Question: How much currents/how little oxygene

[nilssverker]

I have had tropical fish for many years, but now I have decided to go axolotl (in a separate tank, of course).

My questions are two:
1: How much flow/waves/current is ok for an axolotl?
2: And are they more/less sensitive to currents than to low oxygene in the water?

Background info:

The set up is 72 litres (filled up to about 25 cm depth of water), with an internal filter+pump, sand, plants, logs, stone/cave. I am aiming for 1 or 2 axolotls, depending on how small/inexpensive) they are in the pet shop.

Being used to fish, I always try to get as much water flow through the filter as possible - but I understand this isn't neccessarily the best thing for axolotls. I want to use the filter, since I will change water only once a wek, at the same time as I change water in the fish tank.

The filter gives, at max flow, 350 litres/hour (=5 times the water volume), wich makes A LOT of current.
I have turned it down to approx 1/3 of that.
The surface still moves, yet it makes me a little uncomfortable - with fish you want waves all over the surface, to make sure the water is filled with oxygene.
The plants don't move at all from the current.
There is a movie clip at Video - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting (where you also can see apple snails chewing broccoli to start the cycling - will be removed once the axie are in)

 

[Kaysie]

Axolotls, being lake dwellers, are quite sensitive to flow. Any current in the water can be stressful, so you should aim for as little current as possible. If you want to only keep 1 axolotl in a tank that size, you may be able to use no filter at all, or just a sponge filter, especially if you have a significant number of plants.

Even though axolotls have gills, they also have rudimentary lungs. This means they're able to cope with lower oxygen situations, such as still water. They use these lungs by 'gulping' air at the surface, and then 'burping' it back out.

 

[JessKB]

Hi there. In an axolotl tank you want the least amount of current possible. Axolotls do not rely solely on their gills to breath. They also have lungs and absorb oxygen through their skin. Many people here use only a sponge filter on their tanks, others don't even use a filter. current will quickly stress an axolotl out, wich can lead to disease and death. If you're worried about oxygen, just use more plants.

Read these links if you haven't already

Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity

Caudata Culture Species Entry - Ambystoma mexicanum - Axolotl

 

[JessKB]

Kaysie beat me to it

 

[nilssverker]

Thank you, both!

Ok, so I could/should skip the filter ... but doesn't that mean I will have to change water more than once a week? Because that's the reason I want the filter - to change water just once a week, when I change it in the fish tank. In the fish-aquarium-world we always talk about how important it is with a good, large filter, where good bacterias do their job for breaking down excrements and other nasty things, to make the water nice for fish. The filter is the place where the "immune defence" of the aquarium resides, and the filter is considered crucial for a healthy aquarium. How come this doesn't apply to newt/salamander aquariums?

(And by the way, I actually don't understand how a sponge filter works, they're not common in Sweden ...)

 

[nilssverker]

... and what's said in Caudata Culture Articles - Water Quality makes me even more confused:
"8. Remove debris and clean the filter frequently.
Filters do not make dirt go away. They only concentrate the dirt in one place to make removal easier. Even if you can’t see it, the dirt in the filter is still in the aquarium, producing waste products."


In a fish tank it is almost considered a crime to clean a filter ...

 

[lollypop]

A sponge filter is usually only powered from an air line. The 'good bacteria' colonise in the sponge. (as it does in ceramic media etc in larger filters) as the sponge is in the tank (usually) it also collects other detritus. And will occasionally need to be cleaned. You shoul only do it by using tank water and a couple of ard squeezes to get rid if the build up of muck.

By using old tank water you don't kill of the bacteria colony in the sponge.

Now personally I have a large external filter, and there are a few ways you can go if that is the route you want to go, using a spay bar angled against the glass breaks up the flow (as well as filter turned down) that there should be little to no current in the tank.

I'm not a great expert

But this is how I keep my tanks. There are a lot on here that don't use any filters at all, and still don't require any more water changes than a tank does, if you think of a pond (non filtered one of course) then I think it's the same principal. Largish body of water plants etc to house the other organisms need to sustain water quality.

Hope that helps some

 

[nilssverker]

Thanks again - now I understans how the filter is constructed. Very rare in Sweden, at least for fish.

I find this very interesting and extremely strange :happy:

In my fish tank I filter 6x water volume/hour, have lots of waves and have not once in 2 years cleaned the filter (filter of this type http://aluman.web.my-ct.de/aquarium/hmf/bilder/hmf_in_%20becken.JPG), but I change 20 % of the water once a week.

In my axie tank I will perhaps) have no filter, still water, and still I can change only 20 % of the water once a week.

A whole new world is waiting for me :happy:

 

[lollypop]

If you go look at some of the old threads, you will see people who do filter less tanks. Ask a couple of them what is the best way to start up.

Good luck and happy keeping :0)

 

[Aaran]

Dont forget the good bacteria is everywhere in a cycled tank, not just the filter

 

[JessKB]

I came from the fish world too, and at first wanted to over filter my tanks also. I use a conventional hang on the back filter in one of my axolotl tanks, but I diffuse the water coming out of it with fake plants so that the current is very small. I also put some mesh and a small sponge over the intake valve to just slow the amount of water moving through it. As far as "cleaning" a filter, if you just swish your filter pad in the old tank water when you do a water change, you don't hurt the beneficial bacteria, but are able to remove some of the gunk. Personally, I don't touch my filter pads.

There's lots of youtube videos out there that teach you how to make your own sponge filter for very cheap.