Photo: New tank setup; feedback appreciated

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tinyali

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I think I've finished setting up my tank and I'd appreciate some feedback from all you pros out there. I've attached a picture.

The tank is 140 litres and I plan to start off with one axie, and possibly a second one a bit later. The water has just gone in, but I haven't started cycling yet. I've got some decorations and plastic plants for scenery and some floating plastic duckweed for cover. The aquarium came with lights, but I don't plan on turning them on, especially as I have no live plants at the moment. There is one hide which is 3 short pipes stacked in a triangle (fixed together). I also have a glass jar in there which I was going to attempt to use as a feeding jar, but it may end up being a hide as well. I put a soap dish in to try and create an extra level because the 'footprint' of the tank isn't as large as I'd like, it's a fairly tall tank. There is some slate and aquarium safe river rocks for substrate. I'm pretty sure the rocks are too big to be swallowed but I'll know better once I've got an axie in there. I'll keep an eye on them. There is a heater in there, but it hasn't been switched on. I'll probably take it out because the temperature has been pretty stable as far as I can tell. Even after a weekend with no heating in the house it only went down to 15 degrees C.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts :happy:

PS Taking photos of aquariums is really hard!
PPS I saw a picture of someone else's setup on the forum and they had used a teapot and I have borrowed/stolen the idea. Thank you very much, creative person!
 

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I would probably ditch the rocks, they look like they could be a potential hazard. You wouldn't believe how much Axies can swallow.

I also agree with removing the heater - you won't need it and heaters have been known to randomly malfunction and kill animals. If it's not necessary, don't use it - HOWEVER you could leave it in for cycling the tank as the bacteria like higher temperatures and it will speed up the process.

Also I might invest in some larger hides - those three pipes are going to be WAYYYYY too small, trust me xD My axie is only 2 months old and he would never be able to fit in that (I don't think - my eyes may be seeing the scale wrong XD)
 
I'm loving your sci-fi references and the creativity in this. The soap dish is a pretty cool idea!

You should go ahead and remove the heater. You're never going to use it, so it really has no point to be in there.

I'd give your guys a few more caves, maybe a fake tree stump or something, (because Kaini is right; axies need larger hides) but other than that it looks great! I'm excited to see it inhabited :)

Also, as long as the rocks are WELL beyond the size of the axolotl's head, it should be ok. I'd make sure they're at least 3x the size of their head, though. Keep an eye on it.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. The heater is now out. The rocks ranged in size from about 30mm to 70mm, so I've removed all except the very largest ones. The pipes are about 60mm diameter, will that really be too small? I can't really visualise how big they get. I guess some things you just can't learn from reading! Anyway, I will try and find something bigger this weekend and put an updated photo up.
 
Axolotls get fat. If I hold mine I can't touch my fingers together if I wrap around his body :lol:
 
Re: New tank setup; feedback appreciated UPDATE

Thanks for the feedback everyone!
I have now made a bunch of changes...

All the river rocks have been taken out. The pipe hide is gone and been replaced with 2 larger hides, the Flintstones-type cave in the middle and a fake wood teepee type thing. It was quite 'holey' so I wove some of the plastic plants through it and it looks quite jungly now. The left hand side of the tank does look quite crowded, but there is space behind the plants at the back where they can hide out as well. I left the right side of the tank quite open because I would actually like to see them from time to time! I got rid of the feeding jar and teapot :)() because I didn't want to overcrowd the floor space. I put in another mezzanine (the white thing on the right), which I think I'll use as a feeding tray.

None of my removed tank decorations will go to waste, I have a goldfish who will appreciate them I'm sure. (Separate tank of course).

PS
If I hold mine I can't touch my fingers together if I wrap around his body
Click to expand...
Holy cow!
 

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Hey I hate to say this but over on the aquarium subreddit someone found out that most of the Doctor Who decorations are actually not aquarium safe as the paint eventually peeled and there are metal bits exposed to the water which is really toxic to aquatic life.
 
Boomsloth said:
Hey I hate to say this but over on the aquarium subreddit someone found out that most of the Doctor Who decorations are actually not aquarium safe as the paint eventually peeled and there are metal bits exposed to the water which is really toxic to aquatic life.
Click to expand...

Please could you link to that? I've had a Google and not managed to find it. Thanks.
 
Man! That really sucks. It was a great setup with those ornaments.

Well, your tank will still look awesome, and it's now very safe for your axolotls. Good on you for being so willing to make adjustments for the well-being of your axie!
 
Well I'll certainly keep an eye on those decorations then, and if I do spot the paint bubbling or peeling off I will put up a post on the forum. Thanks for the heads up.
[edit] Just to clarify, there are no animals in the tank yet, so I will leave the offending ornaments in while I cycle the tank and see how they look.
 
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