Tank set up for baby axolotl

[nicolefrank117]

My husband and I picked up a baby axolotl at a reptile show yesterday. He/She is only about 1.5 - 2 inches in length. Tiny little guy. The breeder told us that since it is so small to keep it in the container it came in or get a small tank for now until it gets a little larger. That away it can find it's food and is not overwhelmed etc. We have a 10 gallon tank lined up for it but right now we have it in a 1 gallon tank we picked up at Petsmart. It seems to have plenty of room to swim and can easily find it's food when we put it in the tank. It being such a small tank we have not bought anything decorative or plant like for it yet. Any suggestions?

When would it be at the proper size to move it to the 10 gallon tank or do we need to transition it from the 1 gallon to say a 2.5 or even a 5 gallon before we move it to an even bigger one.

Also I am getting mixed visuals as far as how we will need to set up the 10 gallon tank once it is ready to move into that one. Some people have their tanks filled to the top and then others have them filled only partially full. I read that the partially full is the way to go so they can swim up if they want to etc.

Thanks for all your help!

 

[LSuzuki]

A 1 gallon tank is a good size for a little one. Remember, you will need to do frequent partial/total water changes to keep the ammonia low. (A 1 gallon pitcher is useful to age the water so it is at the same temperature as the tank.) You should get a master test kit so you can keep an eye on ammonia, nitrite, etc.

Your axie would appreciate some place to hid in. It doesn't have to be anything elaborate - half of a clean clay pot would do.

Are you familiar with cycling a tank? One advantage of housing your axie in a small tank at first is you can do a "fishless cycle" in the 10 gallon while he is still in the 1 gallon. A 10 gallon is small enough that by the time the cycle is established, he will be big enough to go in there.

Some people fill their tanks all the way up, some don't. The larger the volume of water there is, the better (a reason for filling the tank), but then you should have some sort of cover for the tank to keep a startled axie from jumping out, which reduces evaporative cooling.