Water hardness??

[smagras]

Does anyone know what the mL equivalents should be? I have a new batch of eggs to hatch and want to make sure I get it right. The first batch died after putting dechlorinated water in the tank rather than distilled. But now I am reading that I shouldn't be using distilled either! So....??? If I continue to use distilled water and add some hardness supplement to it, what level am I aiming for? thanks for any and all help!


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[LSuzuki]

I use dechlorinated water with my eggs/hatchlings with no problem. (I've successfully raised several batches.)

However, the first two batches I tried failed to thrive. They never ate and eventually died. (Different breeders, so not likely to be a genetic problem.) I am pretty sure it was because I misread the dosage on the dechorinator/ammo-locking product and used too much. I might have also had something to do with using softened water. However, I don't want to experiment to figure out if I can reproduce my failures.

What I have success with now is I use unsoftened water dechlorinated with Prime. I have 10 gal tanks that I store the treated water in, which makes it easier to make sure I don't overdose the water.

Unless there is something wrong with your tap water, I recommend using it, since it probably has enough hardness.

What were the symptoms with the first batch?

 

[smagras]

Thanks for the response. They were thriving and eating until I started pouring the dechlorinated water in. Then they started curling up and dying within minutes. The water was room temp but I did "eyeball" the dechlorinater amount when I added it to gallon jugs. It may have been too concentrated. I'll try it again in measured amounts and go slower with the water change. I would still love to get an ideal hardness level amount from someone though. I have just been reading "not too soft" of water. Anyone?


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[LSuzuki]

It definitely sounds like something was wrong with the water you put in. Is there chloramine in your tap water? If so, what dechorinator are you using?

Axolotls are so tough that they tolerate a wide range of water conditions, so most people don't worry much about hardness. But given your experience with your tap water, check out these intructions for hardening water for axolotls. Follow the instructions carefully (of course) and note the concentrations. Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity