Question about tank lid

[Terri9967]

I went to my local pet store to purchase a top for my 30x12 tank. I explained that I was getting a axolotl and that I needed a lid for my tank that would have plenty of airway. He said well you dont have to have a lid on your tank for them. I replied quickly with "ohhh yes I do, they can climb out" He said I would need a glass top as a wire/screen top would rust from moisture..... So now I dont know what to get as a top. Any ideas?? I can't keep the water level low due to my filter causes to high of a current and I raised the water level and placed several plants under the water flow. I would prefer a screen top but dont want to risk my babies getting sick if the screen rusts like the pet store guy said.

Thanks
Terri

 

[Jennewt]

A screen lid is OK over an aquatic tank, as long as the water doesn't splash up. However, you already have a hang-on filter, and I don't think there is any way to make that filter work with a screen lid.

I think you'll need to get a standard "hood" lid, or else you'll have to rig up something homemade. (Homemade covers can be made with fiberglass window screen material.) If you get the hood, you can help cool the tank by rigging up a fan in the summer. There are some photos of this here:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cooling.shtml

 

[madeve]

My husband made me a screen lid for my tank since I have an over the top filter. It looks similar to the lid on the cooler in example 7 in the article Jennewt posted a link to, but with a nook for the filter.
He used the kind of mosquito mesh you put on windows and doors, we bought this from home depot, and I don't think it should rust since it's made for outdoor use.

 

[blueberlin]

Hi Terri,

If you don't fill the tank completely full but keep the surface of the water a few inches below the top of the aquarium, your axolotls won't be able to get out, either.

-Eva

 

[Terri9967]

Hi Eva

I cant lower the water levels as my filter causes to much current. It was recommended that I raise the water levels and place several plants in the line of the flow. This has worked wonderfully to reduce the current.

My husband is a machinist so he will be making a screened lid for me.

My babies were hatched in Jan so I was wondering if at that age can they still jump out of tank?? Or do I have a bit of time to have him make this lid??

Thanks
Terri

 

[blueberlin]

Hi Terri!

I'll have to pass on answering that one. I've only read rumors that it is possible for the axolotls to get out of the tank. Do yours spend a lot of time at the top of the water? My female will swim up to meet me and will stick the tip of her snout out of the water (she's kind of pushy with me like that) but I've never seen any of them actually leap out of the water or even have more than the snout above the surface.

 

[Terri9967]

Hi Blue

I have not got my babies yet, they will be here Tuesday and I am just like a new expecting mommy! I can't wait!!!!

 

[blueberlin]

Oh that is exciting! The waiting would kill me...

-Eva

 

[Terri9967]

heheheh Eva

Yeah its driving me crazy waiting. After waiting 4 years to actually find where to get them in the states!!! I will ask my husband "is it Tuesday yet?" and he will get a good chuckle out of it and say "awwww youre so cute all excited like this" I just want them here now!! I really feel like I did when I was pregnant with my first child and waiting for the due date to get here. LOL

 

[blueberlin]

I know just what you mean. Fortunately I didn' thave to wait for mine - I learned that the creatures even existed on the day I took them home from the pet shop. I became immediately and hopelessly infatuated. My female is currently my favorite (she does the "happy food dance" by standing on her tail and letting S-curves run from her snout to her tail, and begs, and swims up to sit on my hand and sniffle about for food) although the male is also funny, and now I have babies who are already developing their back legs - yes, I, too, have been degraded to "cute" by my husband (I prefer to think of myself as big and mean. Cute? No way... haha) "Oh honey look how excited you are about your 'babies' " - funny, how we all keep likening them to our children.

 

[Terri9967]

It's funny when he says that to me, cause he looks like a newly expecting father!!! He just gets that gleem in his eyes and "that" smile. He is just as excited as I am, he just has to be "manly" about it. Its so funny.

How did you train your female to do that? My little peekapoo dog dances for her treats.

 

[blueberlin]

How did you train your female to do that? My little peekapoo dog dances for her treats.

I didn't train her, she just stared doing it. She started when I brought home earthworms. They hadn't had them before. The male had troubles until I figured out to get smaller worms, but the female loved them - so much so that she started swimming up to eat from my hand. They say axolotls don't see well but this one, she sees me across the room (ok maybe 2 feet away) and comes to me from wherever she is. My larvae are in hanging baskets along the rim of the tank and when I'm bent over them, Lotte swims up and sticks her snout out of the water at me. She's really funny. The male is funny because he seems kind of... slow-minded... but that has its charm, too, right? (Incidentally, I do not think that he can see well at all. He has a great sense of smell, though.)

My husband has been wondering if we can "train" the axolotls to do tricks because they are obviously capable of learning (as long as it's related to food) but I can't think of anything I'd teach them to do.

 

[Terri9967]

I was wondering the same thing about training them to do things using food. From everything I have read on here they are very smart and have personalities of their own.

When starting out with axies that are almost 6 months old, how long do you think they will be at this age? And can I start them out on earthworms, or should I wait till they are older?

 

[blueberlin]

Their length can vary a good bit. I'd guess they'll be about hand-sized? Food will depend on what they've eaten until now. Like I wrote, my male didn't know what to do with the earthworm. It was a new food and they had to learn how to deal with it. Some people chop the worms into little pieces but I didn't have the stomach for that. Fortunately, the bait shop where I buy the worms has 3 different sizes, and the smallest size is really small, average about 1 inch and skinny, so that works fine. Just give 'em a worm and see what happens, I'd say.

 

[Terri9967]

I was just remembering a question I asked earlier about how to introduce them to their tank once they arrive. And remember someone saying to submerge the bag they were shipped in into the tank. I have a question......... How do they ship them in a bag, how do they get their oxygen supply?? I guess I am a worried expectant parent and dont understand how the shipping method is safe for axies??? Do you have any idea? I know they are being shipped with a ice pack as the weather is very hot now where they are coming from.

 

[blueberlin]

I introduced mine to the aquarium like you would do with any fish - let the bag float for 30 min., add some water from the aquarium to the bag, let it sit for 15 min., repeat until the water in the bag is twice what it was to start with. Then I opened the bag and let them swim out. Worked for us, but I have also read other people saying do not empty the water from the bag into the aquarium, so I don't know...

When shipping, the axolotls are put into a bag that is at least 50% air, I believe, and then packed and repacked in bags for cushioning. The bags shouldn't be full (with air) to bursting or they could rupture in flight due to change in air pressure. Me, I wouldn't put an animal in the post - I even worry about letters haha - but after four years of waiting, what choice have you got?

 

[Terri9967]

Yes I didnt have much choice. I would have drove a few states to get them but I have a terminal illness and stuck on oxygen. So, I cant travel long distances, I think 2 hours in a car is about all I can handle.

I sure hope my babies get here safely!!! I dont know what I would do if something happens to them in the shipping process.

 

[blueberlin]

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that - my oldest brother is "hanging on the bottle", too.

I am sure your new babies will be fine. People ship them all the time.

 

[Terri9967]

The only thing the person said that I am getting them from was that he could not promise that they would arrive alive, due to the hot weather now on the west coast here. But he is packing them with a ice pack, so I hope that will be good.

They will be so spoiled!! Being that I am stuck in the house alot due to my health, they will keep me company. But I know from reading that they will beg alot for food and I must not give in to my soft heart and over feed them.

 

[blueberlin]

Yes, as I understand it, it is unfortunately not possible to ensure that they arrive safely - too many uncontrollable factors.

I'm home most of the time, too, although not for health reasons, and I spend a lot of time, I mean a lot of time, sitting in front of or standing over my axolotls. I had to control myself when they ere new because I was afraid I'd worry them to death - had to force myself to wait at least 2 hours before going and standing at their tank again. I have a stool set up in front of each one, now, because it's easier than dragging a chair each time I go to them (i.e., about every 30 minutes). Then, since they laid eggs, and then I added fish, there is just so much to look at!