Just wanted to post update on my Axolotl Oscar!

[Bri the axolotl mom]

Last time i had him in a 10 gallon and he was not looking real happy. I rescued him from a store
That had him with some koi fish and his gills were bitten off. He was looking sad and
Small and the color not good. He started to develop these like white spots on his bavk
But didn't seem like fungus. (Lets just say I bought him with no experience but I couldn't
Leave him to suffer) so now he is doing super good! From 5 spots now only 2. Loves his
New home. He has been so far in 3 different tanks until we found the perfect one!
The other two were fails plus the 10 gallon which I feel was too small. I will leave a picture
And too all the hobbyist just gotta say don't give up because these

 

[EasternRomioi3]

Aw, I love your set up! You drop all his food into that saucer, I'm assuming yes? Man, Maybe I should do that for mine so she doesn't eat her sand accidentally. Do you feed him pellets at all? I'm curious how you'd do so with a saucer. I have to feed my stubborn girl by dropping them in front of her maw.

And for your little buddy to grow back his gills and recover from the predation of those koi, you would have NEVER guessed he suffered that. His gills look perfect! Legit, I would have never know he had suffered any damage from just looking at him without you mentioning it. Good on you to give him a safe home.

 

[Bri the axolotl mom]

Thank you am glad you like my set up. Like I mentioned it was a trial and error thing because
I originally had him in a smaller one then upgraded to a bigger one that was too high and big
5hen a medium one that I didn't like and finally this one. Lol

Regarding the saucer honestly I tried and still trying to get him to eat out of the saucer
But he is small enough to get in there and make a mess and get the blood worms all
Over the place. So I try to put some there that he eill eventually eat thru out the day. The thing
He likes the most is to be mouth fed as soon as he sees the tweezers he comes to it and starts
To attack it, knowing there will be food at the end of it. Lol
But I haven't given up and I keep trying to feed him in the saucer, then pick up all the left overs
And put them in the saucer and leave them there. The sand is so fine he hasn't really had any
Problems with it, but I also don't leave much food on the ground for him to eat out of the
Sand bed. I just recently added 2 guppies and a fake plant.
My ammonia levels are at 0 and i am just happy he loveshis new home.
He is super friendly aggressive towards food but not shy at all.

Also i have tried pellets. I haven't bought the axolotl pellets because the protein was too
Little and the fat was too high. I give him the chiclid pellets with high protein and low fat.
It has thiamine but not alot. I give him pellets once in a while. I try to vary his diet.
Pellets, blood worms, krill,etc I have also tried the wax worms but they are high in fat plus
Hard for him to eat and he didn't liked them so i stopped feeding him that. I also tried
The red worms and he ate like 2 and the next day I saw he had spit them out.
I tried feeding him again that same night the red worms and he didn't even try to bite them.
I threw them away and didnt seem to be a hit for him. He sometimes will get a small feeder.
I have feeders for my 2 feet long clown knife, and my 1 foot long alligator far. If there are any
Very small ones i will feel them to my axolotl. Like I said he has a very wide variety of food.

 

[EasternRomioi3]

Hold up, the most alarming thing I read in this is "my 1 foot alligator gar", like THE Southern US alligator gar? Scourge of Texas's waterways? Do tell how you managed to get that. We have a South American spectacled caiman that my dad rescued and she's like, 5 feet of all sorts of terror. Have an entire room dedicated, like bedroom, to her. I would love to see a photo of your gar! I haven't seen one in the wild since 2006. We saw it at night, slowly cutting along the surface by a pier, everyone had their flashlights on it so it reflected and was all cool.

Anyways! Ciclid pellets you say? I have some axolotl pellets that me and my friend have been buying off Etsy for 2 years now but I also have some sinking carnivore pellets, but they're huge. Like, 1 of those is all she needs while she needs 3 of the axolotl ones I've bought. I've never even seen axolotl pellets in the local pet stores. Man, I just, wow, I'm dumb. I was like "how can I get the pellets in the saucer..." then I go "Oh, put the saucer in, then drop the pellets onto them. Should just sink nicely to them.

And it's good that your little buddy is aggressive, shows he's healthy. I had to move my axolotl the other day, I had to clean under her hidey hole because she used it as a bathroom, but she refused to give the spot up, tried sucking in my finger, didn't work so she just swam away, like "fine, I quit." It's odd to see how much personality a small creature with no eyebrows, no moveable eyes, has. A creature solely dependent on body language. To be far, that's how my dad's turtles are but they're hyper and hilarious. The caiman...she has two personality traits, aggressive hungry, and aggressive sitting on her rock bellowing for boy caimans to come around. That's it. She's like a snake, two modes, that's it.

 

[Bri the axolotl mom]

Lol i didn't know they were not in the wild but here on the pet stores (btw I live in illinoid)
They are sold and very common to find them. I got mine when he or she was a wee tiny one. Like a pencil.
He or she is super cute looking. I mean compared to my 2 feet long knife fish and my 2.5 feet long
Ripsaw catfish he is still a stick lol. They all get along very well and now looking to add a
Aerrowana. I will get a picture of him or her today. He has so far killed 2 good size gouramis
And i am down to 3 but I think those are more aggressive and kinda bother the fat but don't get too
Close. I will post a picture of my 220 where i have them.
We are big animal hobbist. We are working on getting our 300 G salt water
Ready which is the next big project.

The pellets I only have seen them in one store which is like 1 hr from us that we visit but
Like I said I didn't buy it because when i saw the ingredients it had like 40% fat and like 56 or so percent
Protein. The guy said his friend makes them and is his own brand. I couldn't tell you the name
But when we go back I will def try and take a picture.

Yes sink the saucer then with a turkey baster put them down or with tweezers. I try to
Suck the poop as soon as I see it before he just goes all over it.

They do happen to have a really cute face as if they were smiling at you even though they have no
Expressions. Haha they are just the cutest thing.

 

[EasternRomioi3]

Wow, you have a huge aquarium set. I wish I had a bigger car and could have bought my girl a 40 gallon tank but I have no way of getting it home. The like, car length one we have the caiman was delivered by like dude's in a flatbed. I remember that, was a joy changing her tank. She was like 3 feet then.

And yes, the turkey baster trick, I use that as well. Way easier than a net. And yes, they are super adorable. I will admit, despite me not wanting to get another dog after our previous one died, I love the stupid puppy we have, and she has eyebrows and all sorts of expressions, even makes noise. But the axolotl, they have so much charisma and they're silent! My mom has an African gray parrot. He is the opposite of charisma, because he talks. Constantly. Like a human, in our voices.

 

[Bri the axolotl mom]

Some pics

 

[Bri the axolotl mom]

Alligator far

 

[Bri the axolotl mom]

For the first time my ripsaw just ate a fish!!! If I wasn't taking pictures I would have missed it.

 

[Bri the axolotl mom]

I just added a plant not long ago.
I love my little guy!

 

[Bri the axolotl mom]

He plays hide and seek alot.
Sorry i am a proud mom and i blast with pictures.

 

[EasternRomioi3]

Aw, cool! Wow, those are some big nasty looking fish and I like that. What is that last big one, is that a catfish of some kind?

 

[Bri the axolotl mom]

The big one is the ripsaw catfish.

 

[EasternRomioi3]

Radical. Despite being a relatively ugly fish it has a certain je ne sais quoi.

 

[Bri the axolotl mom]

Oui!

 

[Napalm]

I just added a plant not long ago.
I love my little guy!

I really like your setup! I'm currently cycling a tank to prepare for an axlotl of my own. How does your axlotl like the hide you offer? I'm a big fan of your slate rock design. I've been back and forth to several aquatic stores and may have blown money on some inappropriate hides.

Any suggestions or tips to choosing a hide for the axlotl? I've seen people use pvc joins and pieces, but I am not a fan of the way they look.

 

[Bri the axolotl mom]

Sorry I just saw this comment. Thank you for the compliment about the set up.
Honestly I really like the slate rock. They can hide of need be but you can still see him completely. I also added a log looking thing made of ceramic with holes so he can just explore and be where he feels comfortable. He loves it is just hard when cleaning since i move to clean all the rocks and vacuum the top of the sand.