Question: You have WHAT with your axolotl?

[Jenste]

I know the tank mate question can cause a bunch of strong feelings - some founded, some not.

For example I have a 72 gallon tank with two adult axies and one fantail goldfish. A few months ago I put a picture in the "share pictures of your tank" thread and of course I had a bunch of negative reactions such as it would "dirty the tank" and "eat all the bloodworms"....

Now, if a 5 inch goldfish would be the sole cause of "over stocking" my tank with two axolotls...well call me shocked. The goldfish are always raised in separate tanks until adult/near adult size for two reasons - - 1) to make sure they are healthy and 2) to make sure they are large enough not to be eaten.

Also, the bloodworm dilemma posted was an easy solve - - I don't feed bloodworms. I hand feed the adult axies a worm every other day and the goldfish gets fed it's pellets daily.

So, to me it seemed the alarm resulted in what others had been advised being regurgitated back to me with out real footing or experience. I have had goldfish (in larger, well/overfiltered tanks) with both axolotls and african clawed frogs for years now with out problem. (Feel like I have to specify that NO, the ACF and Axies never co-habitate. )



So I want to know what you have tried with your axies. I am hoping this thread does not dissolve into rantings and want to see honest "I have tried this...." posts.

 

[Mr Poseidon]

i just have snails feeder fish and shrimp in mine! (well and axis too!!!)

 

[ahiggin1]

Ive never tried anything, mostly because of everything Ive read here, but Ive always wanted to. Right now, though, I just have my two axies seperated in a 10 gallon. Theyre so teeny

 

[xxianxx]

To see the dangers all you have to look at is the species mixing disaster part of this site. Some people get away with mixing goldfish etc with axolotls and others dont. If you chose to do so you need to be aware of the potential risks that you are exposing your pet to.

 

[DeCypher]

I've never put anything with my Axolotls excepting other Axolotls of equal size. For me, species mixing is just too risky.

 

[Ollychimera]

Before I got Ludwig, I had read up a bunch on species mixing disasters, including that section on the site and how often fish would nip and destroy an axolotl's gills, so I was worried about how the feeders (rosies, I have 4 of them) would react to Ludwig once I introduced him into the tank.

I had intended to move them into a separate 2 gal tank, but the attached bubbler in it was broken and its shape makes it hard to fit a filter in it (it's modeled to look like a globe and the top is really tiny.). So I decided to get a tank divider because I had observed them beginning to examine him. They actually completely ignored his gills and were more interested in the middle of his back, if anything.

So I got the divider and put it in the tank. It didn't fit very well along the sides, but the fish would only be able to get through if they really squeezed between the wall of the tank and the side of the divider. It also tilted if I bumped it accidentally while feeding Ludwig.

However, it turned out the divider could stop the fish, but not Ludwig. He figured out how to nudge through the crack, and I guess that caused the divider to tilt, because the next day I found him on the fish's side. So I ended up taking out the divider and seeing if things would work.

I think the divider incident traumatized the fish, because now they completely ignore Ludwig and actively flee him if he starts moving. He's not big enough to eat them just yet, but they act like it when it looks like he's stalking them. It also probably helps that the fish have never seen bloodworms before.

So my experience with fish and axolotls together has so far been a safe one. I also have 4 ghost shrimp and 2 trumpet snails in the tank, and they and Ludwig all ignore each other as well. I'm surprised Ludwig hasn't eaten any of the shrimp yet. He's 3 months old and 4 inches long.

 

[Minniechild]

The two I put positive experiences on are Guppies and Red cherries, both of which I had in my four foot for quite a while (Before I deconstructed the entire thing and rebuilt- the RCS are now in another tank ready to go into the 6ft I'm hoping to upgrade to in the next month or two, and the guppies all passed away from old age). One of my fave axie-related memories is of the first morning Izzie was home, him staring at me in the tank, and a tiny baby guppy swimming by, and Iz turning his head, gulping the guppy and turning back to me with this smug, self satisfied grin on his face

 

[DeniseD]

I have baby yellow labs in with one of my axies (3rd generation bred in our house so I know there's nothing wrong with them)
Mostly they are too fast to be caught and compared to our other fish tanks, it's the safest place for them while they grow, although obviously they will be taken out once they are old enough to nip!

 

[PAWS]

So i have just had another Axie and red cherry shrimp - again mostly because what i have read and "researched" on here. recently added river or ghost shrimp and recently (last 3 months) Guppies as feeders.

Bumped into another Axie fan last week who has a whole mixture in their tank - decided as a renowned biologist that he wanted to try and re-create as close a natural environment as possible, fish large and small, some other amphibians, odd creepy crawley "washed" into the tank.

So far no ill effects. I would suggest from experience that anything smaller than someone elses mouth in a close tank will get either eaten or nipped at some point. Being sensible is probably the answer as many water based creatures adopt the "snap first, worry later" attitude.

Hands up who has cats and dogs together, cats and fish, dogs and rabbits, kids and pets!

Flame if you wish

 

[xxianxx]

Bumped into another Axie fan last week who has a whole mixture in their tank - decided as a renowned biologist that he wanted to try and re-create as close a natural environment as possible, fish large and small, some other amphibians, odd creepy crawley "washed" into the tank.

A natural environment is good as long as you are prepared to accept predation. One of the reasons we keep axolotls seperate from other amphibians and large fish is to prevent injury

 

[esn]

I just have white cloud minnows in with my axies now. I have thrown in ghost shrimp, platys, danios, and neon tetras to feed off from my own tanks. They were quickly eaten within a few days. As for the axies themselves... Well, I started out with a 7 inch, 9 inch, and 8 inch, and put in a 6 1/2 inch after a while. The 9 inch has grown to 13 inches, and the 7 and 8 inchers are now 9, while the 6 1/2 is the same. Basically, just having an axolotl twice the size of another is my big deal.

However, I have cohabited reptiles and other amphibians. I cohabit floating frogs with adf and a betta sorority. They had catfish, but they didn't make the last move. I have no problems with that. I have cohabited small dumpy tree frogs with chubby tree frogs just fine. I have a large male crested gecko with two house geckos. I was hoping he might eat the house geckos, considering adult predation on baby cresteds, but he never did. And I even cohabited a pair of corn snakes for a little while, till I separated them. I also cohabit andersonis with axolotls.

I never had a problem with the cohabitation experiments. I gave ample space, hand feed individually, and watched closely. I did not separate the aquatic frogs, axolotls, and geckos, but I have no worries over it. I take responsibility for what I do, so if an accident happens, it'll be my fault.

Except for that time my desert iguana escaped while my beardie was out right after her bath. That was a disaster. The little ig is growing back a new tail now. Or the time when a baby cornsnake escaped and somehow got herself into the beardie tank. Lucky I got her out in time. All my accidents have been animal escaping accidents.

 

[Janine]

I have a hyrbid catfish in with mine and with no problems. He's quite sturdy but not spiny so if an axolotl does get him, im sure they'd be no problem... well, if any of my axies can fit him in their mouths. I also have a few apple snails, though admittedly, have lost one to a certain wildtype. But the snails must be happy because they're constantly laying eggs. The catfish will contently sit next to/underneath or amongst the axolotls. I find they're quite fond of him and since I hand feed my axies worms and bloodworm he cleans up any of the bloodworm thats leftover. Most of the time he's either laying with the axies or stuck upsidedown on some java fern. He's been with them for about a year.