New potential Axolotl owner, got some tank questions

[Kokiron]

First of all: Is it ok to leave the tank bare-bottom? I'm paranoid about getting one and having it eat sand, plus keeping the sand cleaned out seems kind of like a pain.

How do you guys go about changing your tank water out? When we kept fish before we always made a small bucket or something with some of the water they were already in, put the fish in the bucket, dumped the water out of the tank, replaced it, treated it if needed, and put the fish back in. I'm suspecting that's probably not the best method though, and i'd like to get a grip on GOOD ways to do it before getting one of these little guys because I want to take good care of it.

What kind of container do you use to feed them with and where's the cheapest place online to buy pellets? I can get worms and such from local places that sell live bait, but I don't know of anywhere that would have any kind of pellets they could eat.

If I decide to try hatching from eggs, is the pond skimming/pond water method safe? If not i'll probably have to buy one that's already big enough to eat bait-sized worms and/or pellets, because I don't know of anywhere close that sells anything small enough for the little hatchlings to eat. I do, however, have a good sized pond right across the street from my house.

Lastly, water filters & lighting; I have a filter here at home already, but it's a fish tank filter like this one:
AquaTech Power Filter 5-15 - Walmart.com

That might not be the exact one, but it's made like that. Is one like that safe for them? Also my hood is an older one that uses bulbs instead of LED's, but I think I can potentially get an LED bulb to fit it? I'd be interested in getting a blue LED blub, because i'm very interested in getting a GFP albino. I understand that the light cannot be left on for very long though, because axolotl's are like me and don't like the light very much

 

[Kaini]

1. Yes it is fine to leave the tank bare-bottom, I did when my Axolotl was small because I was worried about him eating sand and it's much easier when they're little.

2. To do water changes I just leave my lotl in the tank and take buckets out of the tank, then replace the water I took out with dechlorianted tap. You can also siphon water out of the tank and into buckets, and do it that way. But either way I leave the animal in the tank - if your tank is cycled you never have to do 100% water changes, just around 20-40% changes a week. (and your tank should certainly be cycled BEFORE you get the animal).

3. Container to feed them with ...? I don't think I understand the question there. Worms are the best food for them, if you can get worms regularly then you shouldn't need pellets at all.

4. If I were in your shoes I would get a juvenile - that way he's already big enough to eat frozen bloodworms or small/cut up earthworms :>

5. Filter - that filter should be fine, you just might have to baffle it since Axolotls don't like strong water flow. Also if it has carbon cartridges I would switch to a permanent media like sponge or ceramic so you don't crash your cycle every time you change the cartridge.

6. lighting - Axolotls don't like any kind of light - they have no eyelids. Shining a light on your GFP is considered pretty cruel - their EYES themselves glow and they can't get away from the light. Even for short periods of time, it will stress out the animal and make it distrustful of you. I wouldn't get GFP just because it glows. If you want to light the tank so you can see the animal, get a low power fluorescent and give the lotl plenty of hides so it can easily get away from the light if it wants to.

 

[Kokiron]

1. Yes it is fine to leave the tank bare-bottom, I did when my Axolotl was small because I was worried about him eating sand and it's much easier when they're little.

2. To do water changes I just leave my lotl in the tank and take buckets out of the tank, then replace the water I took out with dechlorianted tap. You can also siphon water out of the tank and into buckets, and do it that way. But either way I leave the animal in the tank - if your tank is cycled you never have to do 100% water changes, just around 20-40% changes a week. (and your tank should certainly be cycled BEFORE you get the animal).

3. Container to feed them with ...? I don't think I understand the question there. Worms are the best food for them, if you can get worms regularly then you shouldn't need pellets at all.

4. If I were in your shoes I would get a juvenile - that way he's already big enough to eat frozen bloodworms or small/cut up earthworms :>

5. Filter - that filter should be fine, you just might have to baffle it since Axolotls don't like strong water flow. Also if it has carbon cartridges I would switch to a permanent media like sponge or ceramic so you don't crash your cycle every time you change the cartridge.

6. lighting - Axolotls don't like any kind of light - they have no eyelids. Shining a light on your GFP is considered pretty cruel - their EYES themselves glow and they can't get away from the light. Even for short periods of time, it will stress out the animal and make it distrustful of you. I wouldn't get GFP just because it glows. If you want to light the tank so you can see the animal, get a low power fluorescent and give the lotl plenty of hides so it can easily get away from the light if it wants to.

Cool; I do like the GFP because they glow, but if it's mean to them to light the tank for any period of time then I wouldn't do that at all. I wonder about a wall-mounted blacklight that doesn't shine directly on them though, but I may just get an albino or a really dark wild

I asked about food containers because I saw some people here talking about using food bowls for theirs, and saw a post on Tumblr of someone who just started using a bowl with theirs but it was a clear bowl and the poor baby couldn't figure out how it worked for a bit. I didn't know if it was common or not to use a bowl or what kind of bowls were used

 

[Kaini]

I asked about food containers because I saw some people here talking about using food bowls for theirs, and saw a post on Tumblr of someone who just started using a bowl with theirs but it was a clear bowl and the poor baby couldn't figure out how it worked for a bit. I didn't know if it was common or not to use a bowl or what kind of bowls were used

Oh, I get ya now. Yea, I use a food bowl in Zion's (my axolotl) tank so he doesn't suck up too much sand when he eats. But if you're gonna go bare-bottom it's not necessary, it's just to keep them from sucking up sand.

Zion's food bowl is actually a zoo med reptile dish - here he is falling into it like a dork: boop

 

[Kokiron]

Oh, I get ya now. Yea, I use a food bowl in Zion's (my axolotl) tank so he doesn't suck up too much sand when he eats. But if you're gonna go bare-bottom it's not necessary, it's just to keep them from sucking up sand.

Zion's food bowl is actually a zoo med reptile dish - here he is falling into it like a dork: boop

WHAT A HUGE DORK BABY I LOVE HIM

Oh once they get bigger is there an easy way to sex them? Thinking now of getting a white albino and naming it Vladimir, but that would be embarrassing if it turned out to be a female lol

 

[NadeZ]

Cool; I do like the GFP because they glow, but if it's mean to them to light the tank for any period of time then I wouldn't do that at all. I wonder about a wall-mounted blacklight that doesn't shine directly on them though, but I may just get an albino or a really dark wild

I asked about food containers because I saw some people here talking about using food bowls for theirs, and saw a post on Tumblr of someone who just started using a bowl with theirs but it was a clear bowl and the poor baby couldn't figure out how it worked for a bit. I didn't know if it was common or not to use a bowl or what kind of bowls were used

I used pellets for a long time, thinking that they were the easiest option. But as the axolotls get old they will become less interested in pellets and feeding them becomes a huge chore. I've since moved to worms and it's better in every way. You can get them in your garden and set up a worm farm for an endless supply, plus it reduces leftover food waste since the axolotls will rarely let one slip by.

I don't think an LED bulb will go into the fittings for a fluorescent but you can pick up an LED strip kit on ebay for $15 and that gives you remote control of the brightness and color of the light.

As kaini says, the stimulation of the GFP will cause the axolotl distress, particularly if left on for a lengthy period. A lot of people have a black light which they turn on for photos of the GFP axolotls but that's all they should be used for.

 

[Kokiron]

I used pellets for a long time, thinking that they were the easiest option. But as the axolotls get old they will become less interested in pellets and feeding them becomes a huge chore. I've since moved to worms and it's better in every way. You can get them in your garden and set up a worm farm for an endless supply, plus it reduces leftover food waste since the axolotls will rarely let one slip by.

I don't think an LED bulb will go into the fittings for a fluorescent but you can pick up an LED strip kit on ebay for $15 and that gives you remote control of the brightness and color of the light.

As kaini says, the stimulation of the GFP will cause the axolotl distress, particularly if left on for a lengthy period. A lot of people have a black light which they turn on for photos of the GFP axolotls but that's all they should be used for.

Cool, i'll probably end up either getting a really dark colored one or a white albino without the GFP since they're a bit cheaper usually.

Can you start a worm colony and keep it outdoors? I don't think the folks I live with would appreciate worms in the house hahaha. If not I can always just go pick some up from the bait shop periodically.

 

[NadeZ]

Cool, i'll probably end up either getting a really dark colored one or a white albino without the GFP since they're a bit cheaper usually.

Can you start a worm colony and keep it outdoors? I don't think the folks I live with would appreciate worms in the house hahaha. If not I can always just go pick some up from the bait shop periodically.

Yes you can definitely set it up outdoors, and it's a great way to turn some of the food, that we would have thrown away, into something that can be fed to our axolotls.
This is a simple guide to set up a worm farm

 

[Kokiron]

Yes you can definitely set it up outdoors, and it's a great way to turn some of the food, that we would have thrown away, into something that can be fed to our axolotls.
This is a simple guide to set up a worm farm

Thank you! It's really easy for me to find earthworms where I live so getting it started shouldn't be too hard

 

[Kaini]

WHAT A HUGE DORK BABY I LOVE HIM

Oh once they get bigger is there an easy way to sex them? Thinking now of getting a white albino and naming it Vladimir, but that would be embarrassing if it turned out to be a female lol

He is quite silly XD

They generally can't be sexed until they're around a year old, but once they reach that point it's pretty obvious if you have a male - they will have ... man parts.

 

[Kokiron]

Deluxe Aqua Tech 10 20 Power Filter | eBay

Here's the exact pump that I have; what kind of filter should I get to put in it instead of one of those junky carbon ones that you're supposed to buy for it (and where do I get said filters, and/or can you makeshift one)?

Also the little cap on the end of the pickup tube that goes in the water is broken. The little cap was just a long slotted thing that I assume was there to prevent anything big from going up the tube, so if I get a screen to put over it it should still be usable right?

I'll probably end up getting an entirely new pump eventually anyway, this one is pretty old. Still runs though.

 

[Kaini]

You can buy filter media to put into the filter instead of the carbon - search for Marineland ceramic rings or filter floss. I put the rings in the bottom of my filters and top it with the floss.

If the intake is broken you should indeed cover it with something, or get a new one haha.

 

[Kokiron]

I'm a hillbilly so i'll rig a piece of screen into it to keep anything from swimmin' up the tube. I'll check on those ceramic rings; i'd seen them before but I wasn't sure how they worked. You just put em down in there?

 

[Kaini]

I'm a hillbilly so i'll rig a piece of screen into it to keep anything from swimmin' up the tube. I'll check on those ceramic rings; i'd seen them before but I wasn't sure how they worked. You just put em down in there?

Just make sure the screen isn't metal or attached with anything metal - metal obviously doesn't to well long term in water. So make sure whatever you use is aquarium safe and won't be sharp or cut your lotl.

Yep, pretty much. You just put them down in the filter. the beneficial bacteria live in them.

 

[Kokiron]

Just make sure the screen isn't metal or attached with anything metal - metal obviously doesn't to well long term in water. So make sure whatever you use is aquarium safe and won't be sharp or cut your lotl.

Yep, pretty much. You just put them down in the filter. the beneficial bacteria live in them.

Word. Maybe i'll get one of those little baggies I saw on ebay to put them in so they're easy to get out if I need to get them out, too.

 

[Sweetie]

Zion's food bowl is actually a zoo med reptile dish - here he is falling into it like a dork: boop

Omigod, that is the cutest thing ever. He is ADORABLE. :angel:
Meanwhile, what a great idea the feeding bowl is. My axie Boris has a feeding corner he waits in for his food, and that's a great help to him because he can easily shovel food out of the corner into his mouth. But of course the dish would be even better. Somehow, the idea of putting food into a dish at the bottom of a tank of water never even occurred to me...

 

[Kokiron]

I'm back with another question: when it comes to sponge media for filters, do I have to buy one specifically made for use in an aquarium, or can I just like...get a regular sponge and cut it to fit?

 

[Kaini]

I'm back with another question: when it comes to sponge media for filters, do I have to buy one specifically made for use in an aquarium, or can I just like...get a regular sponge and cut it to fit?

Most 'regular' sponges you find at the store will have a warning that says 'NOT FOR AQUARIUM USE' on it. So I would personally go looking for sponge specifically meant for aquariums. Other sponges such as cleaning sponges they treat with agents to keep them from growing bacteria. Which funnily enough is what you WANT to happen in an aquarium.

 

[Kokiron]

Most 'regular' sponges you find at the store will have a warning that says 'NOT FOR AQUARIUM USE' on it. So I would personally go looking for sponge specifically meant for aquariums. Other sponges such as cleaning sponges they treat with agents to keep them from growing bacteria. Which funnily enough is what you WANT to happen in an aquarium.

Cool; if I cant find any aquarium specific sponges next time i'm out, I found some on ebay for around 4 dollars from china lol.

Anyone know if wal-mart or tractor supply keeps the water testing kits in-store? Wal-mart has it on their website but it's also almost 40 dollars when I could get it from amazon for ten dollars or more cheaper than that. If I can find it in-store though, my local wal-mart will price match prices found on amazon. I've heard the test strips are bad so I guess i'll avoid those altogether.

 

[Kaini]

My wal-mart doesn't stock liquid kits. I bought my Api freshwater kit on amazon. And you're right, avoid strips, they're generally useless. Not sure about tractor supply tho : o