Question: Just Wanting to Double Check... Lots of questions

[lindseyb88]

Hello! I am going to be receiving a baby axolotl as soon as Christmas is over. It is a baby that I have been informed is less than an inch. It has all of its legs already. It makes me nervous taking on such a small baby, so I could use all the help I could get!!

I have a ton of questions, so please be patient with me! I have never had an axolotl and am trying to learn as much as I can as fast as I can.

Also, here is a pic of the baby (if you can see it) as well as the parents.
Baby

Parents

1. I have heard mixed information regarding temperature of a tank. I have heard that 57 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit and then 50 to 68. Can anyone clarify?

2. What size tank should I get for the little one, especially with it being so small?

3. I have read to do a 20% water change every one to two weeks. Any advice on this, especially depending on the tank size and the size of the little one?

4. I have heard that no filter is required... but read that a filter is required.

5. As far as the water, I have read to keep the pH between 6.5 to 8 (but around 7.5 is best) and that they like the water to be a little on the hard side.

6. Diet: Feed as much as can be eaten in 15 minutes every two to three days. With a baby as small as this one, is that the same?

7. Best food for axolotls: earthworms, minnows, blood worms, shrimp, wax worms (just ok), brine shrimp (just ok). Any more that you guys could recommend for a baby that small?

I think that is all the questions for now. Thanks!

 

[digitalxri0t]

What a cutie. Kind of small to be shipping but babies aren't super hard to tend to really.

1) Keep it below 70 period. Anything above stresses them. The temp can vary between all that but most sit in the 60's fine. Mine are almost constantly at 68.

2) Even if its small you need a tank that it will have room to grow into. Too small of a tank will stunt it. Get a 10, or if you want to make your life easy, get a 20. Give it lots of hiding places so it feels secure.

3) Every week if not more often. Clean water is good water and they are dirty. But the bigger the tank the less often the water changes, but you should still do that every week. I do a full water change once a week, prime the water and leave the rest to my filter.

4)Filter! I don't care what anyone else says, they need a filter and you should get one going now. It takes time to cycle a filter. Also make sure the filtration is bigger than the size of tank youre getting.

5) I think you are correct on this.

6) That's for adults, not little ones. They should be fed every day until they're rather big which wont take long if they're kept right. I always dropped blood worms in once a day and left them eat it as some of them were slow eaters. I would clean up what was left after a few hours.

7) Worms. No on the minnows, theyre a treat not a staple. Blood worms are good, so are black worms. Wax worms are a fattening treat and brine shrimp is pointless once they're onto worms. Stick with blood worms or black worms until theyre ready to take on red wrigglers at a few inches.

 

[lindseyb88]

Thanks! He isn't shipping luckily. He is in a town about a half an hour away. Thanks for all the help!!! Also, I have seen people asking what color their baby will be. Is he going to be a leusistic?

 

[digitalxri0t]

Even better! Nothing like going to pick up your baby personally. It's a good feeling. No problem :3 He's a leucistic yes. No doubt about it.

 

[layna]

Have you already cycled your tank?
It can take up to 8 weeks so i would start now if you havent

The general room is 1 foot per axie then an extra foot for filter and decorations ect so if your only getting 1 axie then a 2 foot tank will be best, but they are addictive haha i started off with one in a little 10 gallon tank (he was a juvie) and now i have 5 and two tanks

 

[EmbryH]

I agree with most of what's been said here, but I have a couple different opinions.

Judging on how you keep your axie, a water change every week won't be necessary when it's older. I have two 20gal set ups and I usually make a partial water change bi-weekly, or more often if I feel like it's needed, but a 100% weekly change isn't necessary. Temperatures should be in the 60's Fahrenheit. Use a filter. Eventually you'll want to get some big earthworms for food; they're the best staple. I'd go ahead and get a 20gal long, just because an adult starts to look a little cramped in a 10gal. Also I'm not sure if your axie should go straight to a tank.

Smaller than an inch is a VERY young baby, and they can still be really fragile at that size/age. In my opinion, it's a little early to rehome an axolotl that size at all, but you're getting it, so I suggest keeping it in a hard plastic container with something to hide under (a plant, maybe) with 90-100% water changes daily.

Also, it's going to be too small for conventional food like worms or even pellets. (Babies need to be around 2 inches before they can begin to handle pellets!) I'd suggest looking into some baby brine shrimp or daphnia, and quick.

Who are you getting this baby from? I may be mistaken, but it almost seems borderline irresponsible to let someone who has zero experience with axolotls start with such a young baby... axie larvae that small can die rather easily sometimes

 

[lindseyb88]

I am acquiring the axolotl from a person who came into my work. They are deploying and wanted to find someone to care for it. I am going to try to find out exactly the size today if I can. I understand that they can be very fragile when that small, which is why I am doing as much research as I can. I got a 20 gallon long yesterday. I will see about getting something smaller till he grows a bit.

Are 100 percent water changes safe? I have heard that you shouldn't do 100 percent water changes because the water has some good stuff in it that you need and that then you are basically starting the cycling process all over again. Can anyone expand on that?

 

[EmbryH]

While you're keeping the baby in the smaller container and not a tank (a tank will be harder to keep it in while it's small) then 100% water changes are ok.

People sometimes advise against 100% water changes because it can destroy the bacteria culture of the tank, which helps process the axolotl's waste and keeps the water quality naturally happy. (You can still do 100% water changes with large tanks, but you don't need to do it often. I do about every 4 months or so. Just don't wash the plants/caves. Some of the bacteria can survive on those).

A small, hard plastic container filled a few inches deeper than the baby is long will allow you to feed your baby BBS or daphnia with relative ease. In a larger container, it's harder for the babies to catch their food, plus it's harder to make sure the uneaten/dead food is removed.

Edit: You should invest in a turkey baster

 

[lindseyb88]

I am doing this from my phone so bare with me! Anyone have any ideas how old or big he is from these pics?

 

[lindseyb88]

While you're keeping the baby in the smaller container and not a tank (a tank will be harder to keep it in while it's small) then 100% water changes are ok.

People sometimes advise against 100% water changes because it can destroy the bacteria culture of the tank, which helps process the axolotl's waste and keeps the water quality naturally happy. (You can still do 100% water changes with large tanks, but you don't need to do it often. I do about every 4 months or so. Just don't wash the plants/caves. Some of the bacteria can survive on those).

A small, hard plastic container filled a few inches deeper than the baby is long will allow you to feed your baby BBS or daphnia with relative ease. In a larger container, it's harder for the babies to catch their food, plus it's harder to make sure the uneaten/dead food is removed.

Edit: You should invest in a turkey baster

Thanks! I have a couple large kritter keepers that I could use. If I am doing 100% water changes daily, how do I keep the water cycled? Should I just keep cycled water in the large tank and use it for the small tank?

 

[EmbryH]

It's got all its legs, which means it's a juvenile. It's hard to see how big it actually is, though, but if it's a juvie then it should be around 2-3 inches long, not less than 1

 

[lindseyb88]

Thanks! I have a couple large kritter keepers that I could use. If I am doing 100% water changes daily, how do I keep the water cycled? Should I just keep cycled water in the large tank and use it for the small tank?

 

[layna]

Its very important to cycle a tank (grow the good bacteria) this means that water quality wont be an issue and wont make your axie sick.
Have a read of this The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling - Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community

I would personally keep your juvie in a food safe tub (doing 100% daily water changes with dechlorinator, its easier to have two tubs and just swap him over)
And whilst he is in a tub, cycle your 20 for when he is bigger

This way its less stressful for your axie and when the big tank is cycled you can just pop him in there and do once weekly water changes of around 30%

Once you have cycled a tank there is no need to do 100% water change unless the cycle crashes

P.s As he has his back legs now i would say he is probs 3" or bigger, he should be on daphnia or bloodworms by now and at 6" he should be moved onto earthworms (you can buy baby ones or chop up big ones)

Good luck with your little one

 

[lindseyb88]

Its very important to cycle a tank (grow the good bacteria) this means that water quality wont be an issue and wont make your axie sick.
Have a read of this The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling - Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community

I would personally keep your juvie in a food safe tub (doing 100% daily water changes with dechlorinator, its easier to have two tubs and just swap him over)
And whilst he is in a tub, cycle your 20 for when he is bigger

This way its less stressful for your axie and when the big tank is cycled you can just pop him in there and do once weekly water changes of around 30%

Once you have cycled a tank there is no need to do 100% water change unless the cycle crashes

P.s As he has his back legs now i would say he is probs 3" or bigger, he should be on daphnia or bloodworms by now and at 6" he should be moved onto earthworms (you can buy baby ones or chop up big ones)

Good luck with your little one

Hey. So off of reading the cycle site that you sent, I want to know if I am doing this correctly, plus a few more questions. Axolotl is not in the tank.

Here are the exact steps that I took when setting up the tank.
1. Put water in the tank. (I didn't have the temperature gauge in at this point but assume the water was at about 72 F)
2. Put the filter in the tank.
3. Put Prime in the tank
4. Two days later (last night) checked the water temp. Saw it was too high so added a fan. Water temp is now in the safe range.

Questions:
1. I don't have a bubble wand. Do I need one? I have heard conflicting opinions on this, but on the website you sent it does say it helps to cycle the aquarium

2. As far as the heat goes, it says to crank up the heat to help it cycle faster... should I do that then lower the water temp before adding the axolotl? Or can I keep it at the colder temp?

3. Do I need to add ammonia if I used Prime? Or is Prime enough?

4. Should I follow the steps on the website step-by-step or is there something different since these are axolotls and not fish??

If I have done anything wrong up to this point, could someone please give me a step-by-step on how to fix it. I am completely new to fish and am working off of what people have told me so far