New To Axolotls with Questions

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CapnClive

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Hello everyone!

I am currently in the process of preparing an axolotl tank for my axolotls that I will be acquiring in the future. My set up will consist of a 40g breeder (36inx18inx17in). I plan to use a filstar canister filter with a spray bar as my filter and childrens play sand as the substrate. I would like to ultimately have a planted tank (Ive gotten a list of good plants from the the forum already).

I plan to feed earthworms as the main source of food for my axolotls and I plan to start a farm within the next few days. The tank is still in the process of being set up and will be cycled for about 2 weeks before I get the axolotls.

My questions are how much sand should be used and if there are any more specifics that I should look into when buying the sand. Do I need a certain type of play sand or will any play sand work? Also I plan to house 2 axolotls in my tank and I was curious as to if the tank would support atleast 2 axies. Ive also read on the forum that the axolotls should be from different breeders if any breeding were to happen by chance but I was wondering if this was necessary. My local pet store sells axolotls but I dont think they get very many in that often so I dont know how possible it will be to acquire 2 axies from 2 different batches of eggs. I was also curious as to how much/often you should feed your axies and if the worms I get from outside (Im in Ohio) will be a good source of nutrition and will be a good worm to start a worm farm.

Sorry for the long post but I am really excited to get my new little ones in the future and I just want to make sure I have everything correct before I start! :D
 
Sounds like your done your research :)

40g is fine for 2, you could even put in 3. As for the sand, use no more than an inch thick. It can cause gases to build up and when stirred up can be quite toxic. When you do a weekly clean gently stir the sand to prevent this happening over time. The finer the sand, the better. Any play sand should be fine, avoid aquarium sand that looks quite jaggered.

Some people from the forum believe it's not THAT detremental to breed frmo the same clutch but I personally wouldn't do it, or want to own one knowing it was bred with parents or siblings. But like I said, its not that bad.

As for feeding it depends on each axolotl, I had one who ate only a couple and stayed plump, and the other ate like a piggy and didn't become overweight. A good indicator of weight is their bodies being as wide as their heads. If it's thinner you can feed more, if it's thicker, cut back a little.

If the area you plan to get worms from are pesticide and chemical free it would be okay, a lot of other members go to home depots or gardening/DIY places to pick up packs of worms to start their worm farms.
 
Just a question, how long have you cycled your tank in total? It will take atleast a month (sometimes even two or three) to get it ready. If it's not ready once the axolotls come, you'll have to do water changes every day to keep ammonia and nitrites down in safe levels and that will cause it to take even longer to get enough biological filtration in there to take care of all the ammonia axies produce.

And one tip about the worms, make sure to get something like eisenia fetida. They'll breed faster and in warm temperatures. Some other worms need for example deep cold soil to breed so you can't really use those in your worm farm.

If you're getting your axies from a pet store you could ask them where they came from. If they didn't come from a private breeder there's a chance they might not be related. For example axies in finnish pet stores often come from Sweden or Russia from big wholesale places so even if you get two at a time from a pet store, there's a chance they're not related.

As for sand, try to get the softest smoothest one possible. And like Hayley said an inch is plenty enough. Axies will dig and push it around so you still might end up with huge piles in some places that you'll have to be careful to stir regularly to avoid anaerobic gases from forming.
 
I am currently in the process of getting my tank set up so I have not cycled it at all yet but plan to do so as soon as possible! I'm just trying to get all of my questions out of the way before I start cycling. I actually just finished staining my stand that I built the other day so my next step is to get some sand and start my worm farm so I'm looking into doing that within the next few days!

I will be sure to ask my pet store where they get their axies from when the time comes so hopefully there will be no concern with whether or not they are related.

About how much sand should be needed to cover the bottom of my tank at an inch depth? About 50lbs or more than that? Also does it matter if the tank is cycled before I put plants into the tank or will they survive as the cycling process is taking place? Does any one know of good hides to get for axies that aren't PVC? I don't really like the bright white look inside the tank so I was wondering if there was another cheap alternative that looks better! My last question is if it's recommended to add some feeders during the cycling process to further t along or not?

Thanks for all the help and advice! It's much appreciated!
 
You'd need about 17 kg of fine sand. That's a bit under 40 lbs I think?

The plants will be fine during cycling if you want to put them in there, but they're not necessary for cycling. But it is good to put some of your decoration in there during cycling too because the bacteria will grow on those too.

You can get caves and tunnels big enough for axies on Ebay sometimes. Just search something like "aquarium hides". For example I have one of these. I have a javafern growing out of that tree stump so it looks pretty nice. Or you can just cover your pvc pipe with some aquarium silicone and sand, maybe add some rocks to it, and it'll already look a lot better.

Small feeder fish don't really do much for your cycle and they will suffer from the ammonia too. It's better to just buy some ammonia and add that in your tank while cycling.
 
This is absolutely wonderful that you asked these questions. I was wondering the same things because i have a 40 gallon that I'm decorating and about to cycle as well and I also hate the PVC hides and don't like the usual stone hides so your questions were marvelous and the replies just as awesome and very helpful.
 
For hides a lot if people use driftwood, terracotta pots, premade aquarium hides (that are smooth) and PVC pipes. If you don't like the PVC pipes you can always silicon sand or gravel(make sure the gravel is very secure!) to it to hide the white plastic look.
 
Today I ended up getting my whole tank set up and in the cycling process! I decided to use large river rock as the substrate instead of sand. I'll be sure to keep up on the maintenence that comes with rocks over sand since food and other waste can get stuck in the large gaps between the rocks. The rocks are all bigger than the size of an axolotls head so I don't believe there should be any such problem to occur during food consumption.

As for hides I decided to use large stones that I found outside. I made sure to disinfect and scrub each rock to ensure it being cleanly while also taking into account the surface of the rock to make sure it was not too rough.

I was wondering if I would still be able to have love plants using the river rock substrate that I have chosen. I didn't know if plants would be able to take root and survive in large river rock like i have or if I should just pot the plants when I purchase them. I would prefer to have them in the substrate because I find that to be more appealing but if I need to pot them then I would be willing to do that. Does anyone have any suggestions? Also if I do have to pot the plants what should I use to pot them? Do I use sand or small gravel?

Thank all!
 
Don't use any gravel in the tank, your Axolotl can eat it. I have cleaned about 12 pieces of gravel out of my tank that my albino Axolotl ingested at the pet shop before I got her/him. luckily it was small and smooth so it's passed through relatively quickly, but the belly is still bloated from it.
 
If you get something like anubias, javafern or moss, you can just tie them onto the river rocks or if you can wedge them in some of the gaps that'll be fine too.
 
The river rock is about 1.5-2inches in diameter so that should be be any trouble to the axolotls correct? I know very fine sand would be better in most cases but the only sand u could find had a grain size that I was not comfortable with and I had read that large stones as substrate was still an acceptable form of substrate.
 
I've been reading a lot and have come to he conclusion that sand is preferred over large rocks. I didn't spend much on the river rocks so I would be willing to change to sand since my tank is still in the process of being cycled anyway and I would like for my axies to have the best environment possible! I would just like to know any suggestions on sand as I have only been able to find play sand that I believe to have to large of a grain size. Also any tips on cleaning the sand?

Thanks!


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Also I was wondering if having a sponge filter would lower the temp of the water at all. I plan to make one myself anyway but I was just curious if it would.


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Just to add some personal experience, I had large river rocks and finally got rid of them last week, I can't even begin to tell you how impossible the rocks were. I cleaned around them every day for a while and thought all was good and clean but when I had to dump the tank there was so much grossness in there I can't even tell you. its just really impossible especially when you consider cleaning in and around hides and stuff too. Unless you do completely dump the tank every week or two it just is never really clean
 
Today i switched out my river rocks for sand and it went very well! :D The sand i used was Quikrete Play Sand from Lowes (a hardware store) and it cleaned up very easily and looks great in the tank! I put down about an inch thick layer which used about 50lbs on the play sand i purchased. The tank is alittle clouded which I expected and im sure it should clear up in a day or so!

I will be finishing up making and installing my sponge filter in days to come so im excited to see that working! Im hoping that the sponge filter will also help drop the water temperature a bit although I was able to get the tank temp down as low as 66F before i pulled the fan off since no axies are in it.

I plan to get a USB powered fan for laptops and make some sort of housing to keep the fan pointed at the surface of the water. Ill use my extra iPhone charger to power the USB fan and a USB extension in order to have the fan reach the top of the tank.

Once all of thats complete Ill just have to wait on my cycling to finish and then I should be ready to get my axies! The day couldnt come sooner!
 
I was unaware of this fact but I will be sure to do that when I get home from work today! Thanks so much! What would be the complications of having heavy metals in the tank?


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Also My girlfriend has an established tank and I was wondering if it would help to further along the cycle if I were to get a small chunk of her filter media and put it in my tank. If so, how much media would I need for this to help?


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Some heavy metals like copper are toxic to amphibians. A lot of popular water conditioners neutralize heavy metals. Taking media from an established filter will definitely speed up your cycle. I would use 1/2 old media and half new, but any population up against your new media will speed up colonization. Make sure there is enough ammonia to feed the established colony.
 
So if I use water conditioner that I have that should take care of the heavy metals? And I'll try to get some media today then! Thanks!


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