Question: New Axolotl owner, read plenty (now: diary of Fred's new owner)

[dazkeirle]

well i think I now have an explanation for Fred's lack of poo being seen.

Today he passed another 4 pieces of white gravel, thats quite a lot now probably enough to cover the inner palm of my hand in two weeks.

With each citing is more poo surrounding it so it looks like he's freeing up his bowels.

I am a little upset and traumatised about it all. I may have only had him 2 weeks but the knowledge of all that gravel in his belly maybe explains why to me he has days when he seems sad ( may sound strange but..)

I've no idea if this is why he doesn't really swim about except when startled, but as he passed more and more gravel he is out a lot more, and climbing about on the log and the trees and walls etc.

May also be mad, but I think his gills are recovering, i though he only had two on each side, or two fused but i believe the stumps are growing out. Thin filament covered in feathers can be seen, hopefully he'll recover fully.

I didn't know I was adopting such a vulnerable creature from the start, i thought coming from a home who had looked after him for 8 months meant that, it appears e may have been in just as bad a deal as in a pet shop.

Still Fred, the days of Cube cat biscuits, filthy water and gravel are behind you. Think of it as being your reward for your time spent as a P.O.W.

 

[tomkeogh]

At least you are aware he is very hardy it sound's like he has had a tough time.

It is great to see someone like you doing all they can, especially after the bad advice you were given to start with.

My axolotl were on gravel for 48hours and were still passing 6 weeks later.

Although it is a good thing you are worried about his gills and swimming do not put too much emphasis on it, my two live in a large tank with perfect water levels good constant temperature, good food and loads of hides and plants one of them has quit small 'raggid' gills and the other has massive fluffy curly gills (yes I said curly but I assure you she is happy)
my leucistic swims quiet a bit but my albino only really does this at feeding time (although during the night I imagine they are more active)

 

[ted22]

Dude the light looks nice I bet it doesnt even bother fred u,ll definately be seeing alot more of him now! I love the light is it always that dim or is that coz the whole room is dark? also how have you positioned it? just stuck it in the hood or can these go in the water? Fred looks soo cool im getting really tempted with a nice luestic axie those black eyes look wicked with the white skin!

 

[jclee]

It's official. I've fallen in love with Fred. That is one cute video.

It sounds like he's passing the gravel with more and more ease, since you're spotting poo in the mix. Give him time, and I'm sure he'll be just fine.

 

[dazkeirle]

It's official. I've fallen in love with Fred. That is one cute video.

It sounds like he's passing the gravel with more and more ease, since you're spotting poo in the mix. Give him time, and I'm sure he'll be just fine.

aw thanks Jcee. He is a friendly little thing.

Cute I suppose is the word, he's very cautious of everything, doesn't really enjoy swimming and is easily shocked.

I think of him like a small puppy, perhaps a small puppy from a rescue home. He'll be fine, but for now he still associates everything with his aggressor. He's getting better and better though.

I'm going to teach him to swim about though, was thinking that tonight I'll fill the baster with live blood worms, give him a little spray to get him going then get him swimming about to get them, rather than him eating them from the sand surface.

Either that or install some kind of shelf high in the tank so he has to get some exercise to get the food.

In time I know a big tank is on the card and already have my eye on a 120 litre one for him.

Dude the light looks nice I bet it doesn't even bother fred u,ll definately be seeing alot more of him now! I love the light is it always that dim or is that coz the whole room is dark? also how have you positioned it? just stuck it in the hood or can these go in the water? Fred looks soo cool im getting really tempted with a nice luestic axie those black eyes look wicked with the white skin!

The light is very acceptable for Fred, he actually comes out to it now, seems to help him see food and what not.

While it's dim, it's a balanced light, more that the light makes everything glow glow as opposed to there being a light source itself.

I actually removed the original bulb, and tapes the light strip where the old lamp used to be.

It's very low profile, so much so that it fits in that little 5mm lip in the lid so even when it's on, with the flap removed from the hood you can't see the light source from looking straight on.

I don;t think it "should" go in the water, although on my first tape attempt with some "waterproof" tape i came home to find it floating. So i used regular selotape and literally covered it, no such issue.

This should help explain:

Well I now have a turkey baster so have been spot cleaning. It's usefull for cleaning that grass out, a quick blow and out comes the dead worms and poop. I gotta be quick though else Fred will have another go at feeding.

I accidentally squirted Fred with the turkey baster yesterday underwater, not at force or anything but i think he got upset. He shot up to where the moss ball is and stayed there clinging to the glass. He eventually came down but only after swimming onto the bubbles and propelling himself up into the air a few times lol.

We've made up since then.


To say sorry I've just bought some fancy aquarium backing for him jut like this (but i got from ebay) : http://www.petscrazy.co.uk/index.php?case=product&proddb=7&pid=20

Unfortunately always one for a deal I got 4x to much i only need 1 600mm2 sheet and have 3 coming and a 450mm2 sheet too, so false economy on the deal really. Still have some spare for the second tank, or in case anybody wants to buy some from me, once I get it on display.

That really is it for this tank though

He doesn't like swimming in the bubbles like Gomez etc, but i have caught him several times waving his gills, face or arms in the wall.

Check it out:

And here's a few more good 'uns

 

[Mac Myers]

Great Pics!

 

[ted22]

Those pics are nice Fred looks soo nice he does have a very timid look about him, you might just have a shy one! Gomez loves playing with the turkey baster i squirt the top of his head and he chases it around haha I dont torment him with it, its only if he starts it!! (hes been a nutter hes only just settled down after 3days of non-stop going nuts! got some wicked footage tho, hours and hours worth!) Gonna have to invest in some of those lights tis a nice solid glow and nice and compact seeing as I have a very makeshift hood at the mo n thinking about a mesh screen lid so no tube mounts so those L.E.Ds would be perfect!

I love the fact that you seem to be trying to teach fred to swim, bless him!

 

[dazkeirle]

After coming back from the gig last night to find that the flat's temperature was high and the tank at 22 degrees I decided something needed to be done (although i got it back down to 20.5 pretty sharpish).

So today I've just reserved one of these: Buy Challenge Air Conditioner. at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for .

We're using a couple in work, and £110 for 9000 BTU is pretty decent value.

It'll be handy just to bring the room temp down in bursts when it gets really uncomfortable.

I don't see it as a cooling solution to Fred's tank, but his water temp will be easier to maintain if the ambient temp is lower int he room so I'll keep y'all posted, however if you are looking for a small remote controlled Air con in the uk, this is a steal.

Also regarding my idea to get Fred swimming I've stumbled across these:

PUMP SHELF (EXTRA LARGE) - CheapPetProducts.Net

I'm still trying to locate them in the uk but I think would be a perfect feeding shelf for Fred. It'd keep his food out of the sand, and would promote a little exercise swimming up to another level, about 4 inches from water surface which is perfect.

thoughts?

 

[ted22]

Yo Daz those little shelves look perfect its so funny trying to teach an axie to swim haha! Gomez diddnt really leave the bottom (except for the occasional giulp of air) untill I got the lighting right and since ive been feeding every other day I have noticed he only swims about on feeding day(he doesnt do much on his day off, just sits in his cave poking his head out!) coz I feed him crickets (Gomez loves them!) and they swim about on the surface for ages before they take a dive moving about alot to stimulate him to head up there, he just mops up he sinkers later! So I think hes just learned to stay near the surface its where the foods at! (the crickets sometimes sit on abit of floating plant so if he wants em hes gotta go up n get em!) but as well as the shelf ive got a thick canopy of leaves near the surface which he likes to sit on and rummage through so keeps him high up in the tank. Or maybe he just loves swimming! Try a live floating food like crickets (you can gut load em with loadsa healthy stuff!) or some guppys they might encourage him to move abit more if he has to catch his food! make him work for his food, maybe try taller plants so he can perch on em near the top to make it abit easier for him!

Was just thinkin, I dont think gomez is as fat as ive been led to belive, its just in the videos ive posted hes always all full of air he swallows loads to keep himself bouyant when he swims about haha when he burps it all out and mooches on the bottom his tummy is definately thinner than his head! Had to get him out of the tank yesterday (had to drain it to put it on a stand) he looks so much bigger without the glass in the way hes a proper little monster and just keeps growing hes 10in now!

Keep toying with the idea of getting him a house mate but im so bloody paranoid just read a thread about agressive axie and the other ones legs grew back backwards ahhhh! I know these axies were only 5in but i just couldnt let that happen to gomez, i dont want him to have backwards legs!

anyways i went on abit

Love what your doing dude and ******* love Fred hes got alot of character, then all axies seem to theyre such funny little things, wish i was an axalotl!

Good luck with the swimming lessons! can just imagine fred practising with a float haha!

Nice one!

 

[dazkeirle]

That's for the long reply matey

Crickets is something I'm gonna go for. Earthworms have been tricky to get due to the weather, and that I haven't really had time to go digging. Petsathome even do crickets for their reptiles so may pop down at lunch.

If Axies like em and they float about, brilliant I'm all over it.

Regarding Fred's placidity, I'm starting to think he just acts all bashful around me, or is afraid of me as I'm the one who does the water changes, turns the bubbles and fans on etc. Maybe he thinks I'm the aggressor.

Last night got a txt from the mrs saying he'd been doing back flips, swimming about and generally performing. Needless to say by the time I got home he was back to plodding about.

What does tick me off was that I was late home, as went out to drop £110 on an air con unit to keep the little diva even cooler on these hot days.

All this money I'm spending and he gives her the attention. Fred is definitely a dude.

What does concern me though is Ali (my GF) said he was doing a lot of swimming by the filter, and looked as though he got his gills caught in the inlet. She turned it off immediately and he escaped, and I'm sure was just messing rubbing them on the sponge but still. As I've opened it i know there are no moving parts at the bottom, just sponge, and his gills look fine, but this worries me somewhat so may have have to spend a little of this months bread on a lower power filter (he may also like that there's less current).

Any recommendations on a lower current filter for a 60l tank anyone?

As I'm half done cycling and ammonia is starting to drop, I don't want to start again, so will leave the old in there (off) even with the new filter (on) to allow bacteria to form on the new.

Don't go worrying about Gomez mate, In my opinion he's one of the best looking and liveliest Axies on these boards and I think many people would love a little Gomez, The fact he's melanoid just tops it off really as I'm yet to see any.

Should you decide to use that old tank of your as a breeder, (wink wink) I'll happily raise some fry in my old (wait I mean current) tank.

Back to food, it's clear that cat buscuits to bloodworm have given Fred a new lease of live, he's passed a lot of gravel, his skin is white (or pink after eating), his gills look great (and literally change colour during a meal, but only with live bloodworms, you gotta try it though if you have a luec / albino) and he's now at a size that looks proportioned with good energy levels.

I think it's not time to push some Earthworms, Crickets and other goodies onto him, so he can vary it up (although I bet he's so dopey he wouldn't even notice them unless they swam into his face).

Hopefully new backing will turn up today, and the largest pieces are big enough to add just 1 piece to current tank, so think I'll just slide it in and secure the top with tape, and the bottom with the sand. I'll use silicon and do a permanent job on the bigger tank when I get that. Expect pics

 

[Mac Myers]

Just need to say it again. Gut load the crickets on high quality gut load, fish flakes, multi vitamin powder (they will eat it), etc. and make sure that they are hydrated. You have to find some earthworms... they are easily cultured even if you have to buy the first batch. :happy:

 

[dazkeirle]

earthworms are not going to be a problem

As mentioned earlier I've got a Venus Flytrap Nursery, my partner who has the land has just bought a massive wormery, with thousands of worms available so not gonna have a problem with worms

As for the crickets I'm gonna pick some up after work. I'll make sure to get some fish flakes too for now, until i can source some protein powder (unless they sell that too).

Do I need to do a lot to look after the crickets to keep them alive long enough for them to be food?

How many can Fred realistically eat a day, and how long will the crickets last in the boxes I buy them in without any additional support (not sure i want them as pets ).

 

[ted22]

Yeah man gomez only swims about when im around when ever anyone else is in the room he hides at the back haha! Funny little personalities!

Just got him a nice lifesize skull ornament to hide in, and tonight im gettin some guppys out of my other tank my mate is keeping for me for Gomez to chase down doubt they'll last long! (I have this stubborn one that refuses to get eaten tho!)

As for crickets I just have a medium sized cricket keeper and just buy one tub of crickets at a time and cleaning it out everytime ive used em all for the next batch!

To gutload em, ive used bug grub powder stuff, lettuce, cucumber, celery, carrots, cereal, oats, fish food, berries, seeds (pumpkin seeds, very healthy!) all sprinkled in abit of calcium dust! they eat pretty much any fruit/veg/seeds/berries and commercial food and can get pretty big and hopefully all that healthy stuff you feed the crickets gets into your aixes! Just make sure you go for silent ones! also maybe avoid locusts theyre rubbish swimmers, they just die instantly haha!

(little tip... put the moisture food (fruit veg) on a little dish or something just to stop it touching the dry food as it goes mouldy quick!)

also cricket keepers are good coz they have tubes (can use loo roll tube for same effect) that get full of crickets so you dont have them jumpin round the room trying to catch em with giant tweezers, you just gotta keep it clean as it can get smelly!

Thing is, now he knows I can give him such big juicy crickets he doesnt even go near blood worms just not interested think theyre too small to bother with!) he also likes mealworms (fed only occasionally with there heads crushed) and wax worms (also fed occasionally as they are very fatty (axies love em tho!) mix things up abit, just keep it balanced!

Edit: about the filter, the suction on it is soo weak it wont bother Fred certainly not powerful enough to suck his gills in, only thing id say is push the sponge in the V shape bit all the way down so the gills cant get caught in the gaps!

 

[jclee]

If the intake seems to be a problem, you might try covering it with some pantyhose before giving up and finding another filter altogether.

I will confess that, once in a rare while, I hand-feed my axies a cricket or two, just for kicks. They're not a good staple, but the axolotls will catch on quickly and swim over or up to your hand to get the cricket. This also means that they'll forever be interested in swimming over to your hands and gulping at your fingers (which can be a pain when it's time to clean up the tank).

 

[dazkeirle]

cheers for replies guys.

I actually went to get Crickets before reading either so returned with just some silent 4th's (Whatever they are) and a thing of goldfish / cold water fish flakes as the startings of a gut loading set up (as didn't know the full recipe then).

Looks like I'm going to need a lot more stuff.

Looking at what you're saying Ted I reckon a nice addition would be unsweetened muesli, full of protein and energy for the little dude.

Anyway first experience with Crickets, not as stressful as was anticipated but not a walk in the park either.

Wanted to add 2, did so, although 3 appeared on the surface, the first escapee. Shaking from the plastic take away box they come in is not the idea solution.

After 40 mins of Fred looking mad, randomly digging and basically jumping up and down trying to find the food source on the floor i gave him a pointer and dragged one down with some forceps. He ate it pretty quickly, looking at me very confused. As he sucked it in and out.

No.2, tried the same again but accidentally caught his body, squashing it. This made it sink while the front still worked and although he kind of buzzed past Fred, I think he was full and left it to die.

It wasn't there this morning though.

No.3 managed to crawl in up behind the filter and squish itself. I released it and left it floating on the surface. Fred either went and got it or it sunk, as a water change and clean up didn't show any signs this morning.

So 3 crickets, albeit without any additives, and no decent swimming yet. Patience is a virtue.

Only thing I quickly noticed is even when wet, they cn climb and were quickly sussing out the filter wire, so need to make sure that those wires lead up to the top of the tank pinched by the hood, and not the gaps at the back. Same goes for airlines.

I'll be getting a Kricket Keeper though. And I've got em outside in my bin cupcoard so smell or anything that goes with keeping them doesn't really matter.

The sponge is right down in the v of the filter, I think the gill incident may have been an accident of Ali over reacting. She does have bad eye sight too.

One final thing, on inspection i found some more poop in his long and also some outside but again over 2 days I've found another 7-8 pieces of white gravel. I'm amazed how much these things can eat.

I wish I'd kept each piece to weigh in, see how much of Fred was Fred at the beginning.

 

[dazkeirle]

totally off topic, but look at this Luecistic I just found on Youtube!

Looks like a Wild at first, then you see the white skin underneath with bright pink gills! Awesome.

YouTube - Spot the axolotl turns out to be a girl

 

[jclee]

That is pretty wild looking.

 

[dazkeirle]

well it's been done, Fred is a swimmer!

All it takes is a little encouragement of some Crickets across the surface and he can't stand not to check it out.

I got him interested by turning everything off in the tank, so all his senses were being bombarded by the annoying sound of Crickets!

This isn't the first video, in that he managed to push them all behind the filter and then grabbed and ate one, but that doesn't make great TV and is still being processed, however while that was processing I caught him here on my phone, and it's a great little vid.

The first minute or so he still is favouring spiderman like climbing, which he does a lot, but then he has enough!

Check it out!

edit: go to 2 mins in for action, lol soz should have edited.

YouTube - Fred the Axolotl swimming for food

 

[HMAxolotl]

I thought you was lieing for the first 2 mins but i saw it you finally got him to swim .. It looked like he was standing up i thought that was really funny... Watch out Gomez, Freds the new star in hollywood :grin:

 

[ted22]

Dude im so glad the live food idea worked, axies just cant resist something twitching! (Ive found that since using larger crickets i have alot more sinkers, theyre okay if they land feet first, little ones seem to be better in the water but its fun watching a big juicy one get swallowed whole!) was thinkin a guppy or two might also get him swimming about but ive had a couple of lairy ones so might freak fred out, mountain minnows would be ideal tho if he can catch em!

When watchin fred swim he seems to be alot heavier than gomez but gomez takes huge gulps of air from the surface to keep him bouyant n burps it out to sink, maybe fred hasnt figured that one out yet (or might just still be full of stones! you seen any more?) im glad its all coming together for you and fred, hes a real character!

I havnt seen gomez for ages, I got him a nice lifesize skull to hide in and apart from poking his head out to have a munch i havnt seen him for 3days he's just hiding in his new skull haha! and the last post was right gomez better watch his back! gotta try and have the camera in hand to catch some guppy hunting!

Take it easy dude your doin a crackin job, more pics n vids please! haha!