Question: New tank, HELP!

[kerosseno]

Season's greetings everyone!

This is my first post in these forums.

I'm veeery excited. My wife has got a tank for me as Xmas present and I can't wait to get an axolotl.

One of her friends apparently is a tropical-fish-tank expert, and he has set everything up, but, as you can imagine, he installed it for tropical fish...

This is the first fish tank I own, and there's so much I need to learn...

Apart from lowering the temperature from 28ºc to 16-18ºc, is there anything else I should do with the tank?

I'm afraid the chemicals might not suit the needs of an axolotl?

As far as I know, he did a "typical tropical" setup. I don't want to risk to put an axolotl inside until I'm sure the water is fine.

I'll try to contact him to give you more info. Thank you in advance anyway and happy Xmas!


Regards,

 

[esn]

If it's set up for tropical fish, make sure there's no gravel. He might have added a heater? If there is one, remove it. As for the chemicals, it depends. If he put salt in there, as some tropical fish keepers do, then that's not good. Avoid copper and malachite green in any chemicals used in the tank. But the dechlorinator should work for both. Considering I use all the same setup (except for heaters and gravel) to keep my frog, fish, and axolotl tanks, it should be fine. It would be nice to get a picture of it to post, so that we can see if there is anything wrong.

Make sure you get an API master test kit, as checking for ammonia levels is very important.

You should look at this link and send it to your buddy, so that you guys can check if there is anything wrong.
Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity

 

[kerosseno]

As you can see, there is a heater. This part of the house is not as warm as the others, should I leave it to keep the water at 18ºc all the time?

I guess I'll have to remove that gravel as axolotls might try to eat it, right?


Thanks!

 

[Bellabelloo]

I would remove the heater completely, the axolotl will love being cooler. The gravel should be removed as there is a danger of impaction, sand or bare bottom will be fine.
Axolotl also don't like too much water movement, so look and see how much disturbance there is from the filter. The axolotl also like to lurk amongst plants
What are the measurements for the tank? Is there a lid that sits on the tank too?
Oh, and welcome to the forum..looking forward to seeing the resident soon

 

[kerosseno]

Tank is 75x25x25cm more or less. It has a porexpan lid, I guess for the water not to evaporate?

Apart from the filter, there is also a pump to create bubbles, the filter doesn't seem to move the water much. Should I remove that?

Thank you so much!

 

[natjobe]

You can try putting something in front of the filter spouts, plants, ornaments, rocks, to help deflect the current. There are also lots of other filter styles you could investigate. Or you could just do no filter and regular water changes. I use a waterfall (over the side style) filter and I use the pop bottle method to disperse the water. Just by cutting the smooth part of the bottle (below the neck of the bottle and above the grooved part). Then cut that cylinder length way along the glue line. Then you can tape the glue side to the top of your filter and wrap the bottom part of the plastic under the waterfall against the glass. Hopefully someone can give you a link for a better explanation! But you have lots of options.

 

[Chirple]

Have you considered having this one for tropical fish and setting up another for an axolotl ?

You wouldn't really be out much to get a 10-20g tank, sponge filter, and basic hides/substrate (if you want any at all).

I just don't know if it's worth you messing with this tank, and making all those changes when you could just start fresh.

 

[kerosseno]

Unfortunately I do not have enough space for another tank : (

Heater and gravel have been removed. Now I have to get the API master test kit and maybe a plant.

And of course an axolotl... I have been checking the foum and I'm afriad it'll be harder than I thought to get one.

I don't feel confident enough to start from eggs, I guess it'd be better to get a juvenile the first time, but buying a golden one in London will not be an easy task : (((

 

[Azhael]

Hola
Bienvenido al foro!

How many litres is the tank? It doesn´t look particularly big to me. Axolotls can get quite large and depending on how big the tank is it may or may not be suitable for an adult.
Apart from getting rid of the gravel and the heater, i´d get rid of the filter too. It´s huge for the tank and it would create way too much of a current. Axolotls are a lake inhabiting species and they much prefer still water.
Substituting the filter for a sponge filter would perhaps be best. If the tank is large enough, then no filtration is necessary. If it´s smallish, the sponge filter would be useful.
Also, you need a secure lid for the tank as well as a couple of hiding places (PVC pipes, pots, whatever..). I´d recommend plants, both for maintaining water quality and as visual barriers, but choose ones that are sturdy and resilient as axolotls are very messy and they will uproot or destroy delicate plants.

I don´t think you´ll have a hard time finding axolotls in the UK...in fact it should be remarkably easy. There are plenty of breeders that will ship to you if you can´t find anything local.
Before you acquire your new animal i´d recommend reading as much as you possibly can, there´s a wealth of information in this forum and the Axolotl.org site. Also take time to cycle the tank properly, prepare food cultures if necessary, etc.

Suerte!

 

[kerosseno]

Getting them posted to me is the best option, but I feel a bit concerned about it. I had a number of bad experiences with couriers...

As for the litres, I have no idea to be honest. Size should be good enough for a juvenile, and I would replace it as he/she grows.

I'll also be purchasing a wormery to recycle our food waste soon. I was wondering if I could feed my axolotl with those worms...

Thank you all for the support!

 

[DingoDoo]

I would remove everything from the tank and just keep the rocks.
All you need is the empty tank, add the rocks and then some declorinated water and thats it. No need for anything fancy.
Decoration is more for the human benefit than for the axolotl.

No need for heating as they love the cold water and that filer takes up too much room and probably powerful too which is bad. Just do without the filter and do manual water changes.

 

[Azhael]

Adrian, if you give us the meassurements of the tank, we´ll tell you the volume.
As for decorations being primarily for the human and not for the axolotl, yes, but, it depends on the kind of decoration. Some kind of hiding spot and visual barriers are highly benefitial for the animal, therefore some "decorations" can be very useful.

 

[kerosseno]

Adrian, if you give us the meassurements of the tank, we´ll tell you the volume.
As for decorations being primarily for the human and not for the axolotl, yes, but, it depends on the kind of decoration. Some kind of hiding spot and visual barriers are highly benefitial for the animal, therefore some "decorations" can be very useful.

It should be around 46L, even though the measures I stated in one of my posts are not exact - cm up or down.