Rehousing four juveniles?

I've sorted out the flow issue by repositioning the filter.

I've not been too good the last week. We have been busy assembling a desk, shelves and cupboard for my eldest son and haven't been good with adding waste water from the axies to their new tank. The ammonia level is still around 4.9 mg/L.

As mentioned a few weeks ago, I'm thinking about putting one or all the axies into the tank and doing 20% changes each day. I was just wondering whether I could leave them in their containers for a bit longer and do water changes (adding fresh treated water) to the tank to reduce the ammonia levels?

On another point, what plants would people recommend? The room isn't particularly bright. It does receive some sun in the afternoon though the tank is well away from the window. I could attach a spot type light to provide light for the plants and I doubt it would have much effect on temperature as the tank is uncovered.

Just been doing some reading. It seems that adding one axie would help with the cycling process. What do you think?
 
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i would be wary about adding an axie to the tank whilst the ammonia level is up, but another member may think its fine.
As for plants, i have pretty much given up on live plants, they need light and I don't really keep my tank lit enough for them to survive. Even the fairy moss i added 2 weeks ago is turning brown so thats coming out gradually.
If you are going to add a light for plants then you will need a bulb that simulates sunlight for plant growth, I dont think a normal bulb will provide that.
I have ended up using a mixture of silk and plastic plants and gone for the ones that look fairly natural. I must admit they make for easier tank maintenance and are easy to pull out and clean.
I have found with my axies they need a bulb with low intensity and even with that one of them is a little light shy, the wildtype isnt at all bothered by it and will happily explore the tank whilst lit but the other seems to choose spots in the tank that are shaded, so bear that in mind.
 
I think I would measure the ammonia before a water change in one of the small containers and let that influence if moving one axolotl into the tank sooner rather than later is wise. It may be they are being subjected to higher peaks of ammonia in the small containers and getting the largest into the tank is a high priority.

I've always used at least one strip fluorescent in the hood of my tanks and it is enough for many plants. Watercress from a supermarket salad bag chucked in to form a floating tangled mass of shoots and roots is my favourite. When really densely planted ammonia, nitrite and nitrate disappear without any filtration at all in the tank, but this is not a setup which is easy to reach and if the plants suddenly go into rotting mode you have big problems! The bottom of the tank is plenty dark enough for the axies. The heat penalty for a single tube with the hood open at both ends and the control unit kept away from the tank is about 1 degree Celsius, probably not a problem in UK conditions unless you are very generous on the heating of the room.
 
I'd already checked the ammonia level in the largest axie's container. It was very similar to that of the tank so we moved him across. I was a little concerned that the flow rate produced by the filter might be a bit high. I'd already positioned a large rock next to the filter and I've placed the lid from the axie's container in front of the outflow for the moment. How will I know if the axie doesn't like the water movement? There are probably a whole host of parameters which could upset him now he's been moved!!

I'll do daily changes at 20% and check the ammonia before each change. Hopefully the cycling will kick in soon.

As for the lighting, my tank doesn't have a hood. I see my options as either using a clamp and a suitable daylight bulb or buying a hood with strip light fitting. I'll have to look into them both.
 
return water flow

:confused: just thought I would say that I am using a fluval filter an the flow is quiet strong... my remedy to this was to buy the fluval spray bar attachment you can buy here in the UK ...

They do not usually cost more than £5 but it`s effect is priceless as the water is still with no flow problems...
all it is , is a plastic tube with small holes spread out along it`s length.. pushed onto the return flow attached to the glass just above the water with the suckers supplied...
the return water just trickles down the glass and softly breaks the water surface aiding to filtration... :p
 
lighting... we have 10 vallis plants and I have my light on for about 2-3 hours...per day my params are -ve on all counts with 3 axies ( we have a baby olive in the tank now too.. sooo beautiful) and my temps been sitting on 20.. which is good for mine.

My light is a single globe hydroponic grow light facing forwards not down into the tank (and 2 tiny blue led's and one white, on all the time ) and my plants are doing supurb... in the other tank i have the original fluro light which we rarely turn on. two tiny blue led's wheich are on nearly all the time, but that tank gets about 1 hour of natural sunlight per day and it has 7 vallis plants and they are doing beautifully... two axies in that tank and again my params are -ve all counts and 20c.
 
Gershon, the usual sign that an axolotl doesnt like the water flow (too strong) is that the gills will be held pointing forwards and also the tail can curl at the end.
Take a look at axolotl.org (top of page) and find section on water flow for further reading.
 
Casaloxl said:
My light is a single globe hydroponic grow light facing forwards not down into the tank (and 2 tiny blue led's and one white, on all the time )
Click to expand...


Can you give me some details about the globe. I've had a look at some UK sites and have come across a 125W blue/white light globe. I'm trying to find out what socket it fits so I can work out how to attach it to the side of the tank. Are the LEDs an important part of the light?
 
angelwitch said:
:confused: just thought I would say that I am using a fluval filter an the flow is quiet strong... my remedy to this was to buy the fluval spray bar attachment you can buy here in the UK ...
Click to expand...

After numerous phone calls and one or two wild-goose chases, I've managed to buy a spray bar. Thanks for the advice.
 
gershco said:
After numerous phone calls and one or two wild-goose chases, I've managed to buy a spray bar. Thanks for the advice.
Click to expand...
spray bars are readily available locally to me... if any one wants one I would happily forward them.. their usually not more than £5 and estimate of postage would proberly cost no more than £1.50 for recorded delivery..
just a thought... they make such a difference as Gershon would proberly agree..
have a good day..
kez
 
I've had the spray bar in the tank for a week now and the axie has done his hardest to stay as far away from it as possible. His gills do seems to be turned forward slightly and I'm thinking that the flow is still too fast. The bar is currently in the centre of the back wall of the tank though I am going to move it away from the centre, towards one of the ends.

Does it need to be its original length or can I cut it down in an attempt to reduce the flow rate? (I've got the feeling that if I cut the bar and therefore reduce the number of holes, the pressure of the water coming out will increase and my actions won't reduce the flow rate at all!)

I've currently got the holes pointing diagonally upwards and the spray bar is slightly above the surface of the water, so the water coming out the bar hits the tank a little above the water surface and trickles down. Is there any way changing this might reduce the flow rate within the tank?

Does anyone have any other ideas?

As for ammonia levels, the daily water changes are helping to lower them.
 
I`ve got mine set up on a fluval 2 with the flow switch lever on minimum and I have also poked a few holes in the flexi connecter hose..

I`ve got all holes facing directly at the glass so the flow instantly breaks and trickles down the glass.. my water is virtually still now...

only thing I can think of is that maybe you need the bar higher from the surface of the water...
I keep the fluval `head` out of the water as it does generate a tiny amount of heat....
it all helps ...
 
Thanks for the post.

How much above the surface of the water is your spray bar? Any chance of a photo?
 
I`ll try and upload some pics tommorrow evening...

I just raised the head of the filter to the surface, the flexi tube does raise diagonally a bit so i would estimate the actuall bar is roughly 3- 4 inches above the water surface ...

thinking about it, my water return is pushing up the tube so, to me and my thinking it would relieve the flow a bit I suppose ... :rolleyes:

which fluval are you using and what size tank have u got ? have you any photos loaded yet ?
 
The tank is 3 foot long and there is a depth of around 6 inches of water. I'm using a Fluval 2+ set to the lowest flow rate.

This is a photo before I repositioned the spray bar:
DSCF0253.jpg


I've now got the bar on the back wall towards the right as you look from the front.

This is a picture of the axie from a couple of days ago, before I moved the bar. I've not been able to take a photo since then.

DSCF0267.jpg


As my juveniles have been in their own small containers, I've not had flow problems and so don't know what to make of these gills.
 
Could the axolotl be stressed by the inflow into the pump rather than the outflow? One way of further damping down flow is to place a partial obstruction across the pump intake. Ground cover fabric or horticultural fleece works well and the suction keeps it in place. Moving the pump off the bottom and increasing the depth of water will also reduce currents at the bottom of the tank.
 
I have raised the water level slightly over the last few days and the gills haven't seemed bent forward so much. The water is now a bit more than 6 inches deep. Can I make it much deeper? I'll try some horticultural fleece and raising the pump off the bottom.

My water tests this week show a drop in ammonia levels. These readings were taken on Monday and Wednesday evenings 24 hours after a 15-20% water change. I wasn't able to change the water on Tuesday.

watertest.jpg


Do I need to reach zero ammonia before I think about putting another axie into the tank. Obviously I want to sort out the flow problem first. Also should I wait for zero ammonia before adding any live plants?
 
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I use LEDs sometimes instead of normal lighting, it approximates moonlight, means i can see them sometimes, if they come out of hiding, and doesnt increase tank temp at all, not good for plants is only problem, I use tiny little leds, 1 globe each and have 3 of them spread over tank..
 
I'm glad to hear the tank is beginning to cycle at last! Watch the nitrite before slowing down on water changes. Plants thrive in the presence of ammonia, many can use it easier than nitrite or nitrate, so there is no reason to delay planting. One or at most two fluorescent strip lights is adequate if run for 14 hours a day. 125 watts may be overkill, about 40-50 Watts should be enough for your tank. You can raise the water level as high as a normal fish tank. The axolotls usually stay mainly on the bottom but the larger volume makes more stable water chemistry and less current at the bottom. If they want a gulp of air, a need more common in axolotls with small damaged gills (not big ones like your picture) they swim up and gulp. I keep my tank about 75% full but I have a lot of semi floating plants and I need space below the lights for the above water growth.
 
At last ammonia is zero, though nitrate and nitrite have both shot up.

These are two of my most recent readings:

newreadings.jpg


I've been pretty good with daily water changes though have missed one or two. I've been doing either around 10% or 20% changes. The nitrite level did go a little higher than this so I'm hoping it's on its way down. Obviously I want it to be much lower before I put any more axies into the tank. What is the greatest percentage I can change on a daily basis without disturbing the water chemistry?
 
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