Axolotl without filters

[joncairns]

Is it possible to keep an Axolotl in a large 'goldfish bowl' without a filter. I have recently purchased my first while on holiday and as a temporary measure I am keeping it in a large goldfish bowl with cabomba plant to ensure oxygen and I am doing three day part water changes (usually after feeding) .When I get home I will set up an aquarium but I wonder what benefit a filter will offer ?

:ufo:

 

[oceanblue]

I'd advise bigger, even total water changes with dechlorinated water on a daily basis as a temporary measure. The problem metabolite is ammonia, resulting from breakdown of protein. It is excreted mainly through axolotl gills and builds up even if debris is cleared out. The poisonous level depends on pH and temperature but without a filter it could rapidly prove fatal.

Filter is really a misnomer, its a sewerage treatment plant! If you want to run the tank without a filter you will need to commit to daily 20% or deeper water changes indefinitely. Read around housing on the associated axolotl site and this article on the caudata culture site: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

Please avoid the gravel, it chokes axolotls so sub-gravel filters are not wise.

It is possible to run a tank without any obvious filters. I run two tanks absolutely stuffed with plants which metabolize all the ammonia instead of a filter, but it is a tricky setup to obtain and I used a conventional filter in both these tanks for about 9 months while I got the plants established.

Why not buy pH and ammonia test kits (and if the budget will stretch nitrite and nitrate ones as well), preferably the liquid based ones, and see what the results are?

 

[Abrahm]

The largest goldfish bowl I've ever seen is still too small for an axolotl. If you are keeping your axolotl in there temporarily you should be doing daily complete water changes to ensure there is no buildup of harmful waste products such as the ammonia that oceanblue mentioned.

It is possible to keep axolotls without filters, but if you are not using a filter the tank should ideally be quite large and frequent water changes should be performed.

Filters help remove all sorts of potentially harmful chemicals from the water. The general idea is that it lengthens the time between aquarium maintenance. If an axolotl tank needs a water change every three days without a filter, putting one in may lengthen that time to a week or more. Filters are a very useful safety net and allow your animals to thrive instead of being imperiled by one week's forgotten water change.

This article has a lot of useful information on filters. I have my own little article on filters and if you'd like to read it I can PM it to you.

 

[joncairns]

I'd advise bigger, even total water changes with dechlorinated water on a daily basis as a temporary measure. The problem metabolite is ammonia, resulting from breakdown of protein. It is excreted mainly through axolotl gills and builds up even if debris is cleared out. The poisonous level depends on pH and temperature but without a filter it could rapidly prove fatal.

Filter is really a misnomer, its a sewerage treatment plant! If you want to run the tank without a filter you will need to commit to daily 20% or deeper water changes indefinitely. Read around housing on the associated axolotl site and this article on the caudata culture site: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

Please avoid the gravel, it chokes axolotls so sub-gravel filters are not wise.

It is possible to run a tank without any obvious filters. I run two tanks absolutely stuffed with plants which metabolize all the ammonia instead of a filter, but it is a tricky setup to obtain and I used a conventional filter in both these tanks for about 9 months while I got the plants established.

Why not buy pH and ammonia test kits (and if the budget will stretch nitrite and nitrate ones as well), preferably the liquid based ones, and see what the results are?

Many thanks for the valuable advise