Caudata.org: Newts and Salamanders Portal

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Did you know that registered users see fewer ads? Register today!

Happy new Axolotl owner, Spain

Thanatostasis

New member
Joined
Dec 8, 2015
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Location
Spain, Marbella city
>>Hello w orld!<<

I've very recently bought three leucistic Axolotl from a pet store (I thought i'd take all of them, fortunately) in a mall, and i'm glad I did, after extensive reading (for the last 2 days) and figuring everything out from zero, I have realized that I did my cuties a big favor of removing them from the pet store, and conditions for them are going to get even better as soon as a few shipments arrive!

Now don't hate on me for putting them in an uncycled tank, I had no idea in the first place, and no time to cycle it either because the pet store owner persuaded me in to taking them with me straight away, without giving me time to set up the fishtank (14.5 gallons // 55 litres) luckily i've managed to take it home without breaking it.

Next day I came back for another 55 litre one the next day (But that one had an awful chip on two sides of the glass on the lower corner, and I might not be able to return it, so I'm thinking about keeping that one for dart frogs one day, correct me if i'm wrong about putting dart frogs in an aquarium instead of a terrarium, or if the glass poses any hazard of breaking)
The money I spent at the petstore is as follows (Might somebody tell me if I got ripped off?)

40€ per Axolotl, total 120€
160€ for the 55l Aquatlantis Horizon bow front fish tank
150€ for the Emheim 55l Aquastar that I chipped.
22€ Vacuum syphon

So that's 280€ spent on just the fishtank and axies, filter and leds are included, I was given a satchel of water conditioner too for one use. I bought a bottle of it for 8€ the next day, but it seems expensive and I am ordering Kordon Amquel and Novaqua plus online as i've read the recommendation on a scientific website about Axolotl.

I'm waiting for a shipment to arrive with a 63 litre (That's a 16.6 gallon) aquarium, that I am going to aquascape following the video seminars of Takashi Amano I found on youtube.

I ordered the following plantlife and supplies from local stores:

Plants:
1 x Taxiphyllum Sp. (Peacock moss) (003P) = €4.95
1 x Nymphea Lotus Tiger Red (019A) = €3.95
1 x Lemna Minor (0129) = €2.95
1 x Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis (040) = €2.95
1 x Marsilea Hirsuta (010) = €2.95
1 x Vesicularia Dubyana en Tronco Pequeño (003YWG) = €7.95
1 x Microsorum Pteropus Windelow (008W) = €5.95
1 x Anubias Barteri var. Nana (0101) = €3.05
1 x Hemianthus Callitrichoides "Cuba" (048B) = €4.95
Subtotal: €39.65
Halcourrier 24 H. (Solo PENINSULA) (1.60Kg.) (Halcourrier 24H. con entrega a
lo largo del dia.): €9.95
Total: €49.60
AQUAPLANTAS.COM

Plants as well as substrate and shrimp:

Caridina Multidentata (Japonica) AMANO 3 €2.95 €8.85
Neocaridina Heteropoda "Red Cherry" 5 €1.80 €9.00
Cladophora aegagrophila 4 €2.55 €10.20
Riccardia chamedryfolia/mini coral moss 4x4 cm 1 €11.95 €11.95
ADA AQUASOIL NEW AMAZONIA (9Lts) 1 €39.00 €39.00
Weeping, Musgo (bote) 1 €9.75 €9.75
Roca Seiryu Stone - Ryuoh Stone 2 €5.45 €10.90 (2KG)
Total productos IVA incluido: €99.65
Total gastos de envío IVA incluido: €16.94
Total: €116.59
BICHORIUM.ES

Kit acuario Marina Premium 63 Litros €94.00 1 €94.00 (16.6 gallon Fishtank)
Tronco madera 80 Paisajismo €17.63 1 €17.63 (Piece of driftwood)
Productos €111.63
Descuentos €0.00
Envíos €19.97
TOTAL €131.60
BICHORIUM.ES

Any considerations on the plantlife and substrate? All of it is freshwater suited, most are low light and low temp, i'm planning on keeping ramshorns and applesnails too, as well as making a separate fishtank for breeding artemia as live food (So far the axies diets are bloodworms)

The aquarium is cycling and I change 1/4th daily, sometimes twice a day, I have measurement strips for the water but they lack ammonia test, will order ammonia and chlorine/chloramine strips soon, no nitratres or nitrites being read, I fear the bacteria haven't yet appeared, so I change water frequently and check up on their status, so far they don't appear stressed at all, i've cured them a piece of driftwood I had lying around by boiling it for two hours, i've put pieces of gravel from a cycled aquarium in to the filter, as it had a little pocket there where I conveniently managed to fit it in so the axies don't eat it.

I hope the aquascaped aquarium will cycle much quicker, if the substrate is too gravelly, will carpeting plants do the work? I've ordered quite a few types of carpeting plants, some of which i've seen growing quite long in some photos, will they do the trick of keeping the gravel safe from my axies mouths?

I also need to clear a question that's been on my mind, what determines stress? I've read many posts and people used stress interchangedly, sometimes refering to the emotional state of the animal, other times refering to the stress of internal organs adapting to the water chemistry, are both valid definitions of stress?

By the way, i'm extremely worried because we've got these stupid bank holidays and all stores are closed, will they hold out long enough if there are ammonia spikes? How long can they be in such water before I mange to get everything in order?

Any products I should order? Are live worms a good idea for them to eat? Should I rear the shrimp (surprisingly they are extremely expensive) before placing them in the aquarium and risking to have them eaten?

Thank you for reading and answering to some of my questions, I hope i'm not doing anything wrong, and sorry for making the post so long, I hope to get to know people here soon.
 

Attachments

  • photo_2015-12-08_15-27-05.jpg
    photo_2015-12-08_15-27-05.jpg
    35.3 KB · Views: 270
  • photo_2015-12-08_15-27-10.jpg
    photo_2015-12-08_15-27-10.jpg
    42.6 KB · Views: 197
  • photo_2015-12-08_15-27-16.jpg
    photo_2015-12-08_15-27-16.jpg
    60.8 KB · Views: 199
  • photo_2015-12-08_15-27-22.jpg
    photo_2015-12-08_15-27-22.jpg
    69.8 KB · Views: 232
  • photo_2015-12-08_15-27-26.jpg
    photo_2015-12-08_15-27-26.jpg
    52.9 KB · Views: 220
  • photo_2015-12-08_20-14-00.jpg
    photo_2015-12-08_20-14-00.jpg
    43.4 KB · Views: 144
  • photo_2015-12-08_20-14-03.jpg
    photo_2015-12-08_20-14-03.jpg
    39 KB · Views: 183
  • photo_2015-12-08_20-14-08.jpg
    photo_2015-12-08_20-14-08.jpg
    41.6 KB · Views: 587
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    There are no messages in the chat. Be the first one to say Hi!
    Top