Axolotl tips

[Flynn Naysmith]

Does anyone have any tips for me I am new to axolotl keeping and any help would be appreciated.

[Odd Duck]

On 3/21/2022 at 2:09 AM, Flynn Naysmith said:

Does anyone have any tips for me I am new to axolotl keeping and any help would be appreciated.

Clean, clean, clean water!  Messy eaters so that means lots of water changes and loads of biofiltration.  Make sure your replacement water has good parameters.  Make sure you have appropriate substrate (which sometimes means zero substrate depending on the age of your axies).  They are hard on plants, so pick tough ones, like Anubias or Crinums.

Variety in the diet is important.  Start live cultures if you haven’t already.  Blackworms, whiteworms, Grindal worms if they’re young, even microworms or vinegar eels if they’re tiny.  Baby brine shrimp also if they’re tiny.  Red wigglers if they’re big enough.  Raising your own will enable you to provide better nutrition and cleaner worms.

Good, but not crazy flow/current and always run one or more air stones, even better if the air stones are running sponge filters.  There is no such thing as too much oxygenation for axies. Because they’re messy eaters, you will have to do a quick rinse on alternating sponge filters each week, swirl them in the old tank water, then put them back in the tank.  Be careful not to rinse excessively and lose too much of your beneficial bacteria.

Make sure they can’t get stuck anywhere.  If you’re starting with small ones and have small caves, make certain you constantly re-evaluate the size of the caves and cave openings and replace caves as needed as they grow.  They can get stuck or injured by rough openings.  Pay close attention to any injuries.  They can regenerate like crazy, but they are also prone to bacterial and fungal skin infections.  Any fuzz on an injury needs immediate action.

[quikv6]

I believe temperature is very important. They are kept much cooler than tropical fish tamps. Low to mid 60s should be good.

[Odd Duck]

On 3/21/2022 at 4:30 AM, quikv6 said:

I believe temperature is very important. They are kept much cooler than tropical fish tamps. Low to mid 60s should be good.

Some lines are more tolerant of warmer temps than they used to be, but very good point!  It’s importent to ask the source what temps are where they’ve been kept.

Edited March 21, 2022 by Odd Duck
Typo

[Flynn Naysmith]

Thanks