Smaug, and friends! New 29 gal setup

I set up the tank in September, It seems to be coming along great (Although Smaug slowly picked off my ghost shrimp and some staghorn algae is coming back D: ) The light level is pretty low, just enough to keep the plants growing, I had all the lights out in the room to get the pictures to look bright.

Smaug has been with me about a year and 2 months now and has grown at least 2 inches, she's 10 inches long now.

Her tankmates are 1 large Betta, 2 blue snails, 4 Otocinclus, approx. 7 Endlers livebearers, 6 cherry barbs, 5 white cloud minnows, and 5 local freshwater mussels(Probably Western Floaters). (Please no lectures on the mussels...)

Sorry the pictures are out of focus and dizzying a bit! Enjoy!

I would be very cautious about keeping your axolotl with some of those fish, especially the oc's they grow alot and will either be a snack for your axie or the other way around

That's a lovely looking tank......but......

You mention that you don't want a lecture, so please can you explain how that axie won't come to any harm by;

* swallowing one of the snails

* having one of your four sucking-catfish attatch itself, however briefly, to the axie, which will create a sore which in turn will become infected.

* if it were to trap a limb in a mussel

Have a read of this link Caudata Culture Articles - Species Mixing Disasters . It gives graphic examples of problems which are so easily avoided.

I don't think the oto's would be a problem. I know plecostomus's will suck off a slime coat, but oto's are really pretty harmless. I've had them multiple times with other fish, and I really don't think they would be a problem.

I'd be worried about the betta splenden, although many people keep them in small unheated bowls they are most definitely tropical fish and much prefer heated tanks (24 ish), especially considering axolotls need their water cold. They are also very territorial and aggressive.

carsona246 said:

I don't think the oto's would be a problem. I know plecostomus's will suck off a slime coat, but oto's are really pretty harmless. I've had them multiple times with other fish, and I really don't think they would be a problem.

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Plecostomus are certainly to be avoided.
And even small Corydoras as well can pose a huge danger with their 'armour'.
Personally, I feel that whilst the otos might be okay to keep with an axie, the only way to be 100% positive that they wont cause any problems is to re-house them.

At the end of the day, it's not having a nice community tank that's important, it's about the axie's well-being.

I feel the axie's well-being can be potentially threatened by it's tank-mates, so personally I'd be inclined to remove those tank-mates.

Ken Worthington said:

At the end of the day, it's not having a nice community tank that's important, it's about the axie's well-being.

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Gotta agree with you there

Thanks you for the complements.

The mussels dont open wide enough to clamp her foot, at most just a mm or two, they are not the kind that open wide enough to lure fish down and clamp them for breeding purposes.

So far I have never seen an Oto go near smaug, however she did eat one the first time a purchased. them. Also I thought they get only 1.5-2 inches max. I dont really care if she eats the fish, that are all pretty darn cheap. Mostly the only ones that are slow/dumb enough to swim on from of her are the Endlers, which are like 14 cents each.

The betta has been in her tank about 6 months with no ill effects, He is very wary of Smaug and doesnt go near her head.
It gets fairly cold in there sometimes, especially for tropical fish (I agree)but I have only seen 1 oto die from the cold, presumably(I had also only had it a week). The rest of the fish have stopped breeding but they all seem to flourish no matter what temperature it fluctuates to.

The snails are BIG, wayy to big for her to fit in her mouth, they are both about 1.75-2 in across/around. Smaug has issues fitting blood worm cubes in her mouth that are only like an inch across.

If the Oto's do pose a threat when being eaten I can remove them no problem. I think all the other fish are pretty soft bodied

oto's only get like 2 inches tops, it is advised to keep axolotl's by themselves though

I dont mean any offence by this but why risk your axies with the catfish, snails etc its really not worth it.

You tank set up looks great as does your axie but must say feel so sorry for your betta/siamese fighting fish. They are amazing fish and should be kept well out of that tank.

Anyway hope you see we are all here to help and wish you all the best. Zoe

What temperatures does the tank fluctuate between? I've bred bettas in around 26c, my axi tank is about 18.

Your aquascaping is beautiful by the way, I love the long roots thing.

Well it is in front of a window and when it first got icy here it dropped to the negative single digits outside and I think the tank went into the teens. my tank thermometer goes from 16-26, but it felt pretty cold. I keep a blanket on it to insulate it now and I dont think it goes below 18 now.

The roots thing came in a gecko tank setup I got off craigslist, its one of those fake plastic wood peices from petsmart. I didn't like it for the geckos so I put it in Samugs tank and it actually looks really cool.

I bought my betta a female and the male bullied her until she swam in front of smaugs face, where she got sucked in. I swear it was on purpose..

saided said:

The snails are BIG, wayy to big for her to fit in her mouth, they are both about 1.75-2 in across/around.

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I hope you are right......but just to illustrate my point;



Is it really worth the risk?

(PS. I copied the photo from Caudata Culture Articles, see previous link)

Ken Worthington said:

I hope you are right......but just to illustrate my point;

Is it really worth the risk?

(PS. I copied the photo from Caudata Culture Articles, see previous link)

Click to expand...

+1 on keeping the axolotls alone. You said that your axolotl had eaten otos before. Otos are actually listed on the Horror Stories page. The spiky fins of the oto had actually gotten lodged in the axie's mouth, and went through the skin, unable to be dislodged. Why risk letting the axie get hurt/die, just for a greater variety in your tank?

Not trying to sound picky, or rude, or offend you. Just giving my two cents. =)

The tank is small for such a big axolotl.
I don´t understand this. You have got blue appelsnails, Betta splendens, Otocinclus affinis... These are warm water animals. An axolotl needs cold water.
The axolotl will eat everything thats smaller then him. Or he might die because of the hot water temperature.