Santa brought 2 axolotls into our family!

[Spikeworld]

Hi all,
Santa brought my 10 year old son 2 axolotls for Christmas - this after making him do 6 months of research, culminating in a printed report (including costings!) to ensure he was committed enough! He obviously did well, because here we are. We have a male orange one (Spike) and a female brown spotty one (Crussle). Not sure if that's how you describe them! I've attempted to attach a photo. We're in Brisbane, Australia, so managing the tank temperature has been exciting over the last couple of weeks. I have managed to source a second hand chiller (Hailea HC-150A). I'm wondering if anyone has a manual for this (I've tried emailing the company) they could scan and email. I'm not sure about wether we need a seperate pump to run it or whether we just run it via the filter? I've never had fish before, so any help would be appreciated! Our tank is only 60 litres, so the chiller should work well if I can work out how to connect it!
Anyway, another first, I've never posted on a forum before.... looking forward to participating with my son!

 

[Bellabelloo]

Welcome to the forum, and what pretty little axolotl.
However, I have to point out the gravel will be potentially harmful for the little guys. They have a habit of accidentally eating it and this can cause blockages. Regular well rinsed play sand or a bare bottomed tank would be best.
Looking forward to reading about your new additions.

 

[Shizeric]

You might also have some trouble maintaining proper water conditions with 2 Axolotls in a tank that small. They produce a TON of ammonia/waste, so that small volume of water may foul quickly.

 

[Spikeworld]

Thanks for your replies! I read a lot about gravel vs sand before we got our two - the reason we've gone with gravel is that this is what they were on at the shop where we got them and the fish guru there said as they were used to being hand-fed from above, the gravel would not be a problem? should we change to sand anyway?
Will keep an eye on water quality, Eric - thanks for that!

 

[Bellabelloo]

I would change it . I have heard so many times from shops and so on, that gravel is fine as the axolotl will be hand or tong fed. Unfortunately they do still manage to ingest it while snuffling through the substrate.