Axolotl ?!?!?!?

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ploughking

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jul 25, 2004
Messages
127
Location
Folkestone, UK
I am getting a new fish for my 17 gallon and I've chosen the Axolotl. Accordingly, they need hard water. How do I harden it and how would I check?
 
You can get a test kit to check the hardness of the water. The AP master test kit includes general hardness test along with ph, nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia. You can raise hardness naturally using coral or limestone decorations orcrushed coral in the filter. There are also plenty of chemical supliments you can add that raise hardness such as RO Right. Using chemicals makes it easier to get the desired hardness but you want to be careful of subjecting your fish to rapid changes in chemistry which can cause stress. Coral will harden the water more gradually.
 
ploughking...

Which of your 17 gallon tanks are you planning to put the axolotl in?? The axolotl is a neotenic salamander (NOT a fish) that will get quite large eventually. The term 'neotenic' describes a salamander that reaches maturity without losing many of its larval characteristics...especially its external gills. They are fairly predatory and I wouldn't expect any of the fish in the tropical 17 gallon to survive for a very long time (with the exception of the plecos). The axolotl is not excessively picky about its water parameters, as long as the water is kept clean and you do a 25% change weekly to keep the nitrates down. I wouldn't worry overly much about increasing the hardness of your water unless you're using some sort of water softener. Testing your water parameters is never a BAD idea, however, and the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Master Kit that Savga mentioned is a good investment.

Oh...by the way....I wouldn't expect a small black moor to survive long with an axolotl either. Surprises do happen but eventually the salamander will look at that black moor with much more hunger than affection!
 
Fruitbat said:
Oh...by the way....I wouldn't expect a small black moor to survive long with an axolotl either. Surprises do happen but eventually the salamander will look at that black moor with much more hunger than affection!
Sorry, I haven't updated my siggy yet. The black moor has been moved and the tank is now being set up as a tropical. I read a lot about it (something about Axolotl colonies) and it said they have only managed to succesfully keep it with plecostoma.
rubysoho said:
it talks about how gravel isn't a very good choice because sometimes they'll eat it... etc...
I've noticed that with some of the larger ones at the LFS. does not bode well for me, I've set up the tank already with gravel and an undergravel filter. We'll have to hope all is well. Maybe if I put in some plastic trees it will restrain itself from eating the gravel and may use the trees as climbing things? Or find other uses? I put in a little barrel that the axolotl can sleepin or climb on, and perhaps climb through.
 
re: watever

rubysoho said:
hmm... here is some more info on it, I'm sure you've researched them, but I found this site to be pretty good. http://www.caudata.org/axolotl/page_2.htm it talks about how gravel isn't a very good choice because sometimes they'll eat it... etc...

I looked at that page and it quite lifted my spirits. You can feed them mealworms! Excellent! Good news because I can get them from down the road.
 
Update

UPDATE - He wasn't eating the bloodworkms. I'm feeding him mealworms but I'm looking for an alternative, for all worms will rot his stomach. If you drop by http://abhorsen.co.uk my forums and tell me an alternative, I'd be happy.
 
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