How deep?

[john]

Hi,

I've kept axolotls for a few years now and I can't help noticing that many people here have their tank full. I thought that there was a maximum depth of water you could have for the axies....

Any help ? ...just wondering.......

 

[amber]

Mine stands at about 12", but I've kept them in water just above head height.

Personally, I don't think they're that fussy. As long as they're not going to dry out, they're happy whatever depth.

 

[kaysie]

My tank is 18 inches deep.

There isn't really a 'maximum depth', as they'll surface even if it's a few feet up. In the wild, they would range from the shallows (used loosely here) of a fairly big lake to streams and channels.

 

[john]

Fantastic, thanks for the info.

Since it's getting hot around here I started the fans to cool the tank but as you know evaporation takes about an inch every 2 days so I wanted to make sure I could fill it a bit more to compensate.

Thanks

 

[lee]

personly i recon its cruel to keep them in a tank with not alot of water i have 2 big tanks and there full to the top if they have more water they can swim around my axis love to climb on pots and stuff but they carnt do that in shalow water cuz the poor axis will dry out

 

[kapo]

Our axies don't swim around, with the exception of two floaters, the rest of ours tend to use the floorspace rather height (apart from stacking on top of each other) - saying that our tankwater in the tanks are about 2-3 inches from the top.

 

[shelly]

i can tell when fraggle has pigged out as he has trouble swimming to the top lol so deep water helps keep him fit

 

[kaysie]

Kapo, that's a good point. Most axolotls will sit on the floor instead of using the water column. However, having more water in the tank is a good buffer against water quality issues. And if you have different height strata in your tank, you're more able to provide hiding spaces (such as in tall plants).

 

[john]

It does confirm what I thought. My tank has 14" deep of usable water (2" of rocks etc...), Btw, in response to lee, I do not plan to have my axies dry

I've always used books and papers to gain knowledge for my axies until I found this board, I must say that I never have seen full tanks before coming here. Now, knowing that this can be done I'm thinking about changing the tank's layout to fill it more.

 

[lee]

just to let you know i wasnt being nasty at all. just that the more water you have the beter for your axis cuz they have more space to move and swim around and hide in tall plants but its every ones choice

 

[yannick]

full tank here too!

 

[deb]

Two full tanks at our place result in lots of laughs trying to find the axies at night when they swim and hide in all the tall plants. They might balance one 'hand' on a leaf and then float, or they hover just under big leaves on the surface. A 3 dimensional space is so much more interesting and the axies look much cuter when they're not just sitting on the tank floor.

Just look at Dolce flying through space.