Hi Y'all, Wannabe Axolotl Owner Here

[esoteric]

Believe it or not, we are quite a friendly bunch, not oppressive ogres (depending on who you ask, I guess). Come join us in the chat room anytime.

If you promise not to bully me, I just might pop into chat one of these days.

 

[superfin]

I don't think it's completeley nesscerey but I would do it anyway (just to be safe) and I would just put a little bit of subsrate in.You could always borrow a little bit of substrate from your fish or empty tank.Good luck with Mike







chris:wacko:

 

[esoteric]

How did you know about me wielding the mouse?

Ah, I have a fertile imagination bellabelloo, add to that some good old male intuition and a smattering of common sense and I think I know what to expect when a woman is put in a position of power - or perhaps that's just my experience talking.....:rofl:


...I'll get my coat.

 

[esoteric]

Thanks Chris, it seems a bit over the top to me, but, I want to get this right so I'm not about to ignore any advice offered.

 

[esoteric]

In view of Billy James' refusal to post during the recent hot weather, I have decided to cool (ok, ok pun intended) my search for "Mike".

I'm not sure if other people are still delivering axies, by courier, but I imagine if they are they should perhaps be using ice packs?

Anyway I once again find myself unsure about postal deliveries and wonder if my desire for the little creatures has blinded me to welfare issues.

 

[Kaysie]

...I'll get my coat.

That's a good idea, partner.



In all seriousness, best of luck in finding a new little friend. Just think of the extra time as time to get your tank situated. Hides built, plants grown, cycle finished, more hides built, tank remodeled, tank redecorated according to season (*cough*Jacquie!*cough*), etc.

 

[esoteric]

Just to update the thread and pose a lil question.

I have found a well respected axie breeder and have had some private messages offering personal testimonials to the quality of his service. All I need now is a break in the weather.

So, I have my Elodea Canadensis and Duckweed in quarantine, along with some nice chunky sandstone pieces. I've received my dechlorinator and I'm waiting for my pH, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and chlorine test kits. I've contacted my local water authority and received some meaningless numbers back, with the assurance they do not use chloramine. I've sourced a supply for my frozen bloodworm and I've broken the soil, on a patch of garden that I know for certain has been untouched by chemicals for at least 15 years. After some quite heavy downpours recently, I'm pleased to be able to report an abundance of earthworms, in said patch.

However, there's still something puzzling me.

How do people dechlorinate their axies water when performing weekly water changes?
What percentage of water do you remove?
Exactly how much dechlorinator to you add to the replacement water?
Also, how do you physically do it?
Do you have water in a bucket, or several buckets?
How long do you leave the newly dechlorinated water to stand?
How accurately do you equalise the water temperatures before replacing?

My dechlorination stuff states 10ml per 60l of water. I needed to check the volume of my tank because I'm not completely happy about adding the chemicals and I certainly don't want to add too much.

I plan on filling my tank to a depth of 30cm, which is 54 litres. (60 x 30 x 30 / 1000 = 54 litres) But thats the volume of an empty tank (minus the sand, rocks and filter). Is it necessary to calculate the volume of these things? What does everyone else do?

I'm going to estimate that 4 litres of the total volume is lost to sand etc. That means if I perform a 10% water change I would be replacing 5 litres each time. And that means I will be adding less than 1ml of dechlorinator to the 5lt of water in my bucket, unless I'm missing something that is. What do people use to measure out such tiny amounts of dechlorination stuff?

Thanks

Ron

 

[big a little a]

Just to update the thread and pose a lil question.

I have found a well respected axie breeder and have had some private messages offering personal testimonials to the quality of his service. All I need now is a break in the weather.

So, I have my Elodea Canadensis and Duckweed in quarantine, along with some nice chunky sandstone pieces. I've received my dechlorinator and I'm waiting for my pH, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and chlorine test kits. I've contacted my local water authority and received some meaningless numbers back, with the assurance they do not use chloramine. I've sourced a supply for my frozen bloodworm and I've broken the soil, on a patch of garden that I know for certain has been untouched by chemicals for at least 15 years. After some quite heavy downpours recently, I'm pleased to be able to report an abundance of earthworms, in said patch.

However, there's still something puzzling me.

How do people dechlorinate their axies water when performing weekly water changes?
What percentage of water do you remove?
Exactly how much dechlorinator to you add to the replacement water?
Also, how do you physically do it?
Do you have water in a bucket, or several buckets?
How long do you leave the newly dechlorinated water to stand?
How accurately do you equalise the water temperatures before replacing?

My dechlorination stuff states 10ml per 60l of water. I needed to check the volume of my tank because I'm not completely happy about adding the chemicals and I certainly don't want to add too much.

I plan on filling my tank to a depth of 30cm, which is 54 litres. (60 x 30 x 30 / 1000 = 54 litres) But thats the volume of an empty tank (minus the sand, rocks and filter). Is it necessary to calculate the volume of these things? What does everyone else do?

I'm going to estimate that 4 litres of the total volume is lost to sand etc. That means if I perform a 10% water change I would be replacing 5 litres each time. And that means I will be adding less than 1ml of dechlorinator to the 5lt of water in my bucket, unless I'm missing something that is. What do people use to measure out such tiny amounts of dechlorination stuff?

Thanks

Ron

Hi Ron

I do a weekly tank clean, where I use a gravel vacuum (I have sand in my tank) to suck up around 20% of the water in the tank (I pick up all the rocks, hides, etc, to ensure that all the gunk that collects under them is sucked up).

My axie stays in the tank whilst I clean. I just mark on the tank how high up the water is and then suck out about a fifth of this - realistically,because all the rocks and hids are at the bottom and it is just water at the top, I actually probably remove around 22 -25% of the water, but that's no big deal.

I keep two litre bottles full of water in my tank cabinet - as soon as I've done a tank clean and they are empty, I fill them up again, so that they have several days to dechlorinate. Additionally, I use dechlorinator to remove any heavy metal from the water.

I worked out my dechlorinator amounts like this: 5ml per 38l...5 divided by 38 = 0.13 (ml of dechlorinator to use per litre).

I have a 4 litre bucket, which I pour my water into - I then use a graduated pippette to add 0.52ml of dechlorinator - you can get pippetts on ebay for around £1 for 10 - you are best getting the 0.5ml graduated ones (more specific than the bigger ones).

I leave it to stand for a couple of minutes before pouring into the tank.

The water I pour in is at room temp, so it matches the tank - now it's warmer, I have a chiller on, so the water cools quickly, but as it's only 20% that you are replacing, it shouldn't alter the temp of your tank that drastically.

Hope that helps and wasn't too boring!

Zoe x

P.S You don't need to leave the water to stand before if you are using dechlorinator, I just choose to do it, as then, if I spill my dechlorinator or it runs out or something, I have some usable water ready.

 

[John]

we are quite a friendly bunch, not oppressive ogres

You called?

 

[John]

Haha Kaysie, you can't post it and then delete it. That's not bueno.

 

[esoteric]

Zoe, many thanks for taking the time to answer my question so well. Pipettes are now on my shopping list.

 

[Mitzee]

Have you had anyluck finding an axie yet?

I know that certain big chain shops such as Dobbies and Frosts stock axolotls, you could have a ring round any of them, if they're suitable distance?

Goodluck with your new axolotl, they're most fun to own! :wacko:

 

[esoteric]

Have you had anyluck finding an axie yet?

I know that certain big chain shops such as Dobbies and Frosts stock axolotls, you could have a ring round any of them, if they're suitable distance?

Goodluck with your new axolotl, they're most fun to own! :wacko:

Hey thanks Mitzee, I see there are 2 Dobbies in my area, Southport and Preston. I had not heard of them before. There are no local Frosts though. I will be sure to ring both Dobbies tomorrow. I would much rather be able to see what I'm buying and save the lil fellas the journey in Postman Pat's van.

PS. I doubt I will sleep now, I'm all excited.

 

[big a little a]

Good luck! x

 

[esoteric]

Hi Y'all, Actual Axolotl Owner Now

:happy: Meet Michaelotl :happy:​

​

Or​

Mike

For Short
​

Unfortunately I only got 2, not such great quality, pictures before the batteries died in my camera, so I'm waiting for them to recharge as I type.​

As you can see, Mike is a wild type axie. He/she cost me £8.99 from Aqualife near Leyland in Lancashire, less than half an hour drive from my house. Ok, I really wanted a leucistic axie, but when I called aqualife and the woman on the other end of the phone said they had axies in stock, I was so excited that I couldn't have cared less if Mike was going to be blue with pink spots. When I got there I found Mike amongst about a dozen tank mates ranging from 9cm to 15cm in length.​

There will be more pics to follow, but for now I shall describe him/her. Mike is a muted greyish green colour with lots and lots of black speckles. His/her tail is flecked with several irridescent patches which range from a shimmering gold colour to a real metalic bronze. He/she is about 13cm long, or roughly 5", and approximately 3cm or 1.25" across his head. He has deep red gills which look quite spectacular from behind in good light.​

The he/she thing is annoying me now so I'm going to stick with he until proven otherwise.​

When we got Mike home, he explored the tank a bit and then amazed us all with the speed he could devour an earthworm. Since he found the cave he has sat there looking out, for all the world looking like a lord in his castle perusing his domain.​

 

[Kerry1968]

Re: Hi Y'all, Actual Axolotl Owner Now

So cool! I'm glad you found axies so close to home and what a beauty he is!

It made me laugh when you said you didn't care if it was blue with pink spots! I know how you feel, I was so excited when I got my first two.

So is this going to be your only one? I think not, the axie bug is contagious and very addictive!

 

[Mitzee]

Ohh he looks lovely!

I'm glad you finally found one, Mike is a lucky axolotl!

 

[Bellabelloo]

What a pretty little axolotl.

 

[Kaysie]

Mike's a cutie

 

[melfly]

WOW
Congratulations!!
So glad you managed to get one.
And he is gorgeous.

And yes they are massively addictive.
I wanted one. i currently have 4 juvies 17 babies and some more on the way lol

Heres to all the fun to come

Mel