Mouse Mason
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- Mar 18, 2017
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I recently visited an aquarium (I won't say which one, just in case), and found that they kept axoltols there. To Me, they looked to be kept in very poor conditions, but I'm quite new to axolotl keeping, so I just wanted to check here before i send them an email (they're all very nice there, and I'm certain they're not doing it deliberately, so I'm sure if I just send a very polite email, they'll make some changes to treat them better).
The problems that I could see were:
. All the gills were very small for their size (some were only stumps and the axis where 30cm long!), most were deformed (twisted with odd branching parts), and had almist no "frilly bits" (Sorry, im not sure what the technical term is!)
. The tank (which I very roughly measured to be about 6×my 30 gallom tank) was home to 20 axolitls. I keep 2 in a 30 gallon tank (and at the moment they're only tiny babies, and I know I'll probably have to get a bigger tank when they grow- these were huge!). So, at a stretch that should only have had 12 axis in it (2×6). Although, this is only a rough estimate, so this might not be a problem
. The tails of most of them had been bitten so often they had healed with large dents in (possibly another sign they didn't have enough space, if they were attacking each other that much) and one was so bitten he hardly had any of of top of his tail left!
. Many of them had fungus of their face and body- at this point, It wasn't much on most, but surely it will spread unless something's done about It?
. Finally, the water was not kept at all still. Every ten minutes (ish) a "water wave" would be pushed into the tank (if youve been to aquariums, youll know what I mean- it's hard to explain!) That physically pushes all of the axis back, and leaves the water rocking untill the next wave.
It's almost impossible to tell if theyre stressed by any of this, because their gills are almost non existent (im really not sure how they manage to get enough oxygen to breath, but it certainly means they hardly move!). Could someone assure me please that I'm not overreacting, And informing the aquarium (again, politly and helpfully) would be the best course of action. Thank you!
Ps it won't let me put on attachments!! It just gets stuck uploading them for hours, whether I have internet or not!
The problems that I could see were:
. All the gills were very small for their size (some were only stumps and the axis where 30cm long!), most were deformed (twisted with odd branching parts), and had almist no "frilly bits" (Sorry, im not sure what the technical term is!)
. The tank (which I very roughly measured to be about 6×my 30 gallom tank) was home to 20 axolitls. I keep 2 in a 30 gallon tank (and at the moment they're only tiny babies, and I know I'll probably have to get a bigger tank when they grow- these were huge!). So, at a stretch that should only have had 12 axis in it (2×6). Although, this is only a rough estimate, so this might not be a problem
. The tails of most of them had been bitten so often they had healed with large dents in (possibly another sign they didn't have enough space, if they were attacking each other that much) and one was so bitten he hardly had any of of top of his tail left!
. Many of them had fungus of their face and body- at this point, It wasn't much on most, but surely it will spread unless something's done about It?
. Finally, the water was not kept at all still. Every ten minutes (ish) a "water wave" would be pushed into the tank (if youve been to aquariums, youll know what I mean- it's hard to explain!) That physically pushes all of the axis back, and leaves the water rocking untill the next wave.
It's almost impossible to tell if theyre stressed by any of this, because their gills are almost non existent (im really not sure how they manage to get enough oxygen to breath, but it certainly means they hardly move!). Could someone assure me please that I'm not overreacting, And informing the aquarium (again, politly and helpfully) would be the best course of action. Thank you!
Ps it won't let me put on attachments!! It just gets stuck uploading them for hours, whether I have internet or not!