New to Axolotls

Toothless_103

Toothless_103

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New here to the forum and to Axolotls. I just got three Axolotls 5 days ago(Well one of them is technically mine his/her name is Toothless). I have never had axolotls and it's completely new to me. I own dogs, a bearded dragon, fish, and just had a crested gecko pass away but never had axolotls. The Axolotls I have are two months old and I have some knowledge to them and have all the equipment needed for them since we own fish so we have tanks, filters, pumps, aquatic plants, the sand, bloodworms, and small fans to keep the tank cool. They are currently in a 5 gal that is not completely filled up. We were told they are too young to put any stuff in it and not to be put into a tank until they are 6 months old. I would like to get any advice about them this is completely new to me.
 
Hi,

I suggest you to first read the site

Axolotls: The Fascinating Mexican Axolotl and the Tiger Salamander

www.axolotl.org www.axolotl.org

I don't understand why they must stay in a partially filled 5 gallon.
Even if you want to avoid gravel ingestion, fine sand or bare bottom would be fine.
Moreover young like yours axolotls do have cannibalistic trends and shouldn't be kept in a too small enclosure.
 
I didn't understand that either that's what the breeders told us. That could explain why two that we got had missing hands-. When we got them they were just in a container so it makes sense thank you. Currently the doesn't have any fine sand in there but we do have it. Should I fill the tank up completely? Currently we have the tank over 1/4 almost halfway full.
 
As long as the water temperature stays under 20°C, axolotls seldom have to breathe air, so they normally will stay on the bottom.
The more the water volume is, the better it is. I would fill the tank up.

But if the temperature is higher, skin and gill breathing could not be enough and the axolotl gulps air from time to time. Then a water depth similar to the animal's length may be good.
 
JM29 said:
As long as the water temperature stays under 20°C, axolotls seldom have to breathe air, so they normally will stay on the bottom.
The more the water volume is, the better it is. I would fill the tank up.

But if the temperature is higher, skin and gill breathing could not be enough and the axolotl gulps air from time to time. Then a water depth similar to the animal's length may be good.
Click to expand...
I put the water level up way over halfway almost completely full. I usually keep their temperatures at 60-61° but no higher than 65-67°. When it's a hot day I do have a fan but sometimes it can't drop it down enough, so in those cases I put ice water in a container or water bottle and put it in the tank and it drops back to 60-61° and stays there. Since the water was very low, it was easy for the water temperatures to be high. Now that the water level in the tank is higher, the temperature is staying way longer than it has been.
 
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