Finally set it up! What do you think?

[Joanne]

Hi all,

Well after weeks of research I've finally set my new axie tank up to begin cycling. I've got 2 guppies in there to start the process. I'll either leave them in there once the star has arrived or remove them if they get tempted to nibble. Thanks to everyone that have been so patient in replying to all my questions. What do you think, have I achieved a happy axie home environment? :happy:

 

[carsona246]

looks like a fantastic axolotl tank. Are those real plants, or fake ones?

 

[Joanne]

Thanks It's a mixture of both real & fake. 2 fake ones near the cave & the rest are real. Could only get 1 amazon sword plant so the rest are bunches which I don't expect will last all that long. So I'm on the hunt for plants with root systems! Still have coconut shell 'stairs' to create but that will probably be a couple weeks away. I really like the guppies tho, don't really want them to end up as food! So once tank is cycled I'll be picking up a golden axie called Gryphon. Can't wait :happy:

 

[benh]

Looks great!! Lucky Gryphon

 

[The Banana]

Looking good! Gryphon is sure one lucky axolotl!

 

[MereB]

Looks good. Well done! That is going to be one happy axie
This is my only concern

the wire tie around the water wisteria (the fern looking plant in front to the cave next to the fake strappy plant (Vallis)) the ends are pointing out and would give an axolotls soft skin a nasty scratch/cut/gash. You will need to remove the wire or bend it around so there are no sharp bits sticking out anywhere. If it starts to rust it will have to go of course, that would mess with your water.
You can plant that particular plant in the sand and it will root up nicely in no time you might want to trim the brown bit of the ends first though.

 

[Joanne]

Thanks all for your kind words, it's been a long time setting up so it's exciting that the end is near. Checked water ammonia yesterday & it is slowly on the rise. The 2 guppies are obviously doing their thing & haven't spotted the tiny fry that apparently came with them! Quite a shock to me also :happy:

MereB - thanks for the heads up about the wire, didn't even think about it. I'll remove it asap when I get home. Think some of the other plants may have wire wrapped around the bottom to so I'll get right onto it. The bunches don't look like they are gonna survive for very long, they keep losing their leaves & going brown so I guess I'll just wait & see what survives

Will keep you updated on tank water parameters & Gryphon the axie when he/she arrives!

 

[Colinna]

Looking great Joanne!! Gryphon will love it!!

 

[Joanne]

Have remove the nasty metal that was around the base of the plants. It was on all the bunches so took all of them out & siphoned up leftover fish flakes whilst I was there. Strain the water & put it back in. Thinking I'll do a 20% water change tonight though as ammonia is .50ppm & nitrite is 0. Read on hear that you don't want ammonia to rise above 1 or it will kill the good bacteria. When I took the plants out I was amazed at how many guppy fry were in there! I counted like 15!!! No wonder they are known for the massive reproduction rates :happy: Will keep you posted

 

[MereB]

Well done getting the wire out.

You don't really want the ammonia getting to 1 if you have animals in there. You'll want to keep 0.50 as your maximum but really it's kinder to the guppies if you keep it to 0.25

Yep you know the saying breed like rabbits? Well in the aquarium world it's breed like guppies they are live bearers so it's possible you got a pregnant female or 2 to start with. Assuming you have a male, or a fry that will grow to be a male you will continue to get more fry. The females don't even have to be full grown to reproduce, from memory they can get pregnant within a few weeks

 

[Joanne]

Thanks about the tip on the ammonia levels, I'll do a 20% water change tonight & make sure it doesn't go higher than 0.25ppm. So by doing the water change that should drop the ammonia right? Have to wait for the nitrite to rise so how high is too high for the guppies? Then when they are both at zero the tank is cycled? I have been reading heaps about the cycling of the tank & think I've got myself mega confused Will be so funny if I end up with heaps of guppies in the tank before the star attraction gets there :lol:

 

[Joanne]

Also thanks MereB for your link to your cycling info on your blog - it was very helpful for me to know how to do the process

 

[MereB]

Thanks about the tip on the ammonia levels, I'll do a 20% water change tonight & make sure it doesn't go higher than 0.25ppm. So by doing the water change that should drop the ammonia right? Have to wait for the nitrite to rise so how high is too high for the guppies? Then when they are both at zero the tank is cycled? I have been reading heaps about the cycling of the tank & think I've got myself mega confused Will be so funny if I end up with heaps of guppies in the tank before the star attraction gets there :lol:

Yes changing water will drop the levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

I trust you found your answer about the nitrite on the other thread but here it is again, just in case
If you see any of these levels, change some water as soon as you can.
Ammonia ~ 0.5 or higher
Nitrite ~ 0.3 or higher
Nitrate ~ 35 or higher
Guppies are pretty hardy and will tolerate, but not enjoy, slightly higher levels BUT an axie would not appreciate that one little bit. Guppies have scales that stops a lot of the skin to water contact, axies (and some fish) don't have that luxury.
For an axie I'd probably go more for
Ammonia ~ 0.25 or higher
Nitrite ~ 0.2 or higher
Nitrate ~ 25 or higher

When your tank is cycled you would expect to see ammonia and nitrite at zero, or very close to it and to stay there and a slow rise in Nitrate. How fast the nitrate rises really depends on how heavily stocked the tank is, how often you change water, how well you do the housekeeping and finally how many live plants you have in there and how happy they are :happy: You have qiute a lot of plant in there so it would rise very slowly making your best indication that your tank is cycled the presence of Nitrate no matter how little it is assuming of course that it is currently zero

 

[Joanne]

Thanks! Did a 20% water change & retested.
Ammonia 0.5ppm, Nitrite 0

Will do another water change tonight to try to get it down to 0.25ppm