what is cycling/and sexing

[els1984]

i have been reading a few threads on here and every pne seems to be talking about cycling, and i have no idea (i am a bit blonde lol) i have 2 axies, and they are in a like 70 litre tank, it is huge, and i was wondering how to tell the differnce if they male or female i cant seem to tell, thanks to anyone that can help

 

[Abrahm]

Cycling is what we call the growth of two specific kinds of bacteria that turn waste products in the tank from toxic ammonia to toxic nitrite and finally to nitrate, which is far less dangerous. Nitrate is removed by frequent partial water changes as it can be dangerous at high levels. It happens naturally as axoltols and uneaten food produce ammonia. The presence of bacteria food in the tank seems to eventually encourage their growth.

There is a nice article here on cycling: how to do it and what it is about. If your tanks has been set up for two months or so and you haven't completely drained and scrubbed it (which I highly recommend against) you should have your beneficial bacteria and your tank is cycled.

I'll let someone else cover the sexing question besides pointing out this page on axolotl biology which has information on sexing them.

 

[els1984]

thankx

thanks my tank is like 6 months old and i have done a little bit of cleaning but not loads so it should be good

 

[i_love_necturus]

A bit of cleaning might not be enough, I'd say 20% water changes at least once a week.

 

[els1984]

i do, the water change as well already