Baby Melanoid is very Active

[brelove]

Hello all! So I just got a baby melanoid axolotl. It is about 1.5 to 2 inches long. We have him in a 10 gallon tank with the water only filled up about 3 inches on the bottom. We have been feeding it frozen blood worms and frozen brine shrimp since that is what the breeder told us it was eating. I've noticed that it is very active. Swimming all around the tank a lot. I have heard that there is something wrong if an axolotl swims a lot. I have never had this small of a baby so I was wondering if it is normal for it to be that active? The water temp is at 68 degrees F. Any help on this subject would be very much appreciated! Just wanna make sure our baby is okay! Thank you!

 

[Skudo09]

Juvenile axies tend to be much more active than adults. But the first thing to do if you are worried is to test the water quality to ensure there is nothing wrong there that may be stressing him out. So test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH. Post your readings here .


They often have their tail curled and gills curled far forward when stressed. Does he appear stressed? Is there a strong current from the filter that may be upsetting him?

It may just be normal juvenile activity and nothing to worry about but testing your water quality and ensuring there is nothing upsetting him and stressing him out will give you peace of mind

 

[brelove]

I will check for all of that when I get home. We do not have a filter because he is so small and I was told that you should wait on that. And his tank is only filled up 2-3 inches of water. Also, do you know how often to feed babies? He is only about 2 inches and he seems hungry so I have been feeding him blood worms twice a day. (Have only had him since Friday) He won't eat the pellets yet and I am going to get brine shrimp when I get off work today. We bought the baby brine shrimp which were not what we meant to get and they are way too small for him. Thanks for your info!

 

[LSuzuki]

If you don't have a filter, you need to be changing like 50-100% of the water each day. (And even when you do have a filter, you will need to do frequent water changes until the tank cycles). Are you familiar with "the cycle"?

 

[brelove]

We have been doing 100% water changes every day since we have had the little guy. And yes I am familiar with the cycle.

 

[suitable4frank]

100% water changes?! Are you using water that's already cycled from another tank or something?

 

[Skudo09]

you can them as much as they will eat at that size. What you are feeding now should be fine. Once he gets to 3 inches you can start switching to earthworms. You will probably need to cut them into portions.

 

[brelove]

Thanks for all the info! And yes 100% water changes. We are just using regular water and adding the dechlorinator. I was told by the breeder we got the little one from that we would need to do 100% water changes until the tank can cycle. Is this the wrong information or something?

 

[Asevernnnn]

If you do 100% water changes the tank won't cycle, and a minimum of 10 gallons of water is recommended