Axolotl help

[JustTheFish]

Long story short, my new apartment owner has a rule in the contract that says I can’t have 75 gallons of water, but can have 2 25 gallon tanks. He did say I was allowed to have a paldurarium that has about 25 gallons in it. This is because of a weight issue. Sadly, I can’t keep my fish in my 75. So I will create a new paldurarium with an axolotl in it. It will be heavily planted. I am centering this 75 gallon tank around 1 or 2 axolotls. The tank mates I am thinking of are, pearl danios (not celestial), and White Cloud Mountain minnowsI will bend the rules a bit and It will hold approximately 40 - 50 gallons. So here are my questions, How many axolotls with tank mates? Will the tank mates listed be adequate? What other tank mates can i have? I have anything in the non water section?
thank you for reading

 

[Deadeye]

With my limited axolotl knowledge, they tend to be rather predatory towards most fish that can’t harm them. I wouldn’t do anything but cheap fish that can be replaced if necessary.
I wouldn’t do anything in the land section, as axies are already pretty specialized (needing very cold water) and you won’t find much that appreciates that.

 

[Fallen_Leaves16]

I agree with Deadeye; although I haven't kept axolotls in years now, I do remember that they definitely will eat small fish; both white clouds and pearl danios will most likely go for the axie's gills as well. Tankmates are generally a pretty bad idea when it comes to them; either the axolotl will hunt/hurt them, or the other way around. 40 gallons is a pretty small space for an axolotl; it's all fun and games until you end up with a foot-long misshapen sausage-lookalike that's thicker than your forearm waddling around a cramped pocket of water; the little babies are cute, but not for long. There's a good reason a lot of them end up surrendered or sold for cheap on Craigslist. They're also surprisingly active and it feels kind of wrong to keep one in anything less than the dimensions of a standard 40G breeder. I'd honestly recommend something other than an axolotl; they really aren't as fun to keep as the internet's made them seem, and there's a lot of much more entertaining options (such as newts, tree frogs, fire-bellied toads, various somewhat terrestrial frogs, even a few lizards) that'd suit a 75G with a dedicated water area with fish.
I'd recommend that you also don't break your apartment's rules, as a water/weight restriction is there for a reason (though it's heavily doubtful that a 50G tank will crash through the floor and break), and holding nearly double the allotted amount of water in a reasonably large tank is sure to be noticed.

 

[JustTheFish]

I am into the half water half land idea. What do you recommend as I am completely new to the terrarium world? I like mostly everything including the things you listed. My only problem is what if the land animals poop in the water and throw the nitrates off? Other than that I think that is fine

 

[Deadeye]

Amphibians or certain crustaceans will definitely be the best way to go for a pauladarium - I don’t have much experience there though.

 

[jjohnwm]

Deadeye is dead on; axolotls tend to do well only in cooler water which limits your potential tankmates. Small fish eventually will be caught and eaten; the smaller the water volume, the sooner it happens. And all fish, small and large, run the risk of finding the frilly pink gills of an axolotl an almost irresistible temptation to take a bite. They may not do a great deal of damage, but the stress on the axolotl is constant and cumulative. Not good.

I can't say I have as negative an opinion of axolotls as Fallen_Leaves16 does; but they do get big and clunky, and I can't imagine a worst choice for a delicately-planted paludarium. An adult axolotl is, IMHO, an animal that is very interesting and attractive...kept as a single specimen in a tank set up for easy cleaning and maintenance. I had one for over 12 years in a previous home early in my aquarium career, and it was a favourite of mine. I got another fairly recently, have it in a 15-gallon now and soon to move into a 40 breeder. I'm looking forward to raising it up, but I harbour no delusions about it being a delicate little sprite that will slip gracefully between the fronds of water plants, cavorting playfully with tiny fishes with which it happily co-habitates.

It will indeed be a "foot-long misshapen sausage-lookalike" that doesn't play well with others. I'm okay with that...but if you aren't expecting that and planning for it, you may not be so happy.

 

[phreeflow]

How about some mudskippers? They were a lot of fun to keep

 

[JustTheFish]

How about some mudskippers? They were a lot of fun to keep

Aren’t they brackish?

 

[phreeflow]

Aren’t they brackish?

Yes, light brackish…there are several aquarium plants that can handle it just fine. Not sure about above water plants though. If you can figure that out, mudskippers are very entertaining to keep

 

[JustTheFish]

Yes, light brackish…there are several aquarium plants that can handle it just fine. Not sure about above water plants though. If you can figure that out, mudskippers are very entertaining to keep

Is there any fish that could live in the water section