Does anyone have any knowledge about axolotls?

[Aiken Drum]

I've kind of adopted an axolotl and really know nothing about them.

It came with a 60 litre (15 gallon) aquarium, 600mm/ 24" long. A bit of reading says this isn't really big enough, but we don't have space for a bigger aquarium. They kept it bare bottom, but I want a substrate so I'm thinking of sand.

There is very little aquascape, just a bit of java fern and java moss tied to a bit of artificial plant. I'm thinking of getting a nice bit of driftwood to give the aquascape some height and attaching the plants to that. I can easily add more java fern and java moss from another aquarium. They said the axolotl doesn't like light, which will restrict plant growth, but these plants should do OK with minimal lighting. I'm planning on adding the same plant fertiliser I do in my other aquariums and I might see how the axolotl reacts to having the light on a few hours a day, and I might see if can provide it a bit more shade in the aquascape.

It all came with a cycled sponge filter. It takes up a bit too much space, but is doing its job. There is no ammonia or nitrite in the water test, but nitrate is off the chart high. So I need to up the water change schedule compared to what the previous owner was doing. I'm planning on getting a small canister filter to provide better filtration, and free up some space in the aquarium.

It will only eat live worms, which is new for me. They gave us their worm farm. I breed hundreds of excess cherry shrimp. Would the axolotl eat some of those if I chucked them in?

I'm hoping keeping a few nerite snails will help with clean up. They should be too big for the axolotl to eat.

I just found out axolotls live 10 to 15 years in captivity. How likely is that?

I'm planning on living with it for a few weeks before changing anything, but does anyone have any comments on my plans. The axolotl and aquarium came from my wife's best friend, so we have to make the best of it.

 

[Andy Sager]

Good luck with this.
You picked one I have little experience with. They weren't a " thing" when I was in retail so we never carried any. If they are anything like a " normal" Newt, they should eat the cherry shrimp. I would definitely try to offer a wider variety of foods so that should something happen to the worm farm, the thing has other options to eat. A quick online search says they will eat Bloodworms as well as brine shrimp so would start with those. There apparently is also a pelleted for made for Axelotes on the market. I'm just not sure if it's an " all in one" food tho.
Be mindful of water quality and water temp. Apparently they like it better cool than warm.

 

[Aiken Drum]

I have some of the pellets, but the previous owner says he won't eat them. I'm going to see what live foods my LFS sells, maybe try some freeze dried bloodworms and i can chuck in some of the cherry shrimp. And we have a new member that lives 30 minutes from me who cultivates live food.

14 to 20c is the preferred temperature. We keep the house at 19c during the day in the winter, but temperature does elevate in the summer. Usually we can keep it low 20s, but I'll get some coolbox packs for warmer summers which are more frequent nowadays. They did give me a ventilation system for the aquarium that they say helps.

Any way, he's seems happy enough after the move. Our cat was curious, but seems to have bored of his new housemate now. He seems more concerned about the lego cat we got.

 

[Andy Sager]

Typical cat.

 

[Garden and Aquatics]

once you get this figured out you are in for a treat.

I have seen videos of them eating larger worms, one escaped via the gulls. looked gross.
Maybe bloodworm is better.

 

[Andy Sager]

once you get this figured out you are in for a treat.

I have seen videos of them eating larger worms, one escaped via the gulls. looked gross.
Maybe bloodworm is better.

That brings back memories of my adult Oscars eating night crawlers. They would try to escape through the gill as well but eventually, they made it all the way into the belly.
For what it's worth, there are a few different animals referred to as bloodworms. They range from marine worms to a smaller sewer worm ( a.k.a Tubifex worm) to an insect larvae that really isn't a worm so you want to make sure you are getting the right" worm".

 

[Aiken Drum]

The worms it eats are called dendrobaenas. Common fishing bait, so i could try bait shops. Got a link for online purchase too.

 

[Andy Sager]

The worms it eats are called dendrobaenas. Common fishing bait, so i could try bait shops. Got a link for online purchase too.

Just to show the difference, I did a search for the ingredient of Omega One's bloodworms and here was the result: " The animal species in Omega One bloodworms is bloodworms, which are the larval stage of small flies called midges." Obviously these are very different from the dendrobaenas you are feeding. This is why we need to be so specific when discussing foods.
You may find it interesting to do some worm farming to make sure you have a constant supply of worms unless you can get him to eat other things.

 

[irsmart]

I've kind of adopted an axolotl and really know nothing about them.

It came with a 60 litre (15 gallon) aquarium, 600mm/ 24" long. A bit of reading says this isn't really big enough, but we don't have space for a bigger aquarium. They kept it bare bottom, but I want a substrate so I'm thinking of sand.

There is very little aquascape, just a bit of java fern and java moss tied to a bit of artificial plant. I'm thinking of getting a nice bit of driftwood to give the aquascape some height and attaching the plants to that. I can easily add more java fern and java moss from another aquarium. They said the axolotl doesn't like light, which will restrict plant growth, but these plants should do OK with minimal lighting. I'm planning on adding the same plant fertiliser I do in my other aquariums and I might see how the axolotl reacts to having the light on a few hours a day, and I might see if can provide it a bit more shade in the aquascape.

It all came with a cycled sponge filter. It takes up a bit too much space, but is doing its job. There is no ammonia or nitrite in the water test, but nitrate is off the chart high. So I need to up the water change schedule compared to what the previous owner was doing. I'm planning on getting a small canister filter to provide better filtration, and free up some space in the aquarium.

It will only eat live worms, which is new for me. They gave us their worm farm. I breed hundreds of excess cherry shrimp. Would the axolotl eat some of those if I chucked them in?

I'm hoping keeping a few nerite snails will help with clean up. They should be too big for the axolotl to eat.

I just found out axolotls live 10 to 15 years in captivity. How likely is that?

I'm planning on living with it for a few weeks before changing anything, but does anyone have any comments on my plans. The axolotl and aquarium came from my wife's best friend, so we have to make the best of it.

I have two females in a 40 gallon breeder with sand and a canister filter. I have low light plants and don't use a light at all. Axolotls have no eyelids and are very sensitive to any kind of light, so I'd advise against any kind of light. I have to cover my tank every time I turn on the lamp. I have sand substrate and feed them strictly big, juicy earthworms but they can eat cherry shrimp, bloodworms, axolotl pellets and a few other things. Put something in there for them to hide in like a terra cotta (clay) pot or a jelly jar or something. I have two caves, one in each corner. Fertilizer isn't safe for them so I would advise against it. No snails either, they can shut on the axolotls and cause harm. If you ever get another one, make sure it's the same sex, as a male will breed a female to death. You're definitely going to want to change the water to get the nitrates down and do regular water changes after that or the axolotl will develop fungus. I go no longer than two weeks between changes and use a turkey baster to suck out the poop between changes. They do live a long time in captivity but I can't say exactly how long because I've only had mine for two years. You'll also want a bigger tank, they like to swim and walk across the bottom of the tank and 15 gallons is pretty small for them.

 

[Aiken Drum]

I have two females in a 40 gallon breeder with sand and a canister filter. I have low light plants and don't use a light at all. Axolotls have no eyelids and are very sensitive to any kind of light, so I'd advise against any kind of light. I have to cover my tank every time I turn on the lamp. I have sand substrate and feed them strictly big, juicy earthworms but they can eat cherry shrimp, bloodworms, axolotl pellets and a few other things. Put something in there for them to hide in like a terra cotta (clay) pot or a jelly jar or something. I have two caves, one in each corner. Fertilizer isn't safe for them so I would advise against it. No snails either, they can shut on the axolotls and cause harm. If you ever get another one, make sure it's the same sex, as a male will breed a female to death. You're definitely going to want to change the water to get the nitrates down and do regular water changes after that or the axolotl will develop fungus. I go no longer than two weeks between changes and use a turkey baster to suck out the poop between changes. They do live a long time in captivity but I can't say exactly how long because I've only had mine for two years. You'll also want a bigger tank, they like to swim and walk across the bottom of the tank and 15 gallons is pretty small for them.

Thanks for this. Really useful.

Unfortunately right now a bigger aquarium isn't in the picture. I suspect the need for a bigger aquarium was on the mind of its previous owner and is partly why they gave it up. I would really like to see it in 120 litres, which is double the current size. My LFS often has ex display aquariums at reasonable prices I will keep an eye out for, but the real issue is having space. I do long term have plans which would free up a 200 litre aquarium though.

So the plan is short term make the best of it. I have a spare week coming up, so my plan is to temporarily relocate the axolotl into a tote box, get all the limescale off the aquarium (they must have really hard water where they live compared to ours), get a background added, and get some sand substrate added. I'm not going to replace the filter, i may as well put the money towards a bigger aquarium. We will get some driftwood in the aquarium, and some more plants. I have a never-ending supply of java fern and java moss. Good idea to use a plant pot for a cave, I might look at a 4" terracotta pot, but I'm also considering a short length of 4" dia clay drainpipe.

I will forgo the snails and fertiliser.

I did a good job acclimating when I introduced the axolotl to our water, so effectively it went into nitrate free water and we start with a clean slate. I'm doing a water change now, and will see where we are in a week. I'm hoping I can get away with a big weekly water change same as my other aquariums, but I'll see what the parameters are after a week.