Wanting advice after having bad advice from breeder. I'm a newbie.

[Tashak82]

Hi. I am after some help. We got 2 axolotls on Thursday night. Basically on advice from the breeder we filled the tank weds, put play sand in the bottom, added aqua safe as advised. Set the heater to 18c there is a filter which isn't fast, we put a plant in front of the out flow just incase to. There is also some rock hides. One of them has a broken arm ( not sure if this happened before the breeder got it out, or when he did or during transportation. It doesn't seem to be bothering it. Eating pooing walking around etc) which from speaking to others it should be OK and die and regrow?
That one isn't the problem. The other one we have in with it started floating it's bum last night. Still doing it today, so I assuming he has trapped wind/poo. Can anyone offer any advice as we obviously want to help him/her asap. I have since upon talking to a lovely man of Facebook taken them out. Put the floaty one in a small shallow water tub. To help with the trapped wind/poo. And put the other one in another bigger tub until I get the tank sorted. He advised taking 50% water out and replacing it. Also using pure pond bio balls jn the filter to helps speed up cycling/clearing the tank. Wr were told by the breeder just use aqua safe for rhe chlorine and they can go straight in,nothing about cycling etc. Any advice is welcome ( although please don't have a go and make me feel like **** like someone on fb did earlier this morning, I was only following the breeders advice) not sure how to add photos? Thanks

 

[Canecorsonewt]

You do not need a heater. Your killing it with a heater i do not have axolotls but on this site you can find info on how to raise them. I would do more research but i dont think you want the water to go over 70f. It's good you blocked the water flow they dont like much current at all . On this site you can find out about salt baths for constipation. I have heard many new axolotl owner say that they float sometimes even upside-down witch would worry me the floating could be normal. But most important is water quality your aquarium must be cycled. That is how i killed my betta fish Takes six weeks to properly cycle a aquarium. If you do not have a cycled aquarium you must test water daily to make sure they have 0 nitrite 0 ammonia and when the aquarium is cycled you should see some nitrate. I dont think you see any nitrate in till tank cycles. But to much exposure to ammonia and nitrite will kill them.

 

[Blackbun]

I'm going with Cliff here, no heater. As you say there is a buoyancy issue probably due to trapped gas. There is evidence that internal bacteria in the axolotl's gut (maybe 'feeding' off a recently ingested meal) can create excess gas. Whilst warm water would enhance the rate of digestion, it would also enhance bacterial activity.

 

[Axolottie]

My biggest recommendation is cycle your tank, you're going to need an ammonia, ph (not fully necessary as they can survive from 6.0-8.0 ph), nitrite and nitrate tests. The liquid ones work best!

Also, axies can grow rather quickly, I see you have 2, the recommendation is 10 gallons per axie, so in this case, the minimum you're going to need is a 20 gallon long, my personal opinion is a 30 gallon is best for 2 adult axies so be aware that while your tank is fine for them right now since they are young, you will eventually need to upgrade tanks.
I also recommend you get another 1-2 hides or fake plants (preferable soft ones so they don't cut your axies).
As for cycling: here is a link to one I follow and its been very helpful: Using Household Ammonia for Humane Cycling of a Tank
Also I see you're going through a cloudy water stage, try to take the sand out and wash it until the water is crystal clear or you can try to wash it in the tank you have currently since it's pretty small.
You basically want to just run water in the tank and let it over flow while you swish it around with your hands until the water starts coming out clear. This isn't necessary for the health of your axie, just a little something for viewing I guess.
And please, no heater. They thrive best in water between 63F-68F
Since both are tubbed, I recommend 100% water changes daily since you don't have filters to help clean the waste. Make sure you dechlorinate the water each time! 2 products that I like are the aquaeon water conditioner or tetra aquasafe (You only need to use one of these at a time) and find a good live bacteria to introduce to your tank. I use Tetra safestart, but there's mixed reviews about the product, I've never had a problem with it along with some other axie owners I know, but research what is in your area

As for the floating axie, it could be compaction meaning he needs to poo. Tubbing him is fine, it doesn't necessarily need to be shallow. Just monitor him and let them both eat. It may help with pooing.
I think that's all I can think of right now, but I will definitely let you know if I think of more advice ^^

Wish you the best of luck~

 

[debadog]

回复: Wanting advice after having bad advice from breeder. I'm a newbie.

You won't ever need a heater for an axolotl tank in the UK. ESPECIALLY in the weather we are having right now. I would remove it right away.

I am also quite concerned about your tank cycling situation...if you filled the tank on Wednesday and put the axolotls in on Thursday your tank isn't cycled, and without cycling there is a fair chance that your axolotls will not survive. I don't want to have a go but you really should have done some research before getting your pet, even if you had advice from a breeder axolotl husbandry is complicated and a cursory google would have sufficed. It makes me angry that some careless breeder is handing out axolotls with such awful misleading advice . But i'm really glad you're seeking advice now and you obviously care about your little guys. There is still time to salvage the situation!

I would recommend you read up about cycling, and do very frequent, large water changes in the mean time until it is completed. Cycling can take anywhere between 6-8 weeks, which is why most people cycle their tanks long before they get their animal. You can do in-tank cycling, but because the axolotls are sitting in their own waste (the bacteria have not been grown through the cycling process that would usually remove it) it will be cruel if you do not do these water changes and can potentially make them sick or kill them. I would say you'd need to change at least 50% daily or every other day, but you need to buy a water testing kit (from API, not the paper tests as they are very inaccurate) and monitor the situation so you know how much and often you'll need to do water changes. You'll also be able to see when the cycling is complete that way, and how the process is progressing.

Some plants will help to reduce some of the waste produced, but as axolotls like dark environments you will need to choose plants that need little light and no supplementary CO2. I would recommend going to an aquarium store and asking for advice.