Ph level needs to drop..how?

brillB07

brillB07

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hello to
whoevv reads this

i was wanting to know how do i get the ph level down?
the little freshwater test kit i got reads to its highest mark of 7.8 ph..im going to take a sample of the tank water to the petstore from where i got my axie from in acouple days when i get time though, to see if they can get a more accurate reading.
 
A pH of 7.8 is perfectly OK for an axolotl! My water is between 7.8 and 8.0 and I don't worry about it at all. Trying to change it is likely to do more harm than good. After your tank is set up for a while you may find that the pH drops to some extent on its own.
 
oh ok thanks! im a first time axie owner, had mine for alil over a month. had to bug my local petstore for months for one ;p also ever heard of dinosaur bicher? i got one as a tank mate today along with feeder guppies..so far they seem to get along and already half the guppies are gone. the dino bicher just looks so cool so i got it randomly haha
 
First of all, anything you introduce into your tank needs to be quarantined for a month before adding to your tank. Especially feeder fish which can be infested with bacteria and other diseases. It seems you want to care for your Axolotl, but why do you go and introduce animals into the tank without doing any research?

Dinosaur Bichirs are aggressive fish and should NOT be kept with an Axolotl.
 
I agree that the bichir is a bad idea. In addition to possible aggression issues, there is also the fact that bichirs are tropical. Their preferred temperature range does not even overlap with the preferred temperature for axolotls.
Senegal (Cuvier's) Bichir, by Joe Gallo
 
oh i love Trogdor! (axie) i just figured he was lonely so i thought of a tank mate. my local pet store just advised to get a tank mate that was bigger than the axies mouth. the bicher is smaller and stays in the rocks. the pet store is the very same where i got my lovely Trogdor from so i trusted their opinion on tank mates, im gonna go in and talk with them to see if they cared about it or if this was about sales.

sorry! im just learning about aquatic animals and i know im one of three that own an axolotl in my town since that was all the pet store received. dont they have to make sure the feeder fish are disease free though? Trogdor is quite the hunter for being four inches long, but he eats bloodworms as well ;)

..ill move dino brain out ;p
 
Argh, double post
 
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brillB07, if you do want to lower your water, which I don't think you need to do, but if you still do, you could add some bog wood. Not sure what this may be called in the US, but it does slowly lower your ph, which would then rise with each water change and lower again. Which is potentially stressful to your Axie.

I would avoid products like pH Down, as they may lower it by just .1, which is pretty useful, and like people have stated, will do more damage than good.

EDIT: In response to you wanting your axie to have a pal, the best option would be another axolotl! There is rarely aggression between males, or pestering, which is usually why it is difficult to find mates for other pets.

And I'd avoid feeder fish, not only could they be diseased, but you're killing another worthwhile fish for the sake of feeding your own. Frozen bloodworm, etc, are just as good and much more ethical :p

What size is your tank? What is the substrate? What filtration do you use? Did you cycle the tank? :)
 
i have a fifty gallon tank now, before i started off with a ten gal tank when Trogdor was real small. the bottom is white sand with red river rock which i personally sanatized after coming from the river and some big opal rock, some fake plants and open in the middle. just a normal filter on a low setting. i change half the water along with filtering the dirt from the sand on a weekly basis every sat.

any other recommended food options besides bloodworms then?
 
Aww :) That sounds perfect for him then! Levels should be stable then, even if they may be a little high. Stability is the main thing, as long as they're within a certain range, around the 8 mark. Your maintenance is good too :)

Well, frozen (and live if you can get it as a treat) bloodworm is good, I also feed mine sinking pellets that I get from the lfs in little plastic food bags, so wouldn't know a brand. I'm pretty sure you can get special axolotl sinking pellets, will go have a look now and post if I find something :)

EDIT: This is a UK site, but it also has some good info on feeding. Though I wouldn't recommend feeding pinkies (dead baby mice) not sure how they'd cope with the bones, etc. Cooked prawn occasionally may be a good idea :)

http://www.exotic-pets.co.uk/axolotl-pellets.html
 
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Thank you! this has been helpful because some of the sites i went to said 7.0 is a normal ph level, so i assumed that is where it should of been. and i am looking for another axolotl to join mine.
yea i have heard of the pinky mice, like frozen dead ones..no thanks! ill try the cooked prawn and pellet idea though ;p axies dont have very hardy stomachs do they?
so i would have to ease the food change..?
 
Yeh, just be slow and gentle with everything, especially as he's quite young.

With ph, a neutral would be 7.0, which as we all know is difficult to maintain. Anything between 7 and 8.6 ish is manageable and fine. Anything above 9 is something to worry about and where you need to be thinking about adding RO (Reverse Osmosis) water when you do water changes. Which is available from most lfs in the UK, not sure about the US.
 
Earthworms should be the main staple of the Axolotl's diet...but you can add occasional brine shrimp or bloodworms too.
 
Shizeric said:
Earthworms should be the main staple of the Axolotl's diet...but you can add occasional brine shrimp or bloodworms too.
Click to expand...

I've found it very difficult to find earthworms, and tbh, would be against feeding them, either from collection from the garden or not.

But if you can get hold of them!
 
Just cause I'd feel sorry for them :p they're cute and I always help them if I'm in the garden, same with snails to hid them from birds, etc.

Just how I feel about them, same with feeder fish, especially as WCMMS, as I keep and breed them! :D

Don't feel like that over live bloodworm and daphnia, only slightly though.

May be because I'm a vegetarian! :)
 
Earthworms are the staple of the diet, ideally, with occassional treats now and then, for both nutritional variety (important) and for the axies pleasure :)D hehe)

Earthworms are the gardeners friend for countless reasons, (I had an organic small-holding for years) but axies also benefit from live food such as these........

(In addition, @ skunk, 8.6 pH is'nt fine) :confused:
 
i thought catching live things in the wild was something harmful for the axolotls..? so getting earthworms from my garden wont harm my lil guy if i rinse them off?
 
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