New waterdog help

[Asevernnnn]

Before buying I would get your tank cycled.
And for where to buy them, some smaller petstores sell them, or you can look in the For Sale section of the forum.
I'm like 99.9999% sure no Axolotl you will find will be WC, but I would pay attention to the care they are being given, if they're in small cups or in tanks with gravel I would be wary of buying any.

 

[kholtme]

When i bought mine from the pet store, I previously said pet smart but it was petco, they had 3 living in a gravel tank alone. The one I picked was the fattest and looked the best. one other one was skinny with a bad gill and he wasn't responsive when she was picking mine out of the water. The last one was half transformed with barely any gills left and they had no area for him to sit out of the water. This was Sunday. Yesterday I went back and only the half transformed one was left but they moved him into a tank with large golf fish. So this petco store obviously doesn't take care of their waterdogs. I may look around at other stores to see if they care for them better before purchasing now that I know what's good and bad for them. Also should i do a complete water change and let it cycle for a couple days or is the water I have fine? It was new water yesterday when I changed the substrate to sand.

 

[Azhael]

Please don't fall into the same mistake again of buying an animal you are not ready for. Do your research first..thorough research, not reading a few caresheets and thinking you know everything there is to know.
Make absolutely sure that your tank is fully cycled (that takes more than a couple of days....) and ideally set-up for the species you intend to keep.
It is your responsability to be properly prepared to offer optimal conditions to any animal you acquire.
And please....reconsider the idea of buying more WC animals or buying from petshops....i can't stop you from doing so, i can only insist that you think about the consequences before you do.

 

[kholtme]

What does wc mean? How do I go about finding a better local pet store where I know they take good care of the pets?

 

[Asevernnnn]

WC is wild caught. I just wouldn't buy from a petstore at all, I would find a breeder, which can be found in the for sale section. Though shipping is usually expensive though might be a little less since it's cooler. But if petstores are your only option, look for a nice family owned petstore and not some large chain store like Petsmart and Petco.
And cycling won't take a couple days, it will take a couple weeks up to a month or longer. I would also study up on the Caudata Culture articles too.

 

[kholtme]

Okay. I will look around for a better store. How do I know when my tank is fully cycled? I'm sorry I'm completely knew to all this, never even had fish. But I do have two turtles.

 

[Azhael]

There's probably an axolotl breeder within driving distance to you, or someone willing to ship you eggs or something. There definitely are more options, and better options, than petshops...

In order to know the tank is cycled, the values of the nitrogen compounds need to follow a certain distribution. You check this with chemical tests.
Rather than asking every single question that arises, i'd suggest you get reading like a maniac until your eyes bleed. Then you can ask whatever questions you are left with, if there are any, but you'll have an informed background to assimilate the answers into. The info you need has been repeated thousands of times throughout the axolotl section...

 

[Ekmanor]

Unfortunately he didn't make it. I came back home and was going to lower his water and remove the heater but he was unresponsive. He also had some poop stuck to his underside so it looked like he was trying to poop. I want another one, but I don't want to kill another one.

I am very sorry to hear that. Not to be mean, but next time, do some research and preparation prior to buying. Don't make the same mistake that so many people including me have made. Sorry for your loss mate, good luck to you in the future.