Yet Another New Zealander

Just on this one page of the introduction forum I note 2 other Kiwis here, You Foreigners had best watch out we're going to be taking over the forum at this rate

Just before Christmas i swapped a dozen fertile purebred rare breed hens eggs and a broody red shaver I had on the cull list to a fellow forum member from a NZ Lifestyle forum, receiving in exchange a pair of axolotls, a Leutistic and a Wild type. I am told that one is male and the other female and that eggs have shown up in the tank in the past but never hatched.

The woman I got them off basicly inherited them from her younger brother when he lost interest in them, but not being into aquatic critters, did a deal for eggs after she got fed up with looking after tham, and I ended up with them Insturctions were pretty simple, "change the water every now and again, feed then this much (hold up a peice of meat) each every other day, and well, thats it"
I believe she was glad to have her brothers abandoned hobby off her hands at last

I got a tank, 20"Lx12"Wx12"H, an air pump, a filter body (with no filter media, or mention of it ever having media in it), some floating oxygen weed and a load of pebbles and shells for the bottom. All that plus 2 axolotls, for a dozen eggs that I have been selling at $12 a doz, and a cull chook that had reached "retirement" age. Not a bad deal I think

So far I've picked up a pair of Zeolite cartridges and an "Oxygen Shell" block shaped like a sea shell which is a PH buffer and dissolving oxygenator of some sort, plus a pack of activated carbon filtration media. I got those to keep the pH and ammonia under control while bacteria build up a population on the gravel surfaces again after the trip home and into all new water.

I've never kept fish or frogs before, only a jar of tadpoles as a kid, releasing the frogs once matured. I've certainly never kept axolotls, so this is a steep learning curve, I found here via axolotl.org links.

I'm used to keeping animals and poultry, I keep and breed Rex rabbits, including show winning stock, Minorca and Barnevelder poultry, also show winning stock, and live on a working farm with goats, cows, sheep, and the usual vermin like wild rabbits (yummy if cooked properly, I like rabbit )

Well, that's probably enough typing for now, I can always add more later

Welcome to the site. I think you'll like the amphibian additions to your assortment, and there's loads of info here to get you started.

hey welcome to the site im hoping to get and axie soon! have your 2 axolotls got names or not? oh and im from NZ too!

Thanks for the welcome

I saw your intro thread ToniMeloni, I'm a fair way from the Coromandel haven't been there since I was still living in the Waikato and later the King Country, I'm in the Tasman district, down where the Tasman, West Coast and Marlborough all butt up at the Nelson Lakes

Nope no names, They haven't done anything really individualistic yet, so no characteristics to hang a name off.

So far they have an eclectic diet, some rabbit liver one day, a whole live deshelled snail another day, a moth with wings removed another time, half a dozen woodlice, bits of rabbit kidney, a large earthworm chopped in segments, some sheds of the rooster I was plucking for the pot, a back leg each pulled off the mouse the cat drops at my feet. (prectical lesson, axolotls don't like furry things, they spit it back out after a while, skin it first and they're happy)... Basicly whatever comes to hand nice and fresh If I haven't come across something suitable during the day I just feed them chips of goat meat chopped off a frozen lump of feral billy, defrosted before feeding of course

They seem to like the varied diet, when I first got them, the gill fronds were just a set of small nubbins around the head, now they are bigger and there are little furry frills on the wild type coloured ones gill branches.

Reading up has said the gills shrinking is a sign of stress and bad water as the juvenile form starts changing to adult type to get away from the bad water, so it seems the living conditions are more bearable now and they're starting to revert back to juvenile from a half-completed metamorphosis.

Our house water is straight from a spring a bit back in the bush behind the house, so I haven't been doing any water treatment, it's straight out of the tap and into the axolotls tank. No need for water ager, dechlorination, or anything like that.

You sound like you live out in the bush, I'm jealous, I really do miss the enviroment I was brought up in sometimes. Welcome to the forums of course, me and my step mother are both keeping newt larvae at the moment, Kiwis and also adopted JAFAs.

From the sound of things you have the knack when it comes to axolotls. Perhaps with them being less stressed and healthier in general you'll find eggs in the tank like the previous owner but this time they'll reward you with a hundred larvae haha, good luck.

Out in the bush? *looks out the computer den windows at the national park, wanders around to the lounge to look at a scenic reserve, then off to stare out the bedroom window at yet another bush clad scenic reserve* You could say that, you could also call the Pope a little bit religious

I've taken some pics, but I need to get round to resizing and uploading them so you can all see my new additions to the menagerie that this farm sometimes resembles

yes the coromandel is pretty cool lots of bush!
hopefully you can name your axies soon

Maybe we should keep this thread open as the place for all the Kiwis to hang out!

Unlike Ebonykrow I'm a city girl through and through. Though I do envy you Kiwi303 for all the animals you get to keep! I'm trying to persuade Ebonykrow's dad that it would be nice to have some chickens. We do have a decent sized section...but then again I'm not sure how the landlord would feel about it.... best to stick with amphibians for now maybe!

So long as there's no rooster involved, nd your run is secure so they can't get out and go pester the neighbours by scratching up the gardens and scoffing all the strawberries, most city landlords and councils don't mind.

I'd advise a smaller size bird like a Silkie or Pekin however, not a big barrel of a bird like the Sussexes and Barred Rocks.

Thanks I'll keep that in mind. I rather suspect that now that we have two tanks with baby newts in them (as well as the 2 cats) my other half is going to insist on not getting any more livestock for quite a while!

Kiwi, you're so lucky! Not having to age water and I imagine there is an abundance of materials you can use in your tanks since nothing has been tampered with.
I brought a rock on the weekend....-____-"

Silkies would be cool, big enough that I expect the cats wont have a go at them...Well, I hope they wouldn't.
P.s Stitchpunk, looks like the daphnia is on the rise again, I guess this is the whole crashing/rejuvenating process we expected.

It is rather unspoilt here I was looking at the strem past the house earlier and wondering about catching some koura, keep half a dozen or so in the tank and let the axies feed as and when they want

Cats leave hens alone once they're adult and able to stand up for themselves, if you want something SMALL yet able to take on a puddy tat, try Cornish Game or Old English Game they're the old fighting breed, and as such, are very fiesty wee things

Hello and welcome to the forum. Sounds like you got quite the deal on your new pets. :happy:

Welcome to the forum!