To guppy or not to guppy!?

[krivers0648]

We recently moved house and finally got a decent size tank for our 4 axis (390litres)
They've been in there over 3 weeks now, but only a couple of them are feeding well, one remains stressed but is eating well, looking at getting some tape to reduce the spray bar holes.
They've always been fed primarily on lambs heart.. of course now with them not eating it I'm not sure if bringing the guppies in were a good idea?
I don't know much about guppies, I know theres a million different varieties and I'm not sure if I can put in live animals that are doomed to get eaten but have no room to escape.
I already feed my geckos locust and that I suppose is the same principle lol!
Any advice on what guppies to feed, how to take care of them and if this is a good idea?
I also have a few snails knocking around, must have come of the plants I ordered, even though I washed them all, do you get snails that are harmful to axies? I have removed them, but can easily but them back if they're ok

Sorry, a lot of information there! I tried uploading a picture but it kept crashing on me, so I'll try again later

thank you!

 

[krivers0648]

http://www.caudata.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=31705&stc=1&d=1372238217

 

[Quentari]

I wouldn't leave the snails with the axies, but that's just my opinion.

I got some guppies for my lotl's, just the general ones they had at the pet store. Quarentined them them put them in.

All of them are still alive two weeks later.

 

[Dipsy66]

I got some guppies for my lotl's, just the general ones they had at the pet store. Quarentined them them put them in.

All of them are still alive two weeks later.

I did the same as Quentari....so far I have lost one and can only assume it was eaten as no body located!!!! The rest are happily swimming about and some of my females are pregnant. It makes the tank look a little lively when the axies are hiding away and hubby likes to see the movement of the fish.

 

[melfly]

I have a guppy tank and became overrun with them.

I popped about 20 in with the axolotls and within a few hours of release the lot had gone, not one fish left.

I figure this is due to the difference in temperature. (cold temp = slow guppies)

I would have quite liked the guppies to have lived in the tank for a bit but maybe i should have acclimatised them for a lot longer.

Mel

 

[Jes]

I've just started feeding my ax live guppies and she loves them! I have a few swimming around the tank that she hasn't seemed to notice but I just catch medium sized ones from my breeding tank and had feed them

 

[xxianxx]

Some axolotls dont seem to bother predating fish whilst others wipe them out fast. Snails are fine in my opinion, though you may wish to avoid trapdoor snails, large apple snails and hard shelled malaysian trumpet snails, your choice as the whole matter is up for debate in this forum. If you are in Stafford dont miss the next British Amphibian Keepers Society in Cannock on sunday 22nd sept http://www.b-a-k-s.co.uk/index.php/meetings2013/meetings . Also I am passing through Stafford next week if you want any axolotls check my link out http://www.caudata.org/forum/f49-ad...ingdom-just-uk/92036-axolotls-frogs-sale.html

 

[pookiewn]

Have you tried feeding them worms? They are more nutritious than lambs heart, and your axies will love em Guppies should only be fed as treats rather than a staple diet.

With the spray bar, if you block any of the holes you will end up with a stronger flow probably resulting in more stressed axies. Either turn it around to face the glass, make it longer or make the holes bigger. Google DIY spray bar, they are easy to make with PVC pipe and a drill I made one for my six foot and the water just ripples over the top nicely now, no stressed axies and good flow around the tank. You may wish to point the intake towards the bottom of the tank so all of the tank gets filtered. The plants will thank you for being out of the pots and rockwool too

Oops, sorry for the essay. Nice tank and axies by the way!

 

[krivers0648]

Thank you everyone, I'll go do some research about what snails I have and check out the forums!
DIY it is! I saw someone on here that had a rock that the water fell onto, but I can easily make the holes bigger! Not got the best idea about filters, our last tank was unfiltered and had water changes, so they're used to being quite still!
I have tried worms but the lambs heart is easier to get hold off, I'll try them again, and the guppies were more to entice them to start eating again, a bit of variety in their diet and to help encourage natural predatory behaviours.
I didn't even realise there was a society! I'll look for that too and see if I can go!
Thank you again for all your amazing advice! Hopefully the next few weeks will see my axis being a lot happier

 

[Alkylhalide]

>.< Axolotls are so lazy! after a couple months of breeding guppies, we decided to add some of the babies in the tank for some fun food for my axies and not one got eaten, I ended up putting some in for the cichlids instead. . there has been ONE small little guppy living in with two huge axolotls for over a month now, and its like this guppy has made it his home. . swims close to their faces and everything and they could care less about the guppy.

Earthworms/nightcrawlers are the best food for your axie I feed all 5 of mine worms now. Also since they are still live and wiggle they love that Maybe you can try worms for them?
I heard that feeding animal heart, liver, etc is good as a treat, however is to high in protein for them. and *correct me if I am wrong* I thought I read a article somewhere about high protein diets for axolotls in the long run isnt very good for them. But I cant remember if I was thinking of a different pet or an axolotl "owns a lot of animals and always is on the lookout for better care information for my pets" so I may be wrong. I HAVE however heard that those things are like the king of the king food for axolotls, it is like feeding a kid sugar! They love it so much that "sometimes" they will never eat anything else. So try something else and see if they will even eat it. Plus worms are cheap! you can dig them out of your backyard. lol expecially for a person like me that is on a job hunt since finishing school and free food is great food