Axolotl question time....

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to3kn33

Feeder Fish
Oct 9, 2010
1
0
0
london
Hey people i am looking into getting one of these amazing animals, I have heard the up keep of them is very much like that of keeping fancy goldfish(which i already have). I have been looking into getting an internal filter and making a spray bar for this to make sure its not too much of a current in the tank. I then came across this http://www.arkpetsonline.co.uk/fluval-edge-black-p-1247.html would this be suitable for one? i know it may be a little short for them... maybe??? I am based in the uk so does anyone know what tanks wud be best for them also?

thanking you!!

Tony
 
Not a chance those are way too small, look up the Axolotls enclosures not hard to find, this though is not one
 
No way man, that tank is way too small. The tank has to be wery wide so axos have the space to swim long ways without chrashing to the glass after a sencond. The other problem with the tank you suggest is that it's very tall in height. Axolotls don't need height that much since they spend most of their time at the bottom of the tank.

Tank for one axolotl must be _at least_ 150 liters. I have two in 200 L and other two in 300 L.

You should keep these things in mind before purchaising one. I'm sure you want the axolotl to feel comfortable in it's new home :)
 
i have one in a 20gallon-long (for about 5 years), that's the absolute minimum you would want to keep one in. they're not active at all so they don't need a huge tank to swim around in. just keep the water clean and use a good filter.

the tank you're looking at is too small.
 
Personally, I'd say anything under 100 liters and the animals aren't worth keeping as pets. I've kept these and like to do one in a 30 gallon aquarium (around 113 liters). If you could go with 150 liters (roughly a 40 gallon breeder), I personally think up to three or four adults would be great in it, and it's much more suitable than even one in a 30 gallon. These guys will live in a lot less water (laboratories keep them in shoebox sized containers, where they can barely even move), they're much more active in larger tanks. In my experience, when kept in smaller spaces, they just sit on the bottom and never move. When kept in larger tanks they move a lot more, and I see them doing more than sitting in the exact same spot all the time, only moving for food. Tank mates are the same way- although they're not necessarily social, if I keep two or more together in a tank, both are out and moving more often. Sometimes together, sometimes at opposite ends of the tank, but kept singly, they seem to sit sedentary more often.

You could cram one in that aquarium, but it would stunt its growth, and it wouldn't ever do more than sit on the bottom of the tank in one spot. At that point, you might as well just get a plastic one, it'll be cheaper, and just as entertaining.

Also, I'd advise against an internal filter. Internal filters tend to make a lot of water disturbance, and these guys don't like that. My favorite is a sponge prefilter (to make regular removal of solid waste easy, making water changes less necessary) on a high-volume canister filter, like an Eheim. Fill it with biological media, and it's great, because it doesn't have to move as much water to keep parameters up the way internal or HOB filters do. Sponge filters work great when the axies are small, but they don't provide enough mechanical filtration to clean up the solid waste larger axolotls produce.
 
rnocera;4610027; said:
Personally, I'd say anything under 100 liters and the animals aren't worth keeping as pets.

why is that?

rnocera;4610027; said:
I've kept these and like to do one in a 30 gallon aquarium (around 113 liters).

standard 30g's have the same footprint as a 20g-long. height is not important for axolotls so a 20g-long will do just as good as a standard 30.

rnocera;4610027; said:
In my experience, when kept in smaller spaces, they just sit on the bottom and never move. When kept in larger tanks they move a lot more, and I see them doing more than sitting in the exact same spot all the time, only moving for food.

i moved mine out of a 55g because it wasn't utilizing the whole tank. it just sat there except when it was eating or thought i was going to feed it. in fact, it spent most of it's time in a cave.
 
As I went on to say in the post, in my experience the smaller the aquarium the more sedentary they are. That's why I don't see a smaller size as being worth keeping them as pets. If you want lab animals, you may as well keep them as lab animals, and just throw them in a 10 gallon.

The two 30 gallon aquariums I have both came used from yard sales so I don't know what brand/make they are, but the footprint on them is (roughly) 36"x 16". A 20 gallon is 30"x12". I assumed mine were standards, since I found two of them are different yard sales. Maybe they're breeder tanks?
 
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