Question: Tank feedback. Sand help?

Hello again,

In less than two weeks I leave for a summer internship and want to get my 'Lotls squared away before I leave so that my significant other and the 'Lotls have the best chance of successful cohabitation.

So, I recently moved them to a partly cycled 20 gallon long tank with sand. They are still small enough to be separated and I made DIY tank separators with ideas from the internet and some suction cups. I plan to add a few more plastic plants before I leave and possibly some PVC tubes for more hides. I've been doing 50% water changes once a day. Eventually I plan to keep 2 (and get rid of 2 if they all survive) and move them to a 40 gallon breeder with live plants.

The sand is a pain!! I read conflicting info about substrate and stress so I decided to try it. I am not having any trouble with siphoning or turkey baster debris removal... it's the adding water back in that is a problem. I tried a mason jar in the tank to reduce the current produced and it was of little help. The sand from one 'Lotl's area was displaced through the current into its neighbors areas and everyone (including me) was stressed out. Also when I have removed 50% of the water the filter begins to make a strong current. Is it okay to turn the filter off during water changes?

Also, despite rinsing the sand around 5 times (until the water ran clear) in two smaller batches... the water is still cloudy. It never got clear. Any ideas on how to get it to clear?

The filter is full of sand!! Is the motor going to die? I just got a Zoo Med 501 based on recommendations from this forum and although Zoo Med offers many replacement parts I really don't want to have to do that. I cleaned the sand out once but it's back!!

The last problem I have is that I am trying to teach them to eat their black worms in the clay pots but their swimming stirs the water enough that some worms get out of the pots and end up digging down in the sand! I don't want them to rot down there. Will this cause a problem with the bacteria and methane production?

Please help me find solutions to the problems I haven't been able to find answers to and give me feedback on my setup. Sorry some of the photos are crappy. I didn't want to flash them and get the flash back from the glass.





Thank you in advance,
Kori

hi kori
im not very expereinced but i will give it a go.....someone with more knowlwdge will chime for sure............i would do 20% water changes each week if you are spot cleaning after feeding.....i think it would be ok to turn the filter off while your changing the water......in time the cloudyness will disappear i think......as for sand in the filter i dont know how to stop that sorry......instead of putting their food on a plate maybe if you put it a jar the worms wont get out easily.......i use a jar and the worms never last long enough to get out.........and last but not least i think if the worms rot in the sand it could play with your water parameters.....i couldnt see the photos my computer wouldnt let me look...i hope this helps and if im wrong could soomeone please correct me...im up for learning what i can as well.
lea

Hi Kori,

Some of this repeats Lea's post, guess we were trying at the same time.

First off, I don't think daily 50% water changes are necessary. I'd do 20% water changes weekly unless you have an ammonia spike if you haven't already had one. Watch your parameters, they dictate water changes.

If you use the siphon to add the water back, you should be fine - less stressful to your axies too. As small as they are, you could go with a bare bottom. If pressed for time, this may not be feasible.

Part of the cloudiness could be due to the tank still cycling plus stirring up the sand so much during changes. It also sounds like you needed to rinse that sand some more. Do you know your parameters?

Sand is getting in your filter because of your water changes. Add it back slowly with your siphon at the opposite end from the intake.

You will need to get those worms out before they die because that will upset your chemistry. Have you tried offering these with the baster? Also at the size of yours, I had mine on frozen bloodworms and small axolotl pellets. I just found it easier...

You will find that these separators greatly inhibit the effectiveness of your filter. Personally I would remove the dividers and add the extra plants and hides. At the size you have, I had 3 together in a 20 without issues. I tried a separator until it slipped and trapped one of my juvies - it has been a long recovery process for the poor little thing.

Hope this helps.

Thanks so much for all the help! I have more questions.

Today (after a 50% water change 24 hours ago):
pH = 6.8
Ammonia = 0.5
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 0

I used plants, pots, and a filter from another tank but thought I'd need to change more water until the biological filter gets going. What things can cause a cycle tank to "crash" or require the tank to be cycled again (avoiding using "re-cycled")... ie. cleaning the filter, a complete water change, etc.?

I think 5 times might be conservative, it was probably more like 7 times of thorough rinsing and at the end the water was clear. I will try to stir it up less and see if that helps.

I tried to siphon the water back in but the bucket wasn't horizontal enough to allow it to start. Maybe I should buy one of the siphons that has a bulb to get it started so I don't have to shake it at a 45 degree angle under the water (not possible in the bucket I use to decholorinate the water)? Has anyone used one of those with success?

As for removing the divider... can you tell me how to prevent nipping especially during feeding? When people say they use a jar for feeding do they mean a quart sized mason jar turned on its side? So far I have had a good survival rate to this stage. Maybe I can safely get rid of the extra two 'Lotls now?

Tomorrow I will go buy more plants and maybe some PVC tubing and take the dividers out! I also have two halves of a larger pot that I broke in half and covered the sharp parts in silicone to add as hides. They are nice and low and dark.

Thank you again for the help!! I _really_ appreciate it!

i use a jar and i will try and attach a photo for youo to see......when i started my tank i did daily water checks and 20% weekly water changes(more often as soon as the readings started to change).......things like poop, uneaten food etc can cause a tank to crash......

Your juvies are a decent size so I don't think survival should be an issue at this point as long as they are properly cared for. If the prospective new owner(s) are prepared and have done their research, you should be able to re-home the two before you have to leave, and that could greatly simplify things - up to you.

Actually, changing that much water that often will slow your cycling process. You are disrupting everything in the tank, bacteria has no way to get established. Your filter should not be disturbed during the cycling process at all - of course, with your sand issues - get that out. Your parameters show that cycling has barely started.

Sand is a pain to rinse out before adding so unless you were stirring through it the whole time, it probably wasn't as thorough as you thought.

As far as nipping, try to feed them in separate areas. If they are bunched together, wait until they part, or encourage them to part. I have a square of tile down, about 3"x3" that I feed mine on. I have done this from the time they were 1" long and spread the frozen blood worms or pellets out on that so there was plenty of food around without encouraging them to bunch up together to compete or accidentally nip each other.

The jars should be small for your guys - like baby food size. Increase the size as they grow to prevent them becoming stuck.

Lea- Thanks for the photos! So cute!

Shannon- Wow, there is quite the learning curve for this! I read all of Axolotl.org and a bunch on here before getting them and I still have made more mistakes than successes. Thankfully, they have been patient with me!

I do have a few people who were interested in taking them but I didn't really want to ship them.

Both- I will try all these suggestions! Thanks again for taking the time to help me.

-Kori