Melbourne axolotl please? and a few questions.

[Candy]

Hi, I don't know if I'm in the right spot here, but I am living in Melbourne and am looking for a pal for my 6y/o son's little axolotl. He wants a wild type so he can call it "diesel", then sell his original one to me (Mummy) who has fallen in love. :happy:

I'm not sure how to link my uploaded album to here, but if you look at the album, the one we've got is pretty small. We got him from someone in Upwey but I no longer have access to his number so I can't ask for another one.

Also, I have a couple of questions,
Firstly, hubby is a fish enthusiast and is constantly worried that we should have the water moving for oxygenation. I on the other hand want the filter flow facing downward toward the glass to have as little flow as possible. Which is the better option?

In one or two of the photos in my album, I have the little guy photographed with an oddly shaped abdoman. Is this normal? I had fed him a little fish, just before I noticed it. I hadn't really looked at him too much before feeding him that fish.
Also in the photos, you'll notice there are two types of substrates. One is pebble, the other is black sand. I am scared that the night before we changed his tank, he swallowed a rock. I know he spat at least one out.

Thanks in advance for allowing me to learn from your experiences, oh and here's a link to the photos...

Caudata.org Newt and Salamander Forum - Candy's Album: Alistair and his Axolotl Buddy

 

[snuggly time]

Species Wanted, Items Sought - Wanted in Australia or New Zealand at Caudata.org Newt and Salamander Portal
You might have more luck asking here or looking in the for sale section of the forums.

Oxygen in the water isn't too important for axolotls since they do have lungs too. It's best to reduce the flow as much as you can. You could add an air stone in if you want more air in there. But they can come up to the surface to catch a breath.

His stomach does look like there's something wrong with it. It's most likely substrate which he's swallowed. You should keep an eye on him and see if he passes it. If he looks really uncomfortable you could fridge him to see if he passes it in there. If he looks alright I'd be tempted to leave him and see how he gets on.

 

[Kerry M]

I can see why you have fallen in love with the little guy/girl. Very cute and lovely gills.

The substrates that you have in the photos are not recommended for axolotls as they cannot easily pass through if swallowed. It is recommended to either use a tank with a bare bottom or very fine play sand. Some people use the playsand from Bunnings (6.75 per bag). It needs serious rinsing. If you use sand it is advisable to use a feeding jar or bowl during feeding to minimize sand swallowing as that can cause problems too if a large amount is swallowed. Recently I needed to take my axie to the vet as he ingested too much sand so I have changed back to bare bottomed again.

There should be plenty of little baby axies in the forum above shortly, good luck finding your wild type.

Good luck with the lumpy tummy, I do hope that if it is substrate it will pass. I would try fridging to try to help him pass it. There is a fridging guide as a sticky.

 

[Candy]

Thanks Beks, that will be a useful spot to watch. I can't post on there just yet since I'm only new yet but as soon as I can, I will.
Also thanks for the confirmation on the water movement. I went in and changed the angle of the water flow and s/he almost immediately stood up more. Whether s/he thought there was food coming or felt better, I'm not sure but I thought it was interesting all the same.

I know there's not a single bit of the old substrate in the tank since we changed it yesterday so I'm looking out for any "pink" poos.
Kerry, I'm not too concerned about the new,black gravel. It is smaller than it looks in the picture. We carefully chose it and I'm quite sure it will go through. At least I wasn't before I read that you had to take yours to the vet for ingesting too much.

I'll keep you posted.
I'm currently watching -
the angle of his gills,
the tip of the tail (straight or curved),
how much floating
and eating habits

Is there anything else I should watch or gauge as far as how he's coping?

Also, he doesn't like worms that much. I've started giving little frozen fish, the occasional headless mealworm (which he loves), no more tuna - doesn't like it, some bits of sardines. I keep offering worms but he mostly ends up spitting them out.

 

[snuggly time]

Keep trying with the worms, they're the best diet. Frozen fish and meal worms can be quite fatty and also harder to digest. The worms might need cutting up? The normal advise is the worm length should be the same width as the axolotls head. Also live black worms might be suitable too. They can be quite messy so I'd recommend using a feeding jar, especially since you have substrate.

This link is worth having a look at. Caudata Culture Articles - Nutritional Values

 

[Candy]

Thanks for that, that was really interesting to look at.
I have fed him bloodworms from a syringe which he seems to like but perhaps I'll start each meal with a worm. From what you said, we may be giving him worms that are far to big for him.

 

[Kerry M]

My mummy axie is only starting to get used to worms. She's excited to eat them, she's really cute. She swims to me excitedly and I give her very skinny worms and she enjoys them. Each week she is getting used to eating more and they are getting bigger. It is taking time but it is worth pursuing. I have a worm farm so just pick the younger worms for her. If they are too big she spits them out still.

 

[Quentari]

The black substrate looks kinda like my black sand that I have in my tank I'm from the melbourne area, wherabouts in melbourne are you? western suburbs? eastern?

 

[Candy]

Yay! Bubbles pooped a rock! (now named bubbles, was Buddy) It was kind of clayish so and seems to be dissolving a little in my fingers so I imagine that was our saving grace! I am so relieved. Bubbles is now more active too, very interested in fingers.

We live in the Eastern suburbs, near Lilydale.