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Taboo: Fish+Axolotls

AristotleA

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Hello everyone. I haven't been taking care of axolotls for very long. But you don't have to do much research to find out that most people do not recommend keeping axolotls with other animal species, particularly fish. However, I feel like it often just gets brushed under the carpet and dismissed as a no-go.

I'm here because I want the opinions/advice of experienced axolotl keepers about keeping fish with my axolotl. But not just any fish, a species that I have found after weeks of looking for a fish best suited to living with axolotls; The white cloud mountain minnow.

They like almost identical water conditions and they will pretty much steer clear of the bottom dwelling axolotl. AND even if they do get eaten every now and then, I don't mind as long as my axolotl won't be stressed out by their presence.

This is a bit of an open ended question, but: Has anyone done this before? Did it go well? Is there a better fish or other species? Is it really just impossible to keep axolotls with friends? I await your replies.

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You can find information to your question within this thread: http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-beginner-newt-salamander-axolotl-help-topics/f47-newt-salamander-help/62143-fish-newts-axolotls.html

'White Cloud Mountain Minnows - These are quite likely the perfect fish if you must keep fish with your newt/axolotl. They are small, devoid of defensive spines and do well in cool water. These small fish may be eaten by your axolotl so be prepared for this eventuality.'

The above paragraph is quoted from this article which will give you further information: Caudata Culture Articles - Fish with Caudates
 
If White cloud minnows are ' ok ' ..... Possibly worth trying Zebra Danios ??!?!

They are super cute looking , probably faster and more mobile than WCMMs and tolerate if not thrive in room temps ...
 
I had a few to get my tank cycled and kept them for a few weeks while I had my axolotl. But I took people's advice and gave them away. They seemed great to me, but one did get eaten

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Just added 10 WCMMs to the tank today. I will keep you all posted on the results.

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Two month edit: I added 10 WCMMs but I did not have sufficient amount of plants for them to hide at the top of the tank and three were eaten before I added the fake plants for them to hide. About three weeks went by and no more were eaten, so I had 7 still. I thought I'd add 7 more, but this time the golden variety of WCMM. These had horrible behaviors and they always stuck to the bottom of the tank, getting eaten all the time. About a week went by and there were only 2 golden ones left and I noticed what I thought to be a fungal infection on my axolotl. (I think now it was just scar tissue) so I decided it was a good idea to remove the fish and give them to a breeder friend of mine. This was so that I could keep a close eye on my axolotl friend. It looks like the fish had been nibbling on my poor axie's gills! Something I had never seen happen when I was in the room. (and I spend a long time in the room) But anyway, all of the little red feathery parts of his 2 innermost gills had been stripped.

It's been about a month since the fish have gone. It was a terrible mistake for which I feel very guilty about, because lots of people said "No!" when I suggested fish, but I still went ahead with it. I wish I had never got those gold ones, I think I would still have a steady population of 7 now. But I don't want to take any risks now. In case my axolotl associates fish with being bitten and gets scared.

As of now, his gills are regrowing, but more impressively, his other (outer 4) gills have grown much much longer. Probably to compensate for not getting enough oxygen from the unhealthy two. Axolotls still fascinate me and I will try to take the best care of my little Aristotle as I can.

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Sorry it didn't go well. You tried, it didn't work, and now you know. I put about 25 or 30 of my sister's home-bred guppies in my axolotl tank, solely for the purpose of letting my axolotls eat them. Within a few days all but a few of them had been eaten. There's still 2 or 3 left that, for some reason, have survived for like a week longer than most of their brethren. They must be a couple of badasses to have survived this long, long enough that I actually had to feed them some ground up cichlid flakes. lol
 
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