回复: New tank syndrome?
2 weeks is nowhere near long enough to cycle a tank, i'm not sure what forums you were reading. It is quite complicated and difficult to grasp when you first try to learn about it but you'll crack it eventually, you just need to do extensive research until you understand it. You say your test strips at ""reading okay" but theres no way they'll be at normal levels after two weeks. The correct levels are 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite and 20-40ppm nitrate. Additionally, water test strips are near useless and wildly inaccurate (I made the same mistake of buying them when I started out) and only a water test kit will suffice for accurate readings.
If you understand the cycle then you'll know when its finished, but you'll need to get acquainted with a water testing kit (
such as this one from API which is used by almost everyone here) but it will likely take at least another 6-8 weeks for your cycle to finish. Did you add an ammonia source to your tank in the two weeks you were cycling it, or did you just let it sit? This is a common mistake but if you just let it sit and didn't add an ammonia source then unfortunately that didn't achieve anything. For the next two months or so while your tank is cycling (now your axies are added they are producing the ammonia that is starting the cycle) you're going to have to do big daily water changes - at least 50% every single day - until the cycling process is over. If you don't do this then your axolotls will suffer greatly. Yeah, you can take a chance and see if they'll survive the process without these water changes, as I'm guessing that your friend did if she didn't cycle her tank either, but its not fair to the animals as they are sitting in their own waste for this period. "Fish-in cycling" is generally considered to be cruel and that is especially true of water-sensitive axolotls. It is not uncommon for axolotls not to survive the cycling process if treated to normal water changes (i.e. one a week) and not daily.
The reason why your tank is cloudy is likely due to an algal bloom due to a spike in nutrients in the tank, which is harmless if unsightly, and should disappear soon. Again, this is why people usually cycle their tanks before they get their animals.
If doing these 50% daily water changes seems like a hassle then maybe you should move them to individual containers until the cycling is complete which will make it easier to do water changes - though if the container is much smaller a 100% daily water change is recommended. Do not put them together in a smaller container or they may be tempted to attack each other, especially if they're babies! They don't need a filter they can live in just a tub of water, as long as you are doing daily water changes and removing waste.
Unfortunately there is just no way around this and you will have to do the research on cycling and understand it. The reason is not only for this initial cycling process, but because changes in these levels can be the root cause of issues down the line - what if your axolotl gets sick and you don't realise its because of an ammonia spike until its too late? What if you want to move them to a new tank? I'd highly recommend getting an API test kit, having a little read at places like
this and learning the cycle fully. Trust me, its rewarding once you understand it and you'll feel like an aquarium pro afterwards!
Good luck