Question: Strange behaviour, too many factors...

[strongy]

Hi All,

I have had my 3 Axolotls (about 4-5 inchs in size - anyone got a rough indication on age for me?!) for about 3 weeks now, all look in healthy condition from what I can see (other than the passing of gravel when I first got them thanks to the pet store keeping them on it- I am using sand), and all eating plenty every day.

Today I added an air stone to my tank for decoration/axolotl amusement purposes (I already have a low flow filter in the tank). I also removed the standard tank lights that came with the aquarium (they were very bright so I wasn't using them) and have replaced them with some moonlight bulbs that has a low brightness blue light effect. I have been feeding them on 2 cubes of frozen blood worm every day which they seem to love. Today I gave them 2 cubes of frozen Daphnia as a change.

So...as stated, three things have changed today:

(1) Air stone with low flow of bubbles coming out - I have turned down the pump power to near its minimum. The Axolotls seem to love it, have been repeatedly swimming through it, 'snapping' at the bubbles etc.

(2) Moonlight tubes - these have been on for about 4hrs now - there are 3 hides (cave, artificial hollowed out log & a real log) in the tank, they dont seem bothered by the light and seem happy to sit outside of the hides without looking/acting stressed.

(3) Daphnia fed this morning - they didnt look as exicited about it as they did with the bloodworms, but it did all get eaten up.

My question is this...one of my Axolotls has been swimming a lot more than usual. Even quite high up in the tank. He isnt 'floating' as he seems quite in control of his swimming and can get himself to the bottom without having to 'hang on' to anything, but he only sits there for a minute then starts swimming again.

Anyone ever seen this behaviour before?

For now I have switched off the bubbles - but it seems to have peed them all off a bit as they are nudging the airstone with their noses probably wondering why they have stopped!!

Any help is much appreciated!

 

[Kribby]

Axolotls are pretty curious creatures by nature. Meaning they like stimulus and they like to explore new changes to their environment. Given the addition of new lighting and a new toy they are going to be more active and eager to see what has changed.

An active axolotl swimming around and exploring isn't any cause for concern. If he couldn't get down or was showing other unhealthy symptoms, I'd be more concerned.

I've always considered an active pet to be much better off compared to a lethargic pet. So don't worry about him having some fun. I know Henry loves to swim around the floating plants I have in his tank and will even rest on them now and again. Great stimuli.

 

[Bellabelloo]

I would check your water parameters for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite. Sometimes when there is a problem with water quality you may find your axolotl more active.

 

[ACEPHONECHIC]

At 4 to 5 inches they should be eating earthworms with gusto the best food for them.
The wiggling of the worms also helps to stimulate feeding.
My young ones like to sit around the plastic weed and like all axies will be more active at times.
They sound healthy just try to get them onto worms.

 

[Camirdra]

My axie did this when I added the new caves i built him. I think they just get excited, "Yeah! New toys!"... And don't worry about the bubbler, mine LOVE it! They like to swim through it and nip at the bubbles.

 

[albert]

From the sounds of it you have a new set up so a check of water parameters would be sensible and can't do any harm - however the behavour you describe is not unusual. As far as age goes - I think this very much depends on what your guys have been fed whilst developing - but a guess of a month for every inch wouldn't be a bad start (but subject to a lot of uncertainty - up to at least 50% inaccurate either way!)

 

[PAWS]

Hi mate,

I recently added so additional hiding places and planted caves to my Axi tank - Nessie spent ages swimming around like a tiny crocodile corner to corner, top to bottom, in round and under things. 3 days later she is back to a "casual cruise" every now and then!

I am sure I read somewhere that they enjoy having their environment changed every couple of weeks or so as they are inquisitive creatures?

 

[strongy]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

He has settled back down to usual now...the lights have been on so that doesnt seem to bother them the slightest. I will be switching the airstone back on shortly.

Thanks for the advice on earthworms..I will use up the frozen food I already have then will give this a go. Do you buy earthworms or just hand pick from the garden? I dont use any pesticide/chemicals in my garden but surely an earthworm could still be carrying some sort of parasite? Also how many do you feed them in one sitting..i.e. earthworms to Axolotl ratio and number of times a week?

I have only had them 3 weeks, so yes it is a new setup. I am doing regular water checks, the only slightly high reading is Nitrate (has been like this for the full 3 weeks)..I am doing what I can to bring this down through water changes, adding live moss balls as all the other plants are artifcial, and have added EasyBalance which helps brings the levels down.

 

[Kaysie]

Axolotls of that age (probably around 6 months) are usually more active than adults.

Are the lights UV? Or incandescent/fluorescent?

Earthworms from the garden are fine, as long as you (and your neighbors) don't use pesticides or fertilizers. You can purchase bait worms or compost worms too. Many people here breed their own compost worms in a worm bin. How much you feed depends on the size of your axolotl and worms. Usually I feed my big ones a worm that's about half as long as they are, or half a nightcrawler (the big earthworms) every other day or so.

What kind of test kit are you using? If you're using test strips/dip test, those are notoriously inaccurate. It's worth investing in a liquid reagent test kit. Skip adding chemicals to 'speed up' your cycle or balance out your levels. Those are only short-term fixes, and can do more harm in the long run.

 

[strongy]

The lights are moonlight fluorescent (blue) so the brightness is quite low.

At the moment I am using some test strips that I had left over from my tropical aquarium, I know they are inaccurate and I have a liquid test kit on order, just waiting for it to be delivered.