Mudpuppy temperature?

[michael]

I live right next to Lake Erie & I've always heard stories of people catching mud puppy's so I stopped at one local bait shop to see if people were still catching them or not. The guy I talked to said people only catch them in the winter while ice fishing. It seems that they like very cold water & in the spring they move out into deeper, colder, water. What temp should they be housed at? Would you need some kind of chiller to keep them happy? I was going to see about getting a couple some day, probably next winter from the way he was talking, but if I need a chiller I probably won't.

Thanks!

 

[peter]

If you can keep them below 70 year round, they'll do fine; most basements are in the upper sixties or lower, and water temperature is typically lower than this. The colder you can keep them, the better; mine do just fine without a chiller, but in the hot months in my dorm I do have to float ice in the tank to keep temperatures low.

As for only catching them in the winter time, fishermen also catch them during the walleye run; this generally occurs in late March through mid April in Wisconsin; fishermen probably catch them in other areas in early spring as well.

 

[michael]

Thanks Peter! I was hoping for that. Any idea if you can keep Axies & Mud Puppy's together since they're so similar? Or would they not get along?

 

[peter]

They're actually only similar in appearance; their habits and habitats are completely different. As a general rule, species mixing is a very bad idea, especially with animals from different parts of the world. Additionally, from my experience, mudpuppies are fairly territorial of cover objects and could possibly kill or severely injure an axolotl, especially given the size difference.

 

[michael]

Yeah, I kinda figured that. I've read about the species mixing stuff, but wasn't sure since they're similar looking. Thanks for confirming that.

Mike