Perfect Tank For 'Lotls?

[officerPuckles]

Hey guys! I havent been around lately because I havent had any problems recently, since Puckles and Dudemeister have been very happy!
Saying that I do have some questions on their tank set up. I have them in a 25-30 gallon (longer than deep) with sand and some hidey holes as well as faux plants. I keep the water around 30-40 degrees celsius and they don't seem to mind that and feed them a cube of bloodworms twice a week.

I am not a beginner Axie owner but I am wondering what I can do to make them happier? They don't seem too stoked, mainly since their gills haven't been lush and full ever since I brought them home. I know that some Axies have smaller and thinner gills but when I first brought home Dudemeister he had long lush gills and now they are thin and small, and I went to my local pet shop where I got him- and all of his brothers and sisters of the same (litter?) all had long, full and glamorous gills.

Am I keeping the water too cold? Do I need to be feeding them more? They aren't miserable, sick, or dying, but I would like to keep them as absolutely happy as possible!!
Thanks!

 

[Boomsloth]

Are the fully grown adults? If not they need to eat at the very least daily. While gills are somewhat genetic they also depend on things like water chemistry. If you don't already have a water test kit I highly recommend buying one because any ammonia or nitrite in the water will burn the gill filaments off. Look into aquarium cycling if you already haven't done so either. How often do you perform water changes and are you using dechlorinater?

 

[Cole Grover]

30-40°C?! Way too warm. Temperature and dissolved oxygen content (which are related) play a HUGE role in gill filament length. Cooler water holds more oxygen. As Boom indicated, nitrogen out wastes (such as ammonia and nitrite) can also have an effect, sometimes even burning the gill filaments. My recommendations for better-looking critters: Cool the tank down, check your water chemistry, and consider a little variety in their diet.

Cole

 

[Boomsloth]

Oh wow I didn't even pick that up... I was thinking Fahrenheit. Yeah that can definitely be the cause

 

[keiko]

I keep the water around 30-40 degrees celsius and they don't seem to mind that

I'm really hoping that is some very bad typo. That is in no way acceptable temperature for axolotls. The temperature should stay under 20 degrees celsius, ideally around 16-18 degrees. 30-40 F wouldn't be very good either.

Also bloodworms should not be fed as a staple once the axies are big enough for earth worms or pellets. Bloodworms don't contain all the nutrients an axie needs.

I'd suggest keeping the temperature at about 18 degrees celsius and water parameters perfect (ammonia and nitrite 0, nitrate under 40ppm). Treat the water as needed before water changes (no chlorine etc.). Make sure the current is not strong either. And feed them better food and possibly more often if they are still small.

 

[sde]

Though 30-40 F is low, I don't think it will harm your axolotl, I am hoping that that is what you meant, 30-40 C is insanely high.....
I would try and read up on axolotl care, there is TONS of info on this site that is a huge help.
There is a caresheet on Caudata Culture ( CC ) that has some great axolotl care advice, as well as axolotl.org. A bit of research would inform you that the temperature you typed - weather on purpose or not - is way too high.
The reason for his gills being small might relate to the water temperature being too high.

 

[officerPuckles]

Sorry yes I definitely meant Farenheit! Not Celsius haha. It is getting colder so today their tank is around 20. I will definitely start feeding them worms, I had never heard that is an important staple of their diet. They do get feeder fish and brine shrimp usually as well as bloodworms. But I will start feeding them daily since the last advice and research I got was once or twice weekly. I change their water once every month or so, and am looking in to getting a low water movement filter for them.

 

[sde]

OK, I wouldn't think that 30-40 F would be harmful, but 20....that's super low. Is it outdoors or in a really cold basement or something? I would really try and get the water temperature up if I was you, I mean, even for an amphibian that is just too cold in my opinion. In the wild they would be hibernating at those temps for sure. Another thing I want to point out is that at those temps their metabolism will be very low, they will be pretty much dormant, so feeding them every day is most likely not the best idea. When their metabolism is very low ( as I imagine it probably is right now ) they don't need to eat as much/as often, because they don't digest the food as fast. -Seth

 

[SilentBenjam]

30/40 C is way too high, 30/40 F is the same as -1/4 C which is close to freezing them, 20 F is -7 C and your axolotls would be in a frozen block of ice.
I am assuming you did the same as me when i started keeping them and took advice from an aquatic center, they sold me a water heater, and i guess you have now taken it out and it is down to 20 C which is about right for room temperature, i also used to keep a couple of 2Litre bottles of water in the freezer in the summer and periodically put them in the tank to keep it around 16 C.
If i am right about the aquatic center and they also sold you a UV lamp get rid of that as well.

 

[keiko]

Are you talking about the temperature in the tank or in the room where the tank is? If the tank would be 20 F it would be frozen. An advice I once heard is that if there is starting to be ice in the tank then it's too cold. If I were you I'd get a small heater either for the room or the tank and keep it on a low setting so that it doesn't get too cold nor warm.

 

[officerPuckles]

Well I dont have a thermometer, unfortunately it got lost in the move and as its the holidays I am very low on cash, but it will be a good purchase once I can. The water is not frozen, maybe I am just bad at guessing temperature. To the touch it's cold, not icy or unbearable, but also not warm. It is about 35 degrees F in my house and the water is a little bit colder than room temp but nothing too extreme. My lotls are moving around happily and still eating. Once I get a thermometer I will update you guys on what the actual temp is so we can all avoid worrying so much. But thank you guys for everything as usual!

 

[keiko]

You can get thermometers on ebay for practically nothing. I just bought one a few weeks ago for 0,69€ including shipping. Just make sure it's not one of those sticker things that you glue to the outside of the tank, they are very inaccurate.

 

[layna]

Just from skimming this convo, unless you have a lot of live plants or a really big tank once a month for water changes isnt enough, assuming your tank is already cycled, your nitrAte readings must be sky high!

Also with that if you dont want to use live earthworms, axie pellets will do as a staple (or salmon/newt pellets). Brine shrimp will be too small for adult axies and bloodworms dont have enough nutrients.

I can see you have already had the water temp advice so ill stay out of that, but i do second that lower temps = lower hunger levels. If your axies tummy is as wide as its head, its at a 'healthy' weight. If its tummy is thinner, feed more. If its tummy is wider, feed less

 

[SilentBenjam]

You can get thermometers on ebay for practically nothing. I just bought one a few weeks ago for 0,69€ including shipping. Just make sure it's not one of those sticker things that you glue to the outside of the tank, they are very inaccurate.

Although the sticky ones are probably more accurate the guessing

@Layna - What type of axolotl is that in your display pic?

 

[layna]

Hes a melanoid i believe, He won a spot on the axie calander competition for 2014