Moving juveniles into larger homes?

[gershco]

I first posted this in the Housing Forum, but recieved almost zero response. I hope nobody minds me posting again in this forum.

I have one 4 inch and six 2 inch babies that are currently housed in small plastic containers. The 4 incher is alone while the others are in groups of 3. They are happily eating thawed bloodworm and are growing nicely. I am changing the water daily and moving them to cleaned containers every few days. [I've actually separated all the axies as there have been a couple of biting incidents!]

Should I be thinking about moving them into larger homes? If yes, what size tanks? Can I put many axies together? Do I need to cycle the tanks first and if so how? If they are Ok in their small plastic containers, how big could they get before they need to be moved?

I know I've asked a lot. Hopefully people won't mind giving me some answers!

 

[Bellabelloo]

This is what I plan to do with my gang when they are bigger, I have 24. They are currently in two shallow trays about 9'' long by 6'' and approx 1'' deep. the larvae here are at their front legs. This weekend they are going to be placed in slightly smaller but deeper trays in groups of similar size until they have their back legs are fully formed.
I have a 3 ft tank that is divided into 2 seperating the parents from each other ( I do not want more eggs) . I suspect that I'll be re-homing my female as I have not found any space yet for another tank ( I say yet as I have a small daughter who says she'll go and live with Maude if I send her to a new home!)
When Maude has vacated her section of tank I aim to put the axolittles that I'd like to keep in there. ( maybe 6 ish) this half measures approx 18'' by 12'' by 18''. It has lots of plants in there at present in preperation. This is really going to be treated as a nursery tank , hopefully spring time ( April ish) or once it gets warmer I'll put some of the six into a 2 ft tank out side in the cold frame . The other 18 will be going to new homes/ aquarium shop. I don't aim to keep all of the 6, I am aiming to keep just the 2 in the end!.
With regards to your question I suppose it all boils down to space and what you have available tank wise. While they are so small you can afford to keep them in smaller tanks i.e the biggest one solo in a 12'' tank and the other smaller ones could also go in 3's into a similar size tank..but as they grow they will all need more space ( i think its 30cm squared per axolotl is the ideal) . The tanks will need to be cycled unless you want to continue with the daily daily cleaning. If i had space i'd raise mine ( the 6)possibly even in one large plastic storage box container with loads of pond plants for cover.
I hope my rambling helps rather than confuses!!

 

[gershco]

Having read some other posts and taken advice, the issue seems even more complicated...

If I put the axies together it's more than likely they will eat each other unless I can make sure that each axie gets his fill of food. This won't be easy unless I can make sure they don't move around too much during feeding time and I can hand feed each one. On top of that I've got to make sure the water is cycled before I can put the axies into it.

It might be easier to put them into ever larger plastic containers as they grow, decide how many of them we are going to keep, sell the rest and then move the ones (probably two) we are keeping to their permanent residence.

 

[Jennewt]

Continuing to keep them in single containers like that is fine. How large are the containers?

When I had axies that size (2-4 inches), I was keeping about 4-5 of them (of similar sizes) per tub using large tubs. I fed them earthworms every day and didn't have any problem with attacks. They go through a more-cannibalistic phase, but yours have probably outgrown the worst part of that. Don't combine the 4-incher with the 2-inchers though, that's asking for trouble.

 

[gershco]

The 4 incher is in a 9 inch by 6 inch container with 2 inches of water, while the smaller axies are in 7 inch by 5 inch containers with 1.5 inches of water. I change about 80% of the water each day and move the axies into cleaned containers once a week.

They are eating thawed bloodworm, though I plan to try trout pellets soon. Could I use small worms taken from my compost heap?

 

[Jennewt]

Yes, small compost worms are an ideal food. They will grow quickly on those.

 

[philbaker76]

The breeder we got our adult Axolotls from - breeds and rears hundreds of Axolotls. He keeps them in large plastic tubs - storage tubs/bins - bit like this one:

As long as the Axolotls have enough room, they are fed well, correct water conditions and roughly the same size - you shouldn't have any problems.