Brand New Axolotl

Hello everyone, I am new to the forum and also new to the axolotl pets. I just got my first juvenile lucy a few days ago. I named him Louie. I'm a little unsure on how much I'm supposed to feed him? The breeder I bought him from said she feeds him twice a day but didn't tell me how much. I have been giving him 2 cubes of frozen bloodworms a day. One in the morning one in the evening. He's always super hungry and goes straight for it. Am I feeding him enough?



Also I did a big no-no. I know about cycling and have a 20 gallon cycled community tank. I ran out of strips setting up his tank but I figured it would be fine, I would cycle it using the fish food method. I did this for almost two months. The breeder I bought from then made an early trip to town so I got him a bit early. I then went out right away and got the API master testing kit. And his tank is not cycled. I am now TERRIFIED the ammonia is going to build up too quickly and harm him. I am doing 90% water changes every day to keep it down. I also put a spare filter cartridge in the 20 gallon that I will move into his tank in a few days to help, but in the meantime is there anything else I should do to keep him safe?? I absolutely feel terrible that I didn't just buy the kit right away so I could monitor it more closely, I just assumed after such a long time it would be alright.

Until the tank is cycled I would house him in a smaller container with daily 100% water changes. Doing 90% changes every day on the cycling tank is good for the axie, but it will take forever to cycle.
I haven't raised a juvie before but when determining how much to feed a new adult I give food until they stop eating (or go by stomach size relative to head). The amount you're feeding sounds right from what I've read here and there.

Why would the 90% water changes make it take longer to cycle? I'm not sure I understand that part.

Because you're removing 90% of the bacteria's food: ammonia and nitrite. You're better off letting it cycle empty with maybe some 10-15% water changes if ammonia gets super high (which kills of the bacteria).
Leaving him in the tank while cycling will expose him to ammonia and nitrite, which as you said is harmful. Avoid it as much as possible.
Goodluck

Ah, ok that makes sense. If I let the ammonia stay around 1.0ppm/2.0ppm will that be enough?


I have a small 2.5 gallon tank I used as a quarantine tank for a guppy. Should I put Louie in there? Wouldn't the ammonia build up much faster in there though?

Sorry I am still very new to this, thank you for your help.

No need to be sorry! Everyone is here to help one another
It will build up faster, but in that small a tank you can change the water every day. Having a spare bucket ready with dechlorinated water for the next day is a good idea as well. Just make sure temps are the same between water changes to reduce stress.
I believe you want the ammonia around 3ppm, up to 5ppm, at the start. If needed you can do a search online for the fastest fishless methods, usually by adding fish food or pure ammonia to the tank.

Ok I can move him into the 2.5 gallon, but I no longer have any type of filter for it. That's ok though if I change all of the water once a day?

Yeah it should be fine, it's only temporary until the other one is running.

Good news! After adding the extra cartridge from the 20 gallon next to the sponge filter for Louie I have .25ppm nitrate showing up in my tank. Hopefully we will be cycled soon!

*Nitrite