New Member & Owner

[KombatVirus]

Hey everybody!

I am a new member (and owner) of 2 axolotls Both are GFP, one is a golden albino named Ozymandias and the other is a leucistic-type named Cronus. They are both about 3" long at the moment.

I had a couple of questions however. After trying to feed them bloodworms, and have them fly all over the tank (And I am still trying to fully clean up after this event), I decided to switch to worms. Luckily I have a have a compost bin set up with red wriggler worms which they seem to enjoy, although I still do have to cut them up

I have another tank set up, in which I currently have 20 or so guppies which keep breeding. How old (or large) should my axies be before they can start eating the guppies (as snacks)? I have all different sizes ranging from newly borns to fully grown adults up to 3.5cm. I am secretely hoping to feed most of them off, and start breeding something else (maybe red cherry shrimp?) to be used as a food source.

Another question is, are there any critters that can be used as "cleaners" for the bottom of the tank? After the bloodworm incident, I became paranoid of remains of food rotting away in a hard to reach or see location. My tank is quite planted, so I am trying to figure out the best way to clean leftover food and poop. Sometimes I even have trouble finding my axies. I was considering breeding red cherry shrimp for the task, and also being an occasional snack. It is extremely difficult at the moment to keep it clean, and any advice would be greatly accepted!

Finally, when it comes to lighting. I have decided to go with LED to provide my tank with light while also not heating up the water. However my current LED setup has both blue and white LEDs on at the same time, and while the blue is not visible to me, I am worried about the effects of prolonged exposure to the GFP axies. The blue is very dim, and even if I turn off all the lights in my room and switch the light to blue only, they barely glow (due to the dimness of the blue LEDs). Any suggestions here? Should I spring and get an LED that is white-only?

 

[Sweetie]

As a new member you may be unprepared for the can of worms you have opened with your query about LED lights and GFP axies. Many would suggest erring on the side of caution, as there is some evidence that this lighting can be very cruel to GFP axies. Do some reading on this and satisfy yourself that you are not inflicting pain or discomfort on your lotls before using this lighting would be my advice.

As to the cleaning question, again I would suggest erring on the side of caution when it comes to the mixing of species in a tank. Horror stories abound on what can happen when you put snails or catfish into a tank with your axies. The guppies, as long as they are healthy and do not introduce any disease to your axies, should be okay as occasional snack food, though I am not sure whether they are gill-nibbling fish. You'd need to keep an eye on this just in case (though any guppie with half a brain should stay well clear of a hungry axolotl!).

 

[KombatVirus]

As a new member you may be unprepared for the can of worms you have opened with your query about LED lights and GFP axies. Many would suggest erring on the side of caution, as there is some evidence that this lighting can be very cruel to GFP axies. Do some reading on this and satisfy yourself that you are not inflicting pain or discomfort on your lotls before using this lighting would be my advice.

As to the cleaning question, again I would suggest erring on the side of caution when it comes to the mixing of species in a tank. Horror stories abound on what can happen when you put snails or catfish into a tank with your axies. The guppies, as long as they are healthy and do not introduce any disease to your axies, should be okay as occasional snack food, though I am not sure whether they are gill-nibbling fish. You'd need to keep an eye on this just in case (though any guppie with half a brain should stay well clear of a hungry axolotl!).

As for the LED part, they do not SEEM to be uncomfortable to my untrained eye. Is the issue with using LED lighting itself, or the faint shade of blue that could cause harm to GFP types? The lights are on for 12 hours per day. Would getting a white-only LED light fix the problem?

I have already read about the issues with snails and catfish, and do not dare put those in the tank. I was thinking more about shrimp, such as red cherry shrimp, which I read make a good snack and also eat any leftover stuff on the floor. I believe the axies have already eaten a guppy, and I have not seen any of them getting close enough to nip their gills. I was wondering at what size the axies would be able to take down a fully grown adult guppy?

 

[KombatVirus]

Additional Question: I have some red wriggler worms, how big do the axies have to be to eat them whole? I really hate cutting them up, and bloodworms are just too messy

 

[Asevernnnn]

Additional Question: I have some red wriggler worms, how big do the axies have to be to eat them whole? I really hate cutting them up, and bloodworms are just too messy

It depends on the size of the worm, and many animals will refuse cut up red wigglers due to secretions they make when cut, and bloodworms shouldn't be fed as a staple anyway.
I personally cut up canadian nightcrawlers in a small plastic cup.

 

[Jen10s]

My understanding was that Blacklights were the issue with GFPs and cruelty, but I haven't been on here for many months ...... Care needs to be taken with any lighting though as you know Axies don't have eyelids and cannot blink so light hurts their eyes and if it's absolutely necessary, then the weaker the light the better.

 

[Jen10s]

When introducing worms initially, you may need to cut them to the same length as the Axolotl's head is wide. Issues with the bitter taste can be overcome by either blanching the worms in boiling water or leaving them in a container of tank water for a little while before feeding. Frozen Blood worms can be fed using a feeding jar which helps to contain the mess a bit. Good luck :happy:

 

[Sweetie]

Additional Question: I have some red wriggler worms, how big do the axies have to be to eat them whole? I really hate cutting them up, and bloodworms are just too messy

You could just try a whole one and see how they go. Boris was very happy downing worms that were pretty close to as long as he was from a very early age. Absolutely loved the battle. Sucked them in and let them out a bit and sucked them back in a little further. And so on. Looked like he was tucking into spaghetti hahaha. Also stops them tasting the secretions as much apparently. Plus they wriggle, which is fun for the axie. And fun to watch (see above).

 

[KombatVirus]

Thanks for the great suggestions everyone.

I am trying to stick to red wrigglers because I have 300 or so composting, and they multiply really quickly for a quick supply. It seems like my axies sometimes like them and sometimes don't.

My smaller leucistic, Cronus, seems to love the worms. He battles them all the time, although it seems like I still need to cut them up though. My golden albino, Ozymandias, doesn't seem to like them as much. He bites in a couple of time, and does the above sucking in and letting them out a bit, but sometimes they just come out of his mouth and he seems to get angry and run away.

I also noticed that 3/4 of my little guppies are gone, presumably eaten. Could Ozy just be full from that, and that is why he refused the worm?

I just cut up a new batch for tonights feeding, and am letting them soak in some water until night time. Hopefully they will like this more. If that doesn't work, I will try blanching next.

Again, let me explain about the blacklight. THERE IS NO BLACKLIGHT. I have an LED setup which doesn't seem to bother the axies at all, however there are 3 very very weak blue LEDs that are active when the white is on at the same time. I was wondering if that could pose an issue? Again, no blacklight, no UV emissions, just LEDs. My plants seems happy enough, so if I don't have to spend another 150$ on a white-only setup, that would be great

 

[Sweetie]

If your axies aren't disturbed by the light, be guided by them. Some axies actually like light - Boris sought out sunlight to sit in (the sliver of sunlight in his tank would move and he'd move with it). They're weird.
And yes, that axie is probably full of guppy!