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Question: Water clarifier/ Feeding / Uncycled tank

mmuumi

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I was hoping to get your opinion on something that bothers me:)

I had an issue of cloudiness (yes, un-cycled tank, yes, I'm changing 20-30% of water every day, temp 20C, PH 7, ammonia 0.25-0.5, nitirite/nitrate 0, and I know I'm still a long-long-long way to go - and should have prepared better for the arrival of my axies) - so I stupidly used API Accu-Clear on the tank about a week ago - only to see how all particles bonded into larger white fluffy chunks... and a few got stuck to my axie' gills!

I've since removed the the white stuff from his gills with the cotton bud, but I'm just wondering if anyone had similar experience with the water clarifier? If I didn't notice it straight away - I would have thought it to be fungus - and would most definitely freak out and possibly give him unnecessary treatments.

My water is still very cloudy, what my husband calls 'soup' - but i'm staying away from any treatments and am just changing water daily and balance out PH (we have a very hard water) and use Tap Water Conditioner - plus leave this water for 24hr in a tub. My axies seem to be very happy and very hungry - I feed them daily - which raises another question:

how much food is too much food for a teenager (presumably 5 months old)? They are happy to eat twice a day, sinking pellets (3mm) in the morning and frozen axie food in the evening - the box of pellets says 'feed twice a day for an optimum metabolism' - but the pet shop told me to feed them only once a day? :confused: Anyhow, my boys know that they're getting food in the evening and are almost biting my fingers off - so should I keep feeding them as much as they want - or have some kind of a diet?

sorry if there's too many questions:)
and my last one: I'm using a waterfall type filter with activated charcoal cartridge (like this clearview.php) - now how can I change the cartridge every 8 weeks (as the manual says) and still keep my cycle intact? The cartridge has sponge attached to it - so I assume all my bio-filter will eventually be on the sponge... and then I replace it and start over?? I'm having so much worry about cycling already, that when it finally happens I'd be so glad to have it stable at least for a little while:)) how do you sort this out?

Thanks!!!
 

HayleyK

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I'm unfamiliar with water clarifier but you only need a dechlorinator. Are your axolotls in the tank or separate tub? Looks like you're still in the very early stages of cycling and I would drain the whole tank and start again. Doing the fish-less cycle is a lot easier and recommend taking the axolotls out on the tank and in tubs with 100% daily water change of the tubs and supplying the tank with an ammonia source. It's more comforting knowing your axolotls aren't in a toxic envirorment.

I would be moving them into earthworms as they are more nutritionally balanced. Juveniles usually need to eat more frequent so at that age I was doing it twice a day in smaller feedings. If their stomachs as wide as their head that's a good indicator. Smaller than head = feed a little more. Wider than the head = cut back. Axolotls are little glutts. I once fed them some worms as they kept taking them and returned 15 minutes later to earthworm vomit....

You won't need to change the cartridge that quickly. You can rinse the charcoal cartridge and sponge in old tank water. That way you can allow it to function properly without killing the beneficial bacteria. If you ever do need to change it, you can "seed" the new media by squeezing the gunky stuff or transferring half of the old charcoal into the new charcoal. This allows less chance of a crash but you should keep an eye on parameters when you do this.
 

mmuumi

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Brilliant, thank you very much! I won't change the filter then - and the advice on feeding is great:) Their bellies are almost as wide as their heads, having said that they were very skinny when I got them, so am proud of their chunky tummies:)))) I guess I'll keep feeding them as much as they want for now!
They are in the tank - so I'm testing the water with a liquid kit every day - and ammonia twice a day... am hoping that 0.25-0.5 of ammonia won't do them much harm and that the tank will eventually cycle :animal:
 

HayleyK

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With some patience and diligence, it will eventually cycle :)

I'm guessing you feed them "blue planet axolotl pellets". I got decent growth on them but I do highly recommend switching to earthworms. You can get a good set up from bunnings for about $80.00 and you'll never have to buy food again. If they are the same pellets, I find they poop pretty quickly and makes me wonder how much they absorb in such a small time frame. The poop also breaks up rather quickly and messily. I also find if I feed them pellets for a few days it's harder to get them to accept worms again.

They're good pellets to have as a back up source (that's why I occassionally feed them pellets over earthworms, after a 12 hour shift the last thing I want to do is go hunting for worms in my farm :p ) but earthworms are the way to go, especially for little growing axolotls :)
 
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mmuumi

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these are exactly the ones! :) and I could't agree more about their poo!!!!
I put around 10 pellets in the little feeding bowl and they like to eat out of it - and yes, they do poo a lot:))))))))) I was thinking of stopping with the pellets, for this reason and also for the fact my axies still seem to be waiting for the real food!

The evening meal is half a cube of Fish Fuel - Axolotl Food each - do you think it's as good as bloodworms? it actually says 'Contains: Premium quality Mussels, clams, fish, krill squid, octopus, shrimp, blood worm, & spirulina algae. Fortified with Wombaroo customised vitamin & mineral Complex with essential fatty acids omega 3, 6, & 9.' - all I see is that the slices are eaten in seconds (I hand feed them and they are racing to my fingers the moment they see the food), never any burps or leftovers - so it looks like they're happy? the stuff from bunnings - is it like a worm-farm? and the worms will be actually live ones? yuuuck:))))) but I'd like to do what's best for my axies anyways:)
 

HayleyK

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Meh I would sctually prefer bloodworms over that pre packed axolotl food. Very small juveniles eat bloodworms when earthworms are too big. I've seen that frozen axolotl stuff before and since axolotls are purely carnivorous I don't see the point in feeding them anything that contains plant life (algae). An axolotl will eat anything! Even if it's not that good for them, they're just little piggies.

Yes live worms! The farm costs about $50 and a pack of 500 worms is about $30 and I haven't bought anymore since. It's pretty gross but if you feed them mash or watermelons they breed like crazy! Just a tip - invest in some reptile tongs, unless you want to search with your hands...
 

rachel1

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The spiralina in the food is to mimic stomach contents of wild caught prey. They swallow prey whole , so they are also getting whatever is in the stomach of their prey. They may or may not get much out of it , but it's certainly not bad for them. Earthworms are a great staple.
I would replace the cartridges in the hang on back filter with a sponge and some ceramic media. The Fluval biomax is nice. Stuff it in with your cartridge at first, then when the cartridge starts falling apart replace it with a chunk of sponge. Fill your filter with as much media as you can fit without backflow. Only clean filter media in old tank water.
Most water clarifiers work by causing particles to clump together in the water column, so big gobs of sinking goo are exactly the result you should expect. A healthy tank will clear up on its own with time once the cycle is up and running. Just be patient, and keep doing your water changes. It can be a couple months before everything settles.
 

layna

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I wouldnt bother with charcoal in your filter, its only effective for around 14 days and doesnt really do much for your tank, i would replace it with either plastic or cermaic media instead, lasts years and years and is more beneficial for your biological cycle :proud:

As for the frozen axie food, id stop feeding that, it contains muscles ect wich are saltwater foods, your axie doesnt need the salt, switch to earthworms and pellets instead, like its been suggested if you get a farm going you wont need to buy anymore worms!
 

mmuumi

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So, back to the topic of feeding - are they growing too fast?:) I mean, these are the pics 6 weeks ago when I first got the guys and now - the difference is huge! From the top both look perfectly balanced, but from the side, my always hungry melanoid Mex is way, way, way rounder than his buddy Axl - and they get the same amounts of food except when maybe Mex manages to eat more pellets from the feeding plate! How does he get soooo fat?;) or is he a she?:)
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auntiejude

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They were so thin when you got them!
They look fine now though, their body should be as wide as their head.
 

mmuumi

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Agree! Ridiculously skinny!! My husband suggested though that the shop sells them that thin intentionally "to make feeding them part of the owner's fun":)))) they came from Sydney so maybe poor guys haven't eaten for a few days or were stressed... :)


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