Cannibalism began, when will it end?

[jinny]

My baby axies (barely over 1 inch, majority starting to grow back feet) attacked one another this week. 2 casualties.

Right now they're all separated with dividers and in-tank isolation containers.

About how big will they get before they stop trying to eat one another? In the mean time, I'm planning on rotating babies in and out of the isolation chambers so no one gets stunted by too little exercise.

I am also doing some major redecorating in the tank with eco-complete sand and live plants. Anyone tried eco-complete (intended for cichlids, but great for plants) with axies before?

 

[rory]

WHen they get more room so they don't have to fight for territory ...

 

[alex]

axolotls arnt territorial, there just cannibalistic. they will soon grow out of it. u can put the ones that are the same size together.

 

[jinny]

I'm paranoid. The last one they attacked WAS the same size. And they had plenty of room being babies there were 7 in a 10 gallon (about 40 liters). Before, the guy I got them from had probably 50+ babies in a 6x10 inch tupperware. Definitely not social right now.

 

[caitlyn]

I think they stop being cannibals when they reach around 3 inches long. Until then, its best to keep them by themselves with tank dividers, unless you are prepared to take the risk of nipping.

 

[sharn]

yip, anything that moves at that size will be considered lunch- second lunch or third lunch! sorting out the sizes will help and stop the smaller weaker ones from being picked off.

adding ALOT of plants or hiding places will help because they wont be able to find each other but make it harder to feed...

 

[jinny]

LOL, Sharn, you make them sound like hobbits.

Well, tried planting, but the kinds I have weren't very cooperative yesterday. They're mostly floating today.

For those of you who are interested in plant substrates, the eco-complete sand addition went well. I removed the axies because eco-complete comes with live bacteria and the water gets very cloudy. After I tried arranging everything, I removed about 50% of the water, added new, and then the axies last. This morning both tanks are clear.

The sand does seem very uniform and axie-safe.

 

[theresa]

congrats... looking forward to photo's !

 

[joan]

Jinny, I had good luck raising larvae in large shallow tubs with hornwort. Since the water's shallow, the plants don't have anywhere to float, and it increases surface space, for more oxygen exchange.