New tank.

[taylor]

I have two adult Axolotls 1 Boy 1 Girl one of them is nearly as long as the tank.
Ive been thinking about getting a bigger tank with
a light. Will they be shocked or affected by this.
I have been feeding them ox liver and they have been eating it. 2 days ago the girl had layed eggs and after she had finished laying them she started to float. The girl is not eating much this is weird because she usually eats heaps. }

 

[kaysie]

1.) Bigger tank, no light. at LEAST a 20gal

2.) no more ox liver. Axolotls have a hard time digesting mammalian proteins. Switch to earthworms, bloodworms, tubifex, and beefheart/liver as an OCCASIONAL treat.

The floating is probably due to diet.

 

[taylor]

My axolotls eat ox liver and they dont eat any different food. Ive tried every thing but they wont eat
it.

 

[kaysie]

Try earthworms. Liver is not a healthy staple. If they go without food for a few days, and you drop a wiggly earthworm in front of their face, I will guarantee they will eventually eat it.

 

[taylor]

Will earth worms make the tank cleaner. What can i do to prevent algae.

 

[kaysie]

To prevent algae, dont light the tank. What do you mean, make the tank cleaner? the only way to make the tank cleaner is to clean it.

 

[mik]

I have found that the worst thing for creating algae is the lights. I had an outbreak of brown algae a week or two ago because I forgot to reset the timer that controls my light.

To think that i had chosen a short tube to make it dimmer, and also recessed it slightly within the lid to dim it even more. Sometimes you can't beat algae. However the plecs are now in that tank temporarily and taking care of business.

 

[jenny]

whats a plec mik?

and do you even have a filter in your current tank taylor?

 

[katy]

a plec, also known as pleco, or plecostemus (is that right?) is a typpe of catfish that sucks all the algae off your glass. they're harmless to axies because they dont have nibbling mouths, only sort of suckers. i'm looking to get one for my tank but its difficult getting one big enough to not get eaten!

 

[mik]

Katy,

Axies aren't interested in plecs they are too fast and too rough on the outside. They soon learn.

I have two 2" butterfly, also known as hong kong, plecs in my 4ft tank. They like cold water.

I have 1 plec in my 3ft tank with the juveniles. I think it is called a dorsal plec or maybe a leopard plec. Sorry, I don't really know anything about fish they are a utility item for my axies. anyway its 3.5" long leopard patterning and a huge dorsal fin...quite attractive in some respects. It's supposed like warmer water but the Aqua shop guy said it would be ok at room temps. Indeed it is thriving.

I wanted to try a golden apple snail but couldnt find one. Last place I tried had loads one week and the following week they were all dead. He said they seemed fragile. C'est la vie err...mort.

 

[leah]

Be carefeul with plecos... Not sure if the same ones are found everywhere, but in Canada the plecs sold under the name "common plecostomus" were one kind that AREN'T vegetarian, except as very young juveniles. As adults, some species need more than veggies to sustain them, they need to 'grind' on other things- driftwood... my favourite goldfish (

)... your axies...

Not all plecs are harmless! Bristlenose are one fish-safe species that I've kept, but I think they're a bit small for axies and may get eaten? ... What kind of plecos do you have Mik?

Water changes will help with your algae problem Taylor, as will reducing the amount of light like Mik said. Algae loves to grow in tanks with high nitrates and phosphates (especially that annoying hair algae! argh.), so these can be a big part of the problem- start doing regular water changes to remove these excess nutrients, be careful not to overfeed and always remove uneaten food. If you can get some nitrate and phosphate test kits you'll be able to figure out if they're contributing to your problem. There are also some commercial phosphate removers that you can stick into most filters, but I haven't tried them myself.

Keep in mind that when reduce the amount of lighting the algae will die and pollute your tank, so you'll need to keep up on the water changes!

 

[leah]

Lol, nevermind my question Mik- must've been writting my post when you stuck yours up

 

[katy]

ok, well a local petshop had some small ones, so i might get one and see how it goes. will have to make sure it's not one of the ones that grows to 50cm, though! :/

the ones i saw were sort of speckled, so they may be your leopard pleco. thanks

 

[mik]

Katy ask specifically for a Hong Kong Plec or a Butterfly Plec...they are the same thing just different names.

 

[katy]

are there none others that will do? specifically only that species? this could get tricky.

 

[leah]

Katy, try asking the folks at www.planetcatfish.com for a list of fish/axie-safe plec species that don't get too large. See if you can get a scientific name or L number from the store, and post it there for better advice. They've got a massive list with info and pictures of most species too if you just want to browse a little first

 

[katy]

excellent, thanks!

 

[nick]

What kind of pleco should i look out for, im in australia and can't really order a fish from overseas, so some kind of idea of what type of pleco to get would be good.

 

[kaysie]

Nick, 4 different plecos have been named already in this thread.