Question: New Axolotl owner, read plenty (now: diary of Fred's new owner)

definitely not grey, black as ravens wing.

It does have a bit of a sparkle though as the edges are shiny and so sometimes catch the light.

Although usually just a very matt black,

Just be carefully when rinsing it, it is lighter than normal sand and it's easy to get carried away and lose product. Really just needs a very light rinse, it wont cloud up like regular sand.
 
Yo dude long time no... erm.... foruming! laptops broke and no internet at home so im abit limited on internet browsing and posting opportunities! Glad to see you got a bigger tank for fred and have plans to find him a missis! I would love to get gomez a friend but need to find another adult axie all I can find everywhere are juvies! (gomez is now 11inches and still growing, every axie i have seen for sale is about 4-5" so gonna have to figure it out!)

Fred's lookin happier than ever nice work!

With regards to a previous post about feeders (this is from my experience and knowing you are like me, meticulous with your axie care!)

Danios (I have used zebra danios they are fast moving fish that show no fear when confonted with an axie, hence why they all got eaten! Ive heard that danios can be fin nippers i do not know if this means they are gill nippers too but I have had no problems with em it just might be something to be warey of! also i know fred was abit of a scaredy pants the boistrous nature of these fish may be abit much for him)

WCMM (get some, beautiful little schooling fish, get about 10-15 or even more in a tank your size they will stay away from fred, so he may not even notice they are there and they will certainly liven the place up when freds in hiding mode!) Gomez manages to catch em at a rate of about 2-3 fish a week as they are fast moving little fish! also relatively clean!)

Guppies (unless i only put a couple in with gomez at a time I find they just produce too much waste to be a permanent feature in axie tank however they are great fun to breed lots of mad colored varietys and have alot of character a while back i put a group of 6 in with gomez and the next morning there was 1 left! this little guppy svurvived with gomez for a good 4-5 months then I got home on tuesday and he had gone! So sad!)

Seems you have a spare tank it seems silly not putting it to use, get a little breeding set up on the go! (if breeding go for guppies they just constantly have babies also have red cherry shrimp in same tank as they breed just as readily and eat the left over fish food, there will be very little work involved for you except for the usual tank maintenence!)

a few shrimp and fish ontop of ur worms, crickets, bloodworms, waxworms and whatever will be one hell of a varied diet for fred and im sure he will appreciate it!

Some minnows will liven the place up too, while they arent in ur axies belly that is!

After payday il try and get all my computer and internet sorted so can post up a gomez update and get involved with this great little community again!

regarding the black sand, do you not find that freds poo become invisible on the dark surface? or is it all good?

Glad to see that all is going well for you and fred!

take it easy dude!
 
Hello buddy!

Glad you're still around, thought we'd lost ya!

Regarding feeders, you've got me interested I must admit. I spent a while in my local aquatics this weekend looking at the crazy feeders they had in there, I must admit it would make the tank look great, lots of nice colours and kinds of fish but I', just a little cautious that they'd irritate Fred.

There's always the option to use the other tank, and drop 1 or 2 in at a time for food, but tbh I just don't like the idea of Fred eating other fish right now, especially as I have his ice cream tub wormery working so well. The more food I'm giving those worms the healthier he's becoming.

I've found carrots are a favourite, you get them in the worms and Fred loves the flavour.

I have been chatting with me old mate Tom who is hooking me up with some decent breeder eggs in a couple of weeks, I've decided to rear some babys and am in the process of building my bbs hatchery right now (under Tom's advice).

So far so good an I now have a double hatchery on the go just awaiting the bbs eggs and of course the Axie eggs.

I plan to raise all to a few inches, choose 2 for myself and give the rest to freinds / sell / give to the good fish shop down the road to sell.

I'm hoping secretly for a light coloured wild and a golden from the mix, but I guess I'll have to wait and see. I had always loved Melanoids however you just wouldn't see him in my tank.

Gonna free up some space soon with an external filter. I missed out on two Eheims recently by going to make some tea (doh!) however in the mean time I've been talking with another aquatic mate who uses a Tetratec EX700, i must admit I really like it as a filter, almost silent with flow control so may just buy one of those new (as they are very well priced).

Still plenty of time for that, gonna be 1 year before any new tank mates hit Fred's tank.
 
Forgot to mention, I've upgraded Fred's fan system to a 4 fan Axoo setup, which I must admit is quieter and generally better produced than the 2 fan system I was using from generic china.

Over this weekend though, I have been experimenting with a single Ice bottle int he tank to see the difference it can make.

Positioned under the fans the water movement and inertia keep the bottle stationary, blowing the air over the cold bottle and straight onto the surface.

On my 160l tank this will drop the temperature a further 1 degree over 30 minutes, which I feel is very impressive when it's already running at full potential with a cooling of about 3 degrees with the fan alone.

The tank takes about 8 hours to get back up to the previous settled cooling point with fans alone and so I plan to drop an ice bottle in every day before work, giving Fred a little more cooling while I'm at work and the windows are closed.

If you are struggling with the stormy weather and heat, I really do recommend a fan system. Just remember to seal up the lid except for directly under the fan on one side, and a smaller hole the other end of the lid for the air to flow out from. This creates an exhaust system and the air pressure forces the hot air out of the other side. Seems to work best this way.
 
Well the next stage in Fred's spoilt axie saga is almost upon us.

Last night I went to pick up a brand new external filter for my little pet. I was holding out for a deal on an Eheim, however a brand new Rena XP2 came up at only £40 including all medium and the intricate collection of pipes and spraybars, unused which seemed like a pretty excellent deal.

IMAG0404.jpg

The filter looks great, massive, well built and apparently with an easy prime feature (We'll see).

The only issue I have now is how exactly I'm going to fit it all. I didn't realise but with enclosed aquariums they don't really make allowances in the hood for external filter upgrades and so whatever happens I'm going to have to chop it up a bit to get the plastic solid hanging pipes over the top so the lid will still close (with these the pipes fit onto plastic pipework hangers which lets you make pip-mania style setups within the tank).

images.jpg

They also assume you're going to sucker the pipework to the inside back of the aquarium, however I can't due to the backing so it's either going to have to be secured on the outside back or inside side.


Oh well all makes for fun i suppose, the main bit of plastic getting in the way of the hood is the boxed housing for the large lamb, but i never actually use that, so may just remove the lamp and electrics and bore what i need out of the enclosure to get the plastic pipes hanging neatly without lifting the lid.

Of course for now I may just get lazy and secure the pipes to the back and just have the lid resting on them at the back instead of damaging a £70-odd quid lid.....

Hmmm any suggestions?
 
dazkeirle said:
Forgot to mention, I've upgraded Fred's fan system to a 4 fan Axoo setup, which I must admit is quieter and generally better produced than the 2 fan system I was using from generic china.

Over this weekend though, I have been experimenting with a single Ice bottle int he tank to see the difference it can make.

Positioned under the fans the water movement and inertia keep the bottle stationary, blowing the air over the cold bottle and straight onto the surface.

On my 160l tank this will drop the temperature a further 1 degree over 30 minutes, which I feel is very impressive when it's already running at full potential with a cooling of about 3 degrees with the fan alone.

The tank takes about 8 hours to get back up to the previous settled cooling point with fans alone and so I plan to drop an ice bottle in every day before work, giving Fred a little more cooling while I'm at work and the windows are closed.

If you are struggling with the stormy weather and heat, I really do recommend a fan system. Just remember to seal up the lid except for directly under the fan on one side, and a smaller hole the other end of the lid for the air to flow out from. This creates an exhaust system and the air pressure forces the hot air out of the other side. Seems to work best this way.
Click to expand...

Hey, could you tell me inn more detail how your fan system works, i dont quite understand it and ive got to get my soon to be axol tank temperature down.
 
it's pretty simple, i have a hood with basically two large wholes in the front for access.

On one side i have 4x fans and i block the remainder of the whole, on the other side i leave a 4" square whole and block the remainder.

This forces the air to move across thet tnk after being sucked in and out the extremem opposite side.

When it's warm i place a small 1 litre ice bottle directly beneath the fans, the fans movement keep the bottle in place and the air blows over the ice and increases evaporation.

Without the bottle, fan alone this morning the tank was 16.9, I'm sure it will go lower though. Very effective.

One thing you must be warey of though is evaporation removes pure water and leaves behind minerals and waste and after a while can leave you with slightly thick slimy water.

I ensure I keep the tank topped up each day with water to replace that lost but i also float some j-cloth on the surface to lick up the slimy film that can form.

Every saturday I'm doing a 20% water change, just to ensure that I'm diluting down any remaining particles from the water.

Just finished building my hatcheries for baby brine shrimp so I'm ready to be a parent, just waiting to hear about eggs I'm on a promise for.

Exciting times.
 
Hi all,

Last night I took the plunge and installed Fred's new external filter, a Rena XP2.

I have to say that I'm very impressed by this thing, I followed the instructions to the t, and it all just worked. No priming issues, no filtration issues, just very easy install.

I suppose I'm most impressed with the attachment system which means i now have a very effective inlet at one side and i've got a spray bar at the other, with a stop valve in line turned all the way down to control current. It's absolutely silent, no noise whatsoever.


SNV33140.jpg

SNV33152.jpg

SNV33144.jpg​

I attached it to the the back of the tank with Duct tape, to avoid damaging the tank backing. All worked well. The lid now just sits on top on a slight angle, but the tube are where the cutouts are so doesn't move around and no vibrations so no noise. I was going to modify the hood so it would sit flush, but don't think i can be bothered. you dont notice it.

SNV33153.jpg
​

When setting up, i put some of the old foam filter medium into the bio tray alone with the stars i bought to hopefully encourage some bacteria exchange.

The best thing is that the pace the old box was taking up in the tank is gone now, meaning more swimming room for fred. I just need to get a tall plant to hide the tubes.

p.s. also am growing some marimo moss balls int he other tank for eventual transfer to Fred's.

SNV33150.jpg​

Update over, if anyone needs help with a Rena XP2, I'm your man. £40 well spent indeed.
 
Just a little update, well the reason it hasn't updated for a while is that things have just been fine and dandy.

Fred obviously has his new mate in the other tank (Barney from "Diary of Barney") but he's just a very happy content Axie nowadays.

For his age he's now very active and swims all the time which is great to see.

He gets a little jealous of the wild one every other evening as he's on usually daily feeds, but I throw Fred some bloodworms to stop him stropping.

As Barney enjoys his Moss Balls so much I bought Fred some today (and tried him with 1 or Barneys last week). I'm excited for the little guy as he loves new things and think he's gonna enjoy kicking them about.

I suppose it's now just a waiting game for Barney to get up to size to get him in with his buddy, but then we all know as soon as that happens there's gonna be another pet in the tank, I just couldn't have it empty.

Something I'm toying with is adding Shrimp to the tank for entertainment and life, and so that may be something that happens soon.

The only other thing I suppose I should comment is I thought I'd lost Fred the other day, he was nowhere to be found in his tank. After investigating he was actually sat on my Rena's spray bar at the top of the tank.

The bar is fully submerged but I did freak that he was so near the surface so gave him a bit of a fright when I pushed him off. He wasn't very happy about that but hasn't done it since.

He has also decided that swimming is quite a lot of effort and has been practising swimming to the top or half way up the tank and then slowly gliding around until landing and starting again, lol.

Right now Fred still has the dim blue LEDs from his old tank, but to be honest they arn't enough for the big tank so I think I'll soon be moving that over and buying Fred either more, or a light tube, I just don't want anything too bright or hot.

That's a rap for now :)
 
Mate ive ordered some moss balls after seeing that your axies love em! Go Moss Balls!!!
 
Mate they're ace, they become the most played with thing in the tank.

My Juvie love to stand up on them with his front feet, very fun to watch.

I think they just look funky rolling around (although they don't bob like you see in some videos).

I'm tempted to keep a few out, stick em in half a coke bottle on the window sill full of water packed with fertilizer and see how much faster they grow.

Would love to have some larger ones, my biggest is about 2.5" across but that's still big enough :)
 
perhaps a little too much change at once for Fred,

This weekend I gave his tank a move around, placing his hide at one end and his bogwood together. The purpose being that at some point another hide will be places the other end for Barney.

It appears Fred isn't best pleased about the move around as has been sulking in his hide ever since, barely coming out to play and only to grab his food.

I hope he doesn't think I do these things to annoy him, all for his own good.

Hopefully the little grumpster will snap out of it soon enough and be back to his old self.
 
It's a very exciting day in my Axie world, after much deliberation I had decided that Fred and Barney should stop having to glare at each other through the glass.

While not ready just to bunk with each other due to size difference I want them to become friends and so constructed a divider using leftover moss wall mesh and some suction cups and zip ties.

Due to my 3D backing I had to make a mess that would extend the full length of the back wall and then jut out towards the front of the tank.

Te issue I had was how to divide the tank, 50/50, based on size, straight across? Afer consulting with Ted I went for an angled wall giving each Axie 18 inches in their shortest side and 21 inches in their longest.

I gave Barney's partition the side with the longest wall as opposed to glass as he loves to climb. I've left the 2 giant moss balls with Barney as Fred's side is already pretty filled with places for him to rest his eyes.

The whole process was painless and the two right now are relaxing in the left side of their partitions. There has been no snapping or aggression just signs of interest.

The divider will stay as long as necessary, over the next few days the 60 litre tank will become the shrimp farm, the new filter is already in there cycling, and I have 2 cocunut shell / java moss caves for the little critters (and a million moss balls lol).

This wouldn't be one of my posts without photos and a video, so for fans of my Axie story here you go.

Video:

sorry it's dark to begin with, it does get lighter when the lights go on.

YouTube - Fred and Barney together at last

Photos:

SNV33570.JPG


SNV33571.JPG


SNV33585.JPG


SNV33583.JPG


SNV33582.JPG


SNV33575.JPG


SNV33576.JPG
 
After several hours of observation and an entire night there are no signs of aggression.

This morning Barney took a nice gulp of air for buoyancy and began to show Fred what he was all about, swimming.

While Fred has had to trade have of his tank, I think he's enjoying the entertainment of the little-un climbing and swimming about, I just hope he doesn't think he's food.

Time will tell but I can't see Barney needing to go back to his old tank, happy days.
 
Ha Ha! that was awesome :D
I'm pretty sure it won't be long til they are together, they already look best of friends
You do know they will now be plotting together to find a way to break their wall and one morning you will get up and they will be hanging out together in Fred's hide ;)
A closet kylie and Jason fan huh Daz? :eek:
 
haha, I set up a bloody audio swap. Didn't think the audio would be heard lol.

The tune seamed fitting for the moment. :blush:

I will reward them with worms if they manage to get through my pen, I tell ya that thing is supper sturdy. I went a little OTT on the size of the suction cups, I reckon I'll pull the glass apart before I get them off.
 
Last edited:
There is no doubt in my mind that Barney will get into Freds side (if I am right in thinking Barney is the wildtype).

I know Barneys type - he'll jump it, just you wait ;)
 
haha it would not surprise me,

99% of the time he's swimming or climbing, he is rarely on the ground.

He has about 2 inches of air to jump if he wants to get over the barrier. I'm fairly sure he won't climb that, but he could jump it echo the dolphin style I'm sure.

Luckily they are in a really chilled environment and certainly no reason to get freaked so hopefully it won't happen.

I think they'll be fine together now, even with the size difference, but I'm gonna leave it a little while to get Barney's size up a bit more and for them just to get really used to each other.

Barney has been good fro Fred, before he was a bit lazy and rarely swam, we used to call him grumpy, but now he's seen the life Barney has he's far more motivated and is rarely in his hide, swimming about all the time or climbing.

He is very interested in Barney and what he's about and often peers through, seens Barney doing something, storms off for a bit then can be seen trying to copy the other side of the tank.

The best example of this is standing on hind legs which Barney often does, I've caught Fred practising several times recently.

I just hope Barney isn't a female, there's no denying Fred is a male, considering his balls are almost human size (yes I know they're not really balls) but certainly look like it. I'd be afraid that Barney may be subjected to Fred's sexual frustration.

Fred does have his own trick though, which I've yet to catch on camera where he's stood horizontally on the ground, but points his tail up, dead straight, just like a dog. It's mad when he does it, and is just one of the many other dog like characteristics he has. I often wonder if his previous owners dog was in the conservatory where he lived.
 
dazkeirle said:
It's mad when he does it, and is just one of the many other dog like characteristics he has. I often wonder if his previous owners dog was in the conservatory where he lived.
Click to expand...

When he starts barking I hope you catch that on camera.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    Rorey132: Is this guy still available? +1
    Back
    Top