Happy axies? How can I cheer them up?

[susan]

I am seeking advice on making my axies a bit happier - they are sitting on the floor of the tank looking glum or staring at what I assume are their reflections in the wall.
A picture of my tank is enclosed - what can I do to make it better - is sand better than stones (and would I have to remove them and start cycling all over again if I changed or could I just gradually introduce the sand and take out the stones?) Do I need more plants - and they have no real interest in hiding in the pot - should I replace it with a tunnel?

I have been cycling for about 3 weeks and the nitrite is still too high - I have 57litres and change at least 18 (30%) once or twice a day depending on how much time I have, the ammonia is 0 and the pH is neutral. Will this be depressing them?

And food? On the advice from everyone here I have been offering earthworm - one snaps them up, one nibbles and the other runs away when offered a worm. I am giving whole live worms which put up quite a fight - is there a better way? . I am trying bloodworms in a dish as suggested here as well but with minimal success. Other than that they like steak and chicken but that is not good for them -and I am trying new pellets hoping they will be more successful than the previous ones tried.
Anyway - if all the experts can help me improve their lifestyle it would be great.
thanks

 

[luke]

Go to woolies/safeway and buy an ox heart from the meat section. All you do is cut it up, cut off all the fatty white bits and away you go. Will last forever frozen

. It's a lot cheaper than buying a packet of ox heart cubes from the petshop.

 

[jinny]

If your nitr<font color="ff0000">ite</font>s are high, think about investing in concentrated Seachem Prime or other nitr<font color="ff0000">ite</font>-neutralizing conditioner in addition to the water changes. Adding more food is not the answer. That is just creating more ammonia, which of course turns into more nitr<font color="ff0000">ite</font>s. Let your beneficial bacteria catch up and produce nitr<font color="119911">ate</font>s before changing the amount of food they get.

 

[kapo]

Don't forget that during the day they are less active or tend to sleep, unless disturbed. Our young axies were more active when we first got them - they were only 2mths, now 7-8mths (20cm+), also settling into their new tanks. Now they are older and larger they only get active at night or round feeding time. So I suppose depending on age/size they do look glum (in the eye of the beholder!)

Is your tank 2ft or 3ft long (600mm/60cm or 900mm/90cm long)? Probably just the angle of your photo, but it looks short (I realise it is taken from the end!) 2 axies wud fit in a 2ft tank (3ft wud be better) 3 axies in a 3ft tank (4ft wud be better). A bigger tank gives you more room for plants (if you want), caves/pots/decos for each axie to have hide away/behind. I notice you only have one pot, maybe add another pot, and log (or piece of pvc tubing works well for a log!), if you have the room in your tank.

Is your tank in a high traffic area (ie, lounge/kitchen or where people are passing during the day - maybe cover the tank partially if in lounge.

Cycling a tank can take from 3-6 weeks - this is without axies or waterchanges. As you have axies, and are doing water changes as well, the tank may take as long as 6/7 weeks to cycle (on the other hand you maybe lucky and will cycle b4 then). What is your nitrates reading? How often are you feeding your axies?

Beef/Ox Heart sliced in slivers is good as a treat. And as Luke says, does last for ages and is so much cheaper than cubes. Ox heart is huge, so just get a piece of it (ask butcher to cut it - and trim most of the fat away and repackage it)

Worms can be sliced in pieces/half if its a large worm (one of our axies used to freak when we tried to feed it a large worm) or feed it baby earthworms (which can be found in a compost bin - if you have one or worm farm - once it is established and easy to do) Ours love worms but will also eat ox liver/ox heart (treats). They tend to ignore the axie pellets now.

If u want to change to sand, you can remove the stones in sections (saw it mentioned on someone elses thread) and add the sand to each section as its removed gradually over a few days.

Also, thermometer for your tank



(Message edited by kapo on May 11, 2006)

 

[susan]

The tank is 600 x 350. It is in a low traffic area. There is no-one at home during the day time and I visit to feed in the evenings - but not too much coming or going.
I haven't tested the nitrates (I didn't realise that was not in the test kit and haven't been back to buy another one) but will do this and let you know. They were hand fed by their first owner and are used to this although lately one has started biting me instead of eating. If they don't take what I offer I assume it is because they are not hungry. I might come back later and try again. I vacuum out the leftovers either with a siphon or turkey baster depending on how much stuff is in there and how much water I am changing. I feel a bit squeamish about cutting up worms but I can get over it.
I have a thermometer on the outside of the tank - it starts at 19 degrees and the water is usually either that or lower. I think I overheated them when I first got them so I am pretty careful about this now.
I will look for a tunnel for them and see how they go. My husband says I am not allowed to get a bigger tank, so maybe I will need to find a new home for one of them if three is too many for this tank. I'll add some plants so they have more places to hide. I don't have a light for them as I understand this is not necessary - although the tank came with one (It used to be for goldfish some years ago). I have read the sand suggestions in other threads and think it might be more comfortable for them than stones.
thanks for the advice

 

[john]

Axolotls really don't do much. If they're very accustomed to you, they may learn to come to the front of the tank when you come near, thinking they'll get food. However most of the time they just spend standing around doing nothing. The only exception to this is when they're feeling frisky.

Regarding the nitrite, it sounds like something in your water may be inhibiting bacteria development. Are you using enough chlorine/chloramine remover when you change the water? The other thing is that changing that much water every day might do more harm than good if you're trying to establish a balance in the tank.

I'm loathe to say it but axolotls are quite tolerant of non-ideal water conditions, so maybe lay off the water changes for a while and see if the nitrite decreases after a week or so. If the water gets a bit murky, then by all means do some water changes but 30% a day is way too much.

An axolotl's main enemy is usually not slightly-off water quality, but rather water temperature and water flow.

Good luck (and you have a lovely melanoid? axolotl in that photo).

 

[joan]

I think if you're keeping 3 axolotls in a 60cm tank, as by the looks of your picture, that could be a significant problem with water quality. Too much bioload and not enough area for healthy quantities of bacteria. I would recommend getting a bigger tank, or keeping only one axolotl. If I were you, I'd go for the bigger tank, as your animals look very healthy otherwise. Tell your husband phooey on him and get one anyway