Help me fix my axolotl's tank

[bibzybean]

Hello. I am hoping to find some advice about my axolotl's set up. I have had my axolotl for around 6 years, and this is the tank set up that he has always known. The substrate at the bottom is sand. He has a submarine, which has become his favourite place to hide since outgrowing his log (also pictured). He is roughly the size of the log in the picture. He also has a bubbler with some coloured lights. Up until recently, he has had plastic plants in his tank. We tried real plants before but they seemed to degrade quickly and he would also mess around with them a lot, so we replaced them with plastic. A few weeks ago, we tried real plants again, but as you can see in the photo, they have degraded too. I can't remember the last time I tested his water composition, so I am going to buy a kit to do so today, as this may be what is degrading the plants. There is a small shiny patch on the floor on the left - this is his favourite spot to sit and also where we feed him, so it has worn away the sand in this corner. We feed him a cube of blood worms every day. The neon lights behind the tank have never seemed to bother him, although I personally prefer to keep them off. His water doesn't have a particularly strong current, that I can tell.

For all intents and purposes, he seems like a perfectly fine axolotl. Although he is quite fat - we think he has some water retention - he is relatively active, displays healthy behaviours, explores the whole range of his tank, etc. However, I believe I could be doing a much better job to help him thrive. Any advice on how to improve his tank would be much appreciated.

Thank you

 

[bibzybean]

Hello. I am hoping to find some advice about my axolotl's set up. I have had my axolotl for around 6 years, and this is the tank set up that he has always known. The substrate at the bottom is sand. He has a submarine, which has become his favourite place to hide since outgrowing his log (also pictured). He is roughly the size of the log in the picture. He also has a bubbler with some coloured lights. Up until recently, he has had plastic plants in his tank. We tried real plants before but they seemed to degrade quickly and he would also mess around with them a lot, so we replaced them with plastic. A few weeks ago, we tried real plants again, but as you can see in the photo, they have degraded too. I can't remember the last time I tested his water composition, so I am going to buy a kit to do so today, as this may be what is degrading the plants. There is a small shiny patch on the floor on the left - this is his favourite spot to sit and also where we feed him, so it has worn away the sand in this corner. We feed him a cube of blood worms every day. The neon lights behind the tank have never seemed to bother him, although I personally prefer to keep them off. His water doesn't have a particularly strong current, that I can tell.

For all intents and purposes, he seems like a perfectly fine axolotl. Although he is quite fat - we think he has some water retention - he is relatively active, displays healthy behaviours, explores the whole range of his tank, etc. However, I believe I could be doing a much better job to help him thrive. Any advice on how to improve his tank would be much appreciated.

Thank you

Forgot to mention - I will be removing and replacing the dying plants.

 

[wolfen]

what are your water parameters? ie.. ph, gh, kh, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates.
what chemicals, minerals, salts do you use?
how often are water changes performed?
what food is he given?

 

[JM29]

Hello,
The light colours on the pictures are surprising.
Are they different changing colours or only photo artefacts ?

For live plants to thrive, you should provide them :
- light, bright enough and with a good spectrum (white or red/blue),
- in the case they coexist with an axolotl or other large caudate, there must be enough room, between plants or between plants and glasses, for the axolotl to easily move without disturbing the plants.

And, finally, what plant species did you try ?

 

[bibzybean]

what are your water parameters? ie.. ph, gh, kh, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates.
what chemicals, minerals, salts do you use?
how often are water changes performed?
what food is he given?

I haven't yet checked the parameters, but have bought a kit and some purifying balls so I will fix that if it is off. I generally don't do much with the water - just do a 20% change every few weeks. His diet has been changed over the years - for a while it was a cube of frozen bloodworms given every other day, then we changed to pellets, but we were told the brand was bad for axolotls so now he gets bloodworms again, but every day instead of every other day.

 

[wolfen]

although bloodworm can be given as part of a varied balanced diet they are quite low in nutrients protein etc.. to be given as a solo food source.
what do you mean by "purifying balls"?

 

[bibzybean]

although bloodworm can be given as part of a varied balanced diet they are quite low in nutrients protein etc.. to be given as a solo food source.
what do you mean by "purifying balls"?

Hello - I did not know this about bloodworms! We have been feeding him a cube every day, and that is the only food he gets. What else should I be giving him? Also I am not sure about the purifying balls - we found them at the aquatic shop, apparently if you put them in the water they purify any freshwater tank, although I am skeptical to use them especially as I don't know much about them.

 

[wolfen]

axolotls can eat most meat based frozen food ie.. brine shrimp, mysis, krill, cockle, mussels, beef heart, discus food, cichlid, meat based turtle food, fish etc.., they will eat live shrimp, fish, worms, some snails etc.. there is also the option of pellets, the main thing is that they need a carnivore diet.

 

[Goldfishfan]

You'll want to test the water ASAP as suggested. If there is ammonia or nitrite present it's very toxic. I also suggest filling up the tank key the rest of the way. Axolotls are fully aquatic. There is no need for it to have a half full aqaurium. That's only causing the nitrates to accumulate faster.

I have read that axolotls swell up when their skin is being irritated. This can happen if the aqauriums nitrogen cycle is out of balance.