Worried

[rob]

hi
my first post at this great informative site
i think i have really stuffed up !
iv'e had my eyes on an axolotl for a while and scored a tank the other day 60 x 30 x 30 so decided to get a couple of em..
to cut a long story short, after reading a few hrs on this site and finding iv'e done lots of things wrong ! i need some advise on what to do next
i cleaned the tank thoroughly with just plain water and put pretty fine pebbles in "one mistake"
i then put fresh water in to the level i wanted and added some dechlorinating drops to suit, then left it for approx 2hrs and felt i had to introduce my Axolotls, because i felt they were in trouble in the bag the aquarium shop sold em to me in for that length of time...
they have now been in for 3 days and after reading here i am really worried for my poor axolotls
i want to put sand in my tank now, what should i do ? i would say my axie's are pretty stressed although there tails are straight and gills point ing straight up,they have also eaten every day. it also got pretty hot here today and tank water is 24c ! i have put some tank water in the freezer and was going to put a small ice brick in to cool the water ? should i
i was thinking to put my axies in the fridge and ive read is good to do for stressed axies and then put sand in and let water settle for a few days @ least ?
sorry to ask so many questions being a new member
but i am soooo worried and need an dont want my axies to suffer

 

[gregory]

If you put dechlorinating drops in, the water doesn't need to settle for the sake of chlorine or chloramine (as long as your drops take care of both). If you mean settle because of sand particles floating, it's more aesthetic than anything else, I believe. Have you tested your water to make sure all the chemicals are fine? (Nitrates/ites/nh4+?) I'd be more worried about that than anything else. Do you have a filter set up? In either case since the tank probably isn't cycled, what might have a double benefit to you is changing around 20% of the water every day (with cool, treated water). That will not only keep the temperature cool, but also help keep the chemicals from getting too dangerous.

If they're eating every day, it's a sign they aren't _too_ stressed.

Putting some ice in the top is also a good way to get the temperature down as long as the ice is made of treated water (which you said it is). Just try to make sure the temperature doesn't plummet/change rapidly.

 

[michael]

I'd just put the axies in a clean bucket. Make sure it's not a cleaning bucket that chemicals have been in. After you get the fine gravel out put in rinsed sand and let it settle. After an hour or so plunk the axolotls back in. Cooling with ice is o.k. but temp swings can be worse than water that is not cold. I wouldn't put them in the fridge unless they are exhibiting symptoms of being ill. I never put them in the fridge and depend more on medication. If your tank isn't crammed full of axys cycling or balancing it with the axolotls in is fine.
The most important things are keep it cool, have a good low flow biological filter, and don't overfeed. Don't go into panic mode.

 

[rob]

Thx for ur help
ended up putting my axies in a 10lt container for most of the day while i emptied the gravel out and bought some aquarium sand rinsed it well and put it in, then refilled the tank and used stress coat and an adative to speed up cycling that i got free with a test kit i bought let it settle for a couple of hrs and did all tests and came up all good, the only thing a little out was nitrate @ 2-3 so i put my axies back in with all the poo's they did and since then have given them a live cricket each for a little treat

how many and how often can i give em crickets. they are doing lots of exploring @ the moment
will try to post a pickie or three of my axies
(still havn't named em)

Thx again 4 ur help

 

[jordan]

the stuff you got to speed up the cycling, probabaly doesn't work. I bought some but it was terrible. Make sure your axie can't break the thermometer because those chemicals are deadly. Your tank looks good, but maybe a little crowded with all the stuff. But if they seem fine im sure its alright.

 

[casey]

Rob, I've just got some crickets for my axies and I'm only going to give them 1 per week at the maximum, earthworms are supposed to be the best staple - according to the majority of people on this website.

If you are going to keep your axies in there whilst the tank cycles, I would test the water every day to make sure the levels don't get toxic.

they're very cute!

What temperature is the water at?

 

[jordan]

well earthworms aren't the most nutritional staple, but a lot of people on the forum use them. The most nutritious is the axolotl pellets that provide excellent nutrition.

 

[casey]

Sorry, Jordan, I didn't know that. I can't get my axies to eat pellets and I'm of the opinion that anything that's pre-packaged and in a container can't be as nutritional as natural foods, same for humans - I'd prefer to have a home-cooked meal rather than a "lean-cuisine" frozen meal. But that's just my opinion.

 

[jordan]

o i don't mean to prove you wrong Casey i was just informing that the pellets are the most nutritional thing to feed them.

 

[casey]

That's okay Jordan - anyone is free to correct me - I'm definitely not an axie expert.

I can only seem to get one brand of axolotl pellets in Australia and they're not the moist ones that I've heard about, so I don't think they're all that great.

But if you're talking about the other pellets, the soft ones, then maybe it's a different thing entirely.

 

[jordan]

im talking about the pellets from the axolotl collony. They are super-nutritional. I am definitly no expert either though.

 

[rob]

Thx for all the input

i must be doing something right cause just done all test and all good "spot on"
will keep testing everyday for a few weeks
also rigged up a 12cm comp fan running out the back of my computer blowing cold air across the top of the water, even got it connected to fan speed controller on comp hehe, so can vary the speed

temp was 24c the other day and now @ 17-18c "much better"
took some rocks out and a fake plant one was trying to eat lol, they now seem happy last night i gave them 5 crickets each "med ones"
i am going to try give a varied diet, ie : beafheart,crickets,worms,feeder fish,and axolotl pellets and gonna breed some maggots

probably breed the feeder fish too..
i love my Axies already

getting a bigger tank next week too now,
"i'm hooked"

 

[nathan]

Casey is the brand of axie pellets allpet because they are pretty bad

 

[joan]

Rob, a lot of people dislike using feeder fish, as they can nibble on an axolotl's gills and be high in saturated fats. Ones from the pet shop are usually loaded with parasites and all sorts of nasties. Softbodied insect larvae and worms are a much better staple.

 

[jordan]

yea feeder fish are bad.

 

[rheann]

Rob, take a look under the title "Something very disturbing about Petshops" In the Free for all that I posted.

You will learn something very disturbing about fish from pet shops.

 

[casey]

Nathan,

The pellets I bought are Aquarium Science - I think it's what the petshop that I got Stella from feeds their axies.

Here are the stats:

Protein: 50%
Crude Fat: 10%
Crude Fibre: 5%
Moisture: 7%

That's the only info I can find on the bottle.

 

[jordan]

so the pellets you got weren't from the axolotl colony?

 

[rheann]

Jordan, I don't think the Colony ships to other countries. I could be wrong, but I think that they don't. I will have to check on their website again later.

 

[laura]

Casey, I got some pellets for my axie today and found that he wouldn't take them at first, but then I let one soak in his water for about 30 sec to make is soft and he liked it better then. It was the first time he had eaten since I got him (yesterday. Im def. not an expert at this (fish yes, axies no), but it worked?!