New to the Axelotl game

[leanne]

Hey everybody
Me and my girlfriend have just recently purchased a couple of axies and jumped on this site to have a look around. and thought that our tank may need improving.
so heres some pics of our axies and our set up, and comments or improvements we could make would be really helpful.

We're planning on getting a bigger tank in the near future, just need to source 1, and we were going to use sand as the base for that instead of rocks. Our main concern is that or filter/pump is the wrong sort or not set up right and creates to much water movement.

Cheers
Jono

 

[shelly]

those stones are great. id love a couple in my tank.

i would put a second bolt hole in there so that if they dont want to be together they each have their own space. the filter will prob need to be calmed down while they are so small. watch them when they take a gulp of air and see if they get dragged along by the current. thats how i judged my current. my baby axie really was not impressed to get sucked into a current he couldnt get out of. it was amusing though watching him touring the tank that way.

 

[row]

I think it looks lovely! I agree with Shelly that maybe the filter needs to be turned down a little, but I am no expert...as far as the right filter or not there is a useful article on here regarding filters - http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/filters.shtml and maybe that will shed some light for you. I love the rocks too, but are they hard to clean around? They look lovely and healthy...how long have you had the set-up and the babies?

 

[kaysie]

Do you have an undergravel filter on there? If so, I'd remove it. With the large rocks that you have, waste tends to sit under the plate, and not go anywhere.

Also, with the large rocks, waste tends to get trapped between them, making cleaning a pain. Axolotls can get along fine with no substrate. Or if you prefer to have something on the bottom, most people here use sand. It's MUCH easier to clean than river-rock.

The tank is pretty small for two axolotls. If they're young, you will definitely need to upgrade. They will also need more hiding places. These guys like to hang out in plants. Most of my plants are silk, but you can try live ones as well.

Edit: on closer look, it looks like a sponge filter. These are nice, although don't do a whole lot of filtering. I have some in most of my tanks, as they help circulate the water for the main filters.

(Message edited by Joan on April 09, 2007)

 

[leanne]

Hey thanks for the responses.
weve had the set up about a month now and bought the babies at the same time, weve managed to find a bigger tank and will hopefully be getting it soon so we can start setting it up.
were definitely going to put sand in and keeps a few rocks because the rocks are just to hard to clean around!
And thanks for the link on filters Row, rather helpful, will probably have to ask more question later tho, because i still dont fully understand them

Cheers
Jono