23°C is a bit too high. The best temperature is between 14°C-20°C.
There are several cooling options, one more easily obtained than the other.
First off, we have aquarium chillers:
These are definitely the easiest, since you don't have to monitor the temperature at all; the chiller does it for you. However, this is the costliest option. A chiller (depending on the amount of water that needs to be cooled) can easily set you back between 300-600 dollars or euros.
I do however know of people who use old refrigerators and a self-made tube system to cool their water down.
Either way, with a chiller or an old fridge, they both take up space so take that into account.
Second, we have cooling fans:
These are placed at the border of your aquarium and blow air on the surface of the water, effectively cooling it down, like
this. These are a much cheaper option; but do require some monitoring since most don't come with an automatic temperature monitoring system.
There are ways to make your own aquarium fans with cheap materials (such as CPU fans), but you need to know your way around electrics.
Thirdly, you have the frozen water bottle system:
This involves keeping a lot of bottles filled with water in your freezer. You put some (depending on the amount of water needing to be cooled down) in your tank. When the water inside has (almost) completely melted again, you switch them out with other bottles from the freezer, and freeze the frozen ones again.
This requires almost constant monitoring of the temperature however, and requires space in the freezer, and a lot of bottles. It's the most fickle option in my opinion, but the cheapest.
It can get quite challenging in a heat wave though. In summer time, it can get quite difficult to go on a weekend trip (unless you have someone to stay in your house for a few days).
Now, onto the food.
The best adult axolotl food (your axolotl is best 18cm or longer) is always earthworms. You can dig them up from your garden if you don't use pesticides, or you can buy them at a fishing supply store.
You can also set up a small worm farm. This isn't difficult at all, their food is simply leftovers from uncooked fruits and vegetables and the likes, and they breed on their own. That way you won't have to dig them up from your garden or spend money to buy them.
Here's a link on how to set it up.
If your axolotl is still quite small however, feeding it cubes of frozen blood worms should be fine. They can be found in almost any pet store. Everything that hasn't been eaten after about half an hour should be cleaned up however; or the worms will decompose and foul your water.
Baby and juvenile axolotls should be fed every day if possible because they need the energy for growth.
Adults are usually fed once every two days. One big worm for one axolotl should suffice, but not all axolotls are always the same. A good way to tell if your adult is healthy in weight is to measure the width of its head against the width of its body. They should be equal in width.
Here concludes my long tutorial on keeping healthy axolotls
Quite long.
Also remember, if you have any other questions, or if you are worried about something and suspect your axolotl might be sick, feel free to ask questions. There are no stupid questions here.
And welcome
