Question: How many axalotls will my tank hold?

[scrappa]

Hi zolotl,

I have uploaded the pics in my older post so you can see my wild type axolotl

Please tell me what you think of him and if he looks healthy please

 

[Zolotl]

Hi Scrappa,

He looks really good how big is he, about 10cm? hes a wildtype by the looks of it. He doesn't appear to be unhealthy at all really got nice red gills. It' ll be interesting to see what colour he'll be when he matures.

 

[scrappa]

Hi zolotl,

Yeah he is about 10cm long at the moment but he is roughly 4cm wide

I didnt realize how fat they are in proportion to their length i mean i saw vids on youtube and they were about as fat as mine and looked longer

When i asked they said only about 4 inches which was a bit of a shock in terms of how fat they are for how long they are.

Anyway thank you for the nice feedback and generally helping me.

 

[Zolotl]

Thats ok , yeah he could possibly be a she maybe because of the presence of eggs shes wide. Females also have a heavier build, wider snout and shorter head and are usually really wide because of the eggs, but yours is too young to probably tell yet:happy:.

 

[scrappa]

Hi zolotl,

Okay thanks i got feedback saying he/she probably wont change colour at all on my post in the gallery.
:kill:

 

[big a little a]

I think one or two hides is fine I have 2 axolotls in my tank it only about less that 2 feet however the largest one is only 20cm long, keeping them well fed goes a long way to reducing aggression as well.

I'm sorry, I have to disagree with this - one hide shared between two axolotls doesn't seem adequate - axies will generally spend quite a lot of time in their hides, as they don't have eyelids, so like the shade - I think it's unrealistic to expect two axolotls (who are by nature quite solitary animals) to share one hide for a large percentage of the day.

Zoe x

 

[scrappa]

Hi,

I have recently got a hide 1.3ft long and about 0.5 ft wide and 0.5ft high so the second axolotl will be able to go here.

Im getting a plant pot for my 3rd hide because im getting a 3.5ft tank so i can have 3 axolotls

 

[big a little a]

3 axies, that sounds great! Have you any particular types you're thinking of getting?

Zoe x

 

[Kane]

Sorry Zolotl but i disagree with you about the gravel. You should have some sort of substrate in your tank. It will keep the tank much cleaner for much longer. I only gravel suck my axies tank about once a month, and there is a lot of waste in there. If there was no gravel the tank would be filthy.

 

[Kerry1968]

If you clean the substrate or floor of your tank regularly there is no reason why there should be lots of muck. In fact gravel harbours more dirt than other substrates and should therefore be cleaned more often, definately more than once a month.

You may have different experience regarding cleaning, but gravel is NOT a suitable substrates for axolotls anyway, as they can swallow it and it will cause impaction.

 

[Greatwtehunter]

Sorry Zolotl but i disagree with you about the gravel. You should have some sort of substrate in your tank. It will keep the tank much cleaner for much longer. I only gravel suck my axies tank about once a month, and there is a lot of waste in there. If there was no gravel the tank would be filthy.

I have to disagree with you here. Barebottom is the safest easiest way to go, you don't have to worry about impaction and it's EASILY kept clean because you can spot clean it as the debris shows up.

If your only cleaning your gravel once a month then it doesn't surprise me that there is a lot of waste in there. There are just too many nooks and crannies in gravel to say it's actually clean, no matter much you clean the gravel.

 

[big a little a]

I have to disagree with you here. Barebottom is the safest easiest way to go, you don't have to worry about impaction and it's EASILY kept clean because you can spot clean it as the debris shows up.

If your only cleaning your gravel once a month then it doesn't surprise me that there is a lot of waste in there. There are just too many nooks and crannies in gravel to say it's actually clean, no matter much you clean the gravel.

Absolutely - whilst the gravel might hide the dirt, it certainly doesn't make the tank any cleaner, except maybe visually. The reason the tank should be getting cleaned is for your axie's health, not because of how it looks - your lotl would not thank you for giving the dirt somewhere to hide.

Zoe x

 

[Darkmaverick]

I have to agree with Justin and Zoe. However, i guess indirectly Kane might have a point. Substrate increase the surface area for beneficial bacteria to colonise, similar to the concept of cermic rings in filters. If regular siphoning of detritus and water changes are performed, having some substrate can have its benefits.

 

[scrappa]

3 axies, that sounds great! Have you any particular types you're thinking of getting?

Zoe x

I have 2 leusetic and one wild type

And sorry for late reply keyboard broke...

EDIT!

I have edited and put some pictures on.

 

[Zolotl]

If I used gravel which I wouldnt because they swallow it then Id probably use a under gravel filter but then Id need to filters and it seems like more work so Id rather use some larger pebbles and stones that I could clean around and which can still grow colonies of bacteria. I used to have gravel tanks and thje amount of cleaning you need to do esp if you have lots of axies or Oscars

 

[Zolotl]

Another advantage of no gravel tanks is you can chuck earth worms in there and youll know if they eat them as they can borrow into the gravel which they will do and then escape the axololts. Theyll also die in the gravel and you wont even know

 

[coichards]

Cool, the last one is my favourite :smile: