Question: Newbie Axolotl Questions

[axolotlseamus]

Apologies in advance, for any questions of ignorance.

I am new to the land of Axies, I have done my fair share of research, but alas, i am still remaining with some curious questions, that i am struggling to find my answer too.

I have three Axies, in my 30inch, deeper than usual tank. I am based in Melbourne, Australia.

When it comes to water changes, should i be treating them like fish and using stress coat & stress zyme? Is there a better alternative - or perhaps a cheaper alternative? Are the regular blue conditioning granules sufficient?
What should i be adding to the water when i do a water change?

How much is the ideal amount to feed?
How regularly do you suggest to feed them? (i have read every other day, but on the side of a pellet container it suggests twice a day).
At the moment i am feeding brine shrimp, blood worm and beef heart frozen cubes.
This is messy, which i had feared (and read), but they are not interested in being hand fed - so i got anxious. They have a base substrate of pebbles, but i have glass feeding bowls that the food goes into - which works as well as you can expect.
(is hand feeding the obvious choice?)

Are they competitive for food?
One of them is smaller than the other two (as i received him), and i worry about him.

How regularly do we advise for water changes?
I do spot cleans for food at the moment, and then another one to clean the pebbles less regularly.

Any other advice is warmly welcomed.

Thank you

 

[auntiejude]

OK, first of all how big are your axies? If they are uncer 3" then frozen food like bloodworms are OK. But if they are over 3" they should be on earthworms - hand feeding is much easier with worms. They are very competitive over food, and will try and steal a worm from another axie's mouth given the chance. Axies will also attack smaller axies, if there is a significant size difference you should separate your smaller one.

You need to dechlorinate water before adding it to the tank - you should be changing 20-25% a week if it is cycled. Is your tank cycled?

I would lose the pebbles. Rocks bigger than the axies' heads are OK, but pebbles have 2 problems - axie will eat them by mistake, or food will become trapped between them and mess with your water quality.