Question: Levels for axies?

[Spacekittie]

Hi!

I know through scouring these forums that axies love to explore the bottoms of their tank, hide away in little dark corners & cause a fuss when they feel like.

So a question to established owners, who may have known many axolotl personalities:

Would they enjoy a tank with different floors like this? (my plan is to put java moss and/or Lilaeopsis grass on the levels, with maybe some other plants and a hidey tunnel on the bottom)
Or would it be wasted on an axie & more suitable for a salamander or newt?
I just really want to create a fun environment an axie, their behaviour and little smiley faces are beautiful!

Its H40cm, L60cm, D30cm. 72L or 19 USgallons The floors are triangles attatched at the side and back, so leave a clear top to bottom access space at the front of the tank. All glass edges are smoothed with silicon.

 

[vampybabe]

Oooooh..... I like that idea. Im not sure what anyone else would say because Ive read lots about having a long shallow tank but my 3 love sitting on things, mainly the side of the filter at the moment and right at the top of the plants. Its funny to watch them kind of float next to things. My next tank I planned to put in a couple of those magnetic shelves like you get for lizards.

 

[ted22]

Hey, I was thinking of doing the same sorta thing, ended up doing something similar with a big canopy of silk plants around the sides and back for that second level kinda thing, my axie is always up clambering and climbing through them (also had one of those turtle beaches as an extra level and Gomez loved sitting high up in the tank so the floors should get used but crucially once they are covered they will provide lots of essential shade! However as axies grow pretty big pretty quick it wont be too long untill an axie is too big to fit on one of those shelves and would be pretty cramped (a juvie would love it!) so as a temporary set up for a little one it would be great but you will soon have to get a larger tank. I dont see anything wrong with the shelves maybe if it all works well and your axie uses them do the same thing on a bigger tank with bigger shelves!

Just a couple of things, with the glass shelves running along the back and sides where are you planning to place the filter? an external one could cost alot, and I dont know what the water flow will be like around a tank with so many solid barriers blocking the circulation you may get a few dead spots, and looking at that pic it might prove quite difficult to clean, cant imagine you'd manage to fit one of those gravel vacuum's in the tank easily, especially wont get one under that bottom shelf, these maybe a few things worth thinkin about!


Glad to see you are scouring the forums and doing plenty of research before taking the plunge, nice one!

take it easy!

Ed

 

[dazkeirle]

Im with Ted on everything he said.

It's a great idea, something I've thought about before but it's great how you've implemented it.

It would be brill for a juvie, you'd need to remove at some point 1 or two of the levels as your axie will need to swim about, but maybe 2 tier for an adult and on one side would still add some entertainment without being cramped.

I also share the concern about proper filtration, it's going to be a struggle getting the water movement right, you'd need an external without a doubt with the inlet at the bottom and output at the top obviously, my only concern is that in order to effectively move the water through all levels and still pick up the debris from the top and have it filtered properly you'd need a great deal of current. Moving through that maze it will make quite a flow i would imagine.

Either way though you could rectify this with more frequent water changes, they're not the dirtiest of creatures and you'd have one pimp aquarium.

If you are gonna do this though, go whole hog and make it a feature. Put thought into your aquascape and you'll be hailed a hero for originality.

Maybe different medum at each level? slate, stones(large) and sand at bottom for better waste management? Maybe have some Marimo Moss balls at the bottom to cushion the fall and bounce around for those inevitable axie dives through all levels.

Maybe incorperate Teds vines throughout to allow you axie to clmib to each level (as they get larger its a bit more of an event when they swim, not neccisarily the most accurate of pilots.

Good luck.

Subscribed to this thread and reputation given for your clear care and originality.

 

[mickey1975]

Hi

I'm thinking maybe this way made for the furry pets as my son as a tank very much like this one for his rats only his tank is 3ft and that is so hard to clean out.

I don't think it would be very axie friendly without taking out afew levels, but i don't think that can be done. maybe with a glass cutter.

 

[Crysta]

those levels just add to your floor space, so it's quite ideal to have levels in a high tank. good Idea.
although that top one might need taking out.

and as pointed out already - older axies are a little too big for the levels, so it would be wasted on a older axie, but I think rather suitable for a young one.

practically i think it would be a bad idea, you'd need to siphon using a bended bit of airline - may be some effort.

 

[dazkeirle]

practically i think it would be a bad idea, you'd need to siphon using a bended bit of airline - may be some effort.

I took a look at the full size image in the gallery and it looks like the levels arn't the full way across the tank, rather they are triangular and so the central section of each is open.

This should mean cleaning is not going to be too difficult as there is a huge amount of access space in the front centre.

nice.

 

[Spacekittie]

Thanks for all the comments!
(Didn't expect so many by Brits, it feels good to have a little local support!)

Just to clarify, I didn't make this myself... I was searching for a tank when I saw it on ebay & couldn't just let it go. Theres too much possibility!
(Mike- think it originally had lots of little fish in it, but cleaning isssues have crossed my mind!)

I was thinking of taking the top level out anyway, its unnecessary & leaves the tank quite cramped. They're only attached with silicon, so I shouldn't have too much hassle with a scalpel. I'd take the bottom one out when my axie grew bigger, leaving the middle one (& lots of climbing/hiding things)

Ed- its encouraging to hear Gomez likes life on different levels. He looks very satisfied in that photo!

Filtration is my main concern right now. I don't know much about it, so I need to explore alot of options. It looks like an external filter might be the only one, but since I don't plan on being fully set up until November, I have plenty of time to save up! I'm worried about the shelves maybe reflecting (and magnifying) a minor current & upsetting my future pal or of the filter not being very effective & leaving stagnant spots.
Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated!

Daz- that is the plan. I've been looking at different plants available in my area & their needs. It looks like I could potentially have an amazing set up. But I have to research it carefully. I've been reading Azael's posts on that & its crazy inspiring!
Having a slate/stone level is a great plan, but I'm scared regarding cleaning. I think they'll be enough space for nasties to hide already, without creating more. But everythings still in planning stage, so I'll see what I can get away with.

Crysta- Your photo brings tears to my eyes everytime i see it. How can anything be sooo cute?!
Thanks for your comment. If it looks like the job will be too big to handle, I'll switch to a normal tank. I don't want to endanger any critters. But i figured its worth a try!

I'll keep you posted with my developments, so I can get some advice n constuctive critcism along the way!

 

[Spacekittie]

Spot on Daz! They are right angled triangles with top to bottom clear access down the middle at the front. I did mention this in the original thread, with the dimentions, but its tucked away under the photo.

How mad would you be to put full rectangular levels in?? That would be cleaning/filtering suicide! & i dont think the axie would like it, might feel trapped.

Thing is old food/plant debri might try to float, but get trapped under the levels. Maybe i'd be able to create a kind of angled window washer pokey thing to get in there?

 

[dazkeirle]

without a doubt there will be some additional cleaning, but I think the hassle would be worth the effort to be honest.

When I say slate, i mean slate tiles, not broken pieces of slate. Slate tiles are seen here as probably the easiest medium to clean as when siliconed down there is nowhere for filth to go, and Axies seem to love the feel.

The natural current will pull water down so you're gonna have to go sand at the bottom (if you want to use sand at all) to stand a chance of it not going everywhere.

Slate on a level would work well, large bolder like stones on second though could be a terrible idea as could fall onto your axie below unless siliconed down.

You'll find that Axie waste doesn't really float, it sits on the floor, as do bloodworms and earthworms etc and so chances are its the lower level that will see the most waste.

As for reflections, I don't think it's a bad thing, they spend hours looking into reflections in my tanks and appear to enjoy it greatly. I've ever contemplated adding mirrored surfaces on the side for this very reason. They arn't actually aggressive or canabalistic as some may have you believe, they're just stupid and partially blind and nature thought it would be funny to make all their limbs and dangly bits look an awful lot like their primary food group. lol

As for plants, not many thrive in the low light that Axies like, but I have found that Moss Balls thrive well, and will help you with your cleaning as absorb algae. Other java mosses etc are popular here and so a whole level coated in it would be great (but would obviously mean a lot more cleaning for loose debris)

 

[Spacekittie]

Hugely inspired by this http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...ters-substrate/62407-axolotl-aquascaping.html


A mix of sand and Flora base would be good for plants, easy to clean & will sort out my PH level (I live in a very soft water area).
Having one level slate -tiled is a great idea. I can imagine axies liking the surface with their little paws (feet?). & I found a good article on Caudata Culture, in the building vivs section, about tiles (or here http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-beginner-newt-salamander-axolotl-help-topics/f48-axolotls-ambystoma-mexicanum/f59-tank-set-ups-filters-substrate/64617-new-slate-bottom-axolotl-tank.html?

 

[Spacekittie]

Oh and Thanks Daz for the time you've taken in your replies.
I love the idea of them half-blindly admiring their reflection (or wondering who the other axie is!)
The info on waste is really useful to, very suprising that it doesn't float about. I'll make one of those snazzy bottle vaccum thingies.

 

[Crysta]

I took a look at the full size image in the gallery and it looks like the levels arn't the full way across the tank, rather they are triangular and so the central section of each is open.

This should mean cleaning is not going to be too difficult as there is a huge amount of access space in the front centre.

nice.

if there's enough space for easy cleaning I don't see a problem then, minus an adult axie could be too big, but that's not much of a problem.