If you have a heat wave you can put your axies in the fridge too, just keep the temperature above 5C and do 100% daily water changes. I kept my axie in the fridge for close to three weeks during a really bad heat spell. Axies can last for five-six weeks in the fridge I am sure so you could even do that. Or if you work full time or something, keep them in the fridge in the weekdays then put them in the tank on the weekends, watch the temperature and feed them then.

At 22C your axolotls should be fed more as their metabolism will work quicker so even if they don't seem that keen, keep trying with the food.

Good luck~~

Hi Karin!

Putting in a sack of ice might indeed be a bit "crude" (haha love the terminology) but from what I have read here, the preferred method for the short term is to freeze some water bottles and then float them and switch them out as the first bottle(s) melt(s). Also from what I have read, definitely listen to the Australians, as they have really hot weather compared to us here in Europe, and it seems like nobody there has air conditioning.

If you have air conditioning, perhaps you could air condition the room where your aquarium is, even while you are away?

I also think that, if you already have A/C, that would be a good choice (no?) because an aquarium cooler is a hefty initial investment and the cost of running it would be in addition to or comparable with the cost of running an A/C.

Saspotato said:

Or if you work full time or something, keep them in the fridge in the weekdays then put them in the tank on the weekends, watch the temperature and feed them then.

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I just wanted to note that the axolotl should be left to warm up to room (aquarium) temperature before being switched from the cold fridge to the warmer tank water. Probably this info is superfluous but I thought it worth including in the text, just in case.

-Eva