Continuing Care after getting "Basics" out of the way

[deeveeance]

Back again after months of lurking, this time I'm just wondering about continuing care after getting most of the "beginner" things out of the way, and hopefully branch out to another tank and more Axolotl once we move into a new home.

I've searched and taken all advice on the forum for the Freshwater Testing Kit from API:

Did a test again and all my levels have been great for the past 6 months:

Ammonia/Nitrite levels at 0
Nitrates fluctuating between 20-40ppm
PH at 7.2 - 7.4

I did have a Nitrate boom some months ago and that is what caused algae to start growing. Since then I installed a new Fluval canister Filter (307) and things have been peachy, with only ocasional algae, meaning my little dudes are producing some high waste.

My question here is:

Where do I go from here?

I have been feeding them Hikari's Sinking Carnivore Pellets (recommended by my LFS) and the ocasional ghost shrimp to clean up the tank and give them something to chase. Should I think about earthworms or other types of supplemental foods?

As for the tank-

Since finding out Tatl and Tael are male and female (respectively), we have decided that we will be either using a separator on the 40Gal Breeder Tank, down the middle. They managed to breed twice since I last posted, and to my understanding, this is harmful to the females. We don't want any harm to come to her, so we will be getting another tank for one of them, and placing another axolotl of the same sex in with one of the current residents of same sex as well. This is a win-win as 1) I get another Axolotl and 2) no stress on our female!

Thanks again for all the help Caudata. Y'all are gems.

 

[GulfCoastAxolotls]

Back again after months of lurking, this time I'm just wondering about continuing care after getting most of the "beginner" things out of the way, and hopefully branch out to another tank and more Axolotl once we move into a new home.

I've searched and taken all advice on the forum for the Freshwater Testing Kit from API:

Did a test again and all my levels have been great for the past 6 months:

Ammonia/Nitrite levels at 0
Nitrates fluctuating between 20-40ppm
PH at 7.2 - 7.4

I did have a Nitrate boom some months ago and that is what caused algae to start growing. Since then I installed a new Fluval canister Filter (307) and things have been peachy, with only ocasional algae, meaning my little dudes are producing some high waste.

My question here is:

Where do I go from here?

I have been feeding them Hikari's Sinking Carnivore Pellets (recommended by my LFS) and the ocasional ghost shrimp to clean up the tank and give them something to chase. Should I think about earthworms or other types of supplemental foods?

As for the tank-

Since finding out Tatl and Tael are male and female (respectively), we have decided that we will be either using a separator on the 40Gal Breeder Tank, down the middle. They managed to breed twice since I last posted, and to my understanding, this is harmful to the females. We don't want any harm to come to her, so we will be getting another tank for one of them, and placing another axolotl of the same sex in with one of the current residents of same sex as well. This is a win-win as 1) I get another Axolotl and 2) no stress on our female!

Thanks again for all the help Caudata. Y'all are gems.

Hello! glad things are going well for you. The fluval canisters are my filter of choice so yay to that. As far as nutrition goes, their main food source should always be earthworms. Generally speaking, european nightcralwers are the most nutritionally balanced, with red wigglers coming in second. I order all of my worms online in bulk since we have a plethora of axies in our home. Most stores carry nightcrawlers, though general not of the right variety. Your typical nightcrawlers are a little too high in fat which is why i order mine online. I supplement the worms with Invert aquatics sinking pellets and repashy grub pie.

Separating the male and female is definitely the right call in the long run. Its a lot of work for females to lay all those eggs and since axolotls do not get egg bound like reptile do, there's no medical necessity for them to lay eggs.

 

[deeveeance]

Hello! glad things are going well for you. The fluval canisters are my filter of choice so yay to that. As far as nutrition goes, their main food source should always be earthworms. Generally speaking, european nightcralwers are the most nutritionally balanced, with red wigglers coming in second. I order all of my worms online in bulk since we have a plethora of axies in our home. Most stores carry nightcrawlers, though general not of the right variety. Your typical nightcrawlers are a little too high in fat which is why i order mine online. I supplement the worms with Invert aquatics sinking pellets and repashy grub pie.

Thanks for the detailed reply! Are thereany websites you recommend? I am in Portland, OR, and wouldn't mind finding something local, but COVID is making some things harder to find.

A bit more detail, do you breed your own earthworms or just buy in bulk?

 

[GulfCoastAxolotls]

Thanks for the detailed reply! Are thereany websites you recommend? I am in Portland, OR, and wouldn't mind finding something local, but COVID is making some things harder to find.

A bit more detail, do you breed your own earthworms or just buy in bulk?

I breed my own worms to an extent, but I also go through them so fast that I have to resupply every few months. I always order from uncle jims worm farm. Great quality worms and their customer service is great. Ive been getting my worms from them for 2 years now with no issues.

 

[TheAngel1270]

I breed my own worms to an extent, but I also go through them so fast that I have to resupply every few months. I always order from uncle jims worm farm. Great quality worms and their customer service is great. Ive been getting my worms from them for 2 years now with no issues.

I always am looking at places to replenish my farm if needed. I have two containers with over 100 worms in them but I don't know much about them other than feeding them and changing their bedding once in a while so always keeping an eye out for places to get them should they die or something.