Axolotl questions.
- Thread starter Swarsh
- Start date
If they are similar in size you can keep them together. Ideally you have more hides than axolotls. I would say they are like goldfish in that you should have at least a 20long for one, and an additional ten gallons per additional axolotl. A larger footprint is obviously better than height.
Wild type, white albino, gold albino, leucistic, black melanoid, and grey melanoid are all easy to come by. I got mine from a breeder based in PA who will ship, has great pricing, and healthy stock. The one I wish I could find (and so does the breeder) is the piebald. I have seen pics of them and they are amazing, they are white with black blotches.
There are five very important things when it comes to axolotls:
1-Temp has to be kept low. They are true coolwater animals and will be stressed if kept at temps over about 73F long term.
2-High quality food is vital. Fortunately almost all axolotls are raised on pellets and have no issues taking to them. I feed mine New Life Spectrum exclusively and the growth matched that of the breeder.
3-Substrate is more important that with fish. Gravel is a no no. In addition to the normal trapping debris which lowers water quality, they can ingest the gravel which can cause an impaction. Bare bottom stresses them by not having anything to grip and can cause sores on their toes. Sand is ideal If ingested it can pass through without issues, provides something for them to grip, and won't trap debris.
4-Aeration is important. It increases oxygen levels and can make a huge difference if the temp ever does get toward the high end of their range (can be what saves them in a bad situation).
5-Water quality is just as important as it is with fish. Many people lack in this because they are not fish, but water quality is just as important with axolotls as it is with fish.
In general there are no safe tankmates for axolotls. Either the axolotls will eat them or their gills will be nipped by the fish. The only thing that has worked for me is fancy goldfish, they are too slow to nip the axolotls without getting nipped themselves and are too big for the axolotls to eat.
Wild type, white albino, gold albino, leucistic, black melanoid, and grey melanoid are all easy to come by. I got mine from a breeder based in PA who will ship, has great pricing, and healthy stock. The one I wish I could find (and so does the breeder) is the piebald. I have seen pics of them and they are amazing, they are white with black blotches.
There are five very important things when it comes to axolotls:
1-Temp has to be kept low. They are true coolwater animals and will be stressed if kept at temps over about 73F long term.
2-High quality food is vital. Fortunately almost all axolotls are raised on pellets and have no issues taking to them. I feed mine New Life Spectrum exclusively and the growth matched that of the breeder.
3-Substrate is more important that with fish. Gravel is a no no. In addition to the normal trapping debris which lowers water quality, they can ingest the gravel which can cause an impaction. Bare bottom stresses them by not having anything to grip and can cause sores on their toes. Sand is ideal If ingested it can pass through without issues, provides something for them to grip, and won't trap debris.
4-Aeration is important. It increases oxygen levels and can make a huge difference if the temp ever does get toward the high end of their range (can be what saves them in a bad situation).
5-Water quality is just as important as it is with fish. Many people lack in this because they are not fish, but water quality is just as important with axolotls as it is with fish.
In general there are no safe tankmates for axolotls. Either the axolotls will eat them or their gills will be nipped by the fish. The only thing that has worked for me is fancy goldfish, they are too slow to nip the axolotls without getting nipped themselves and are too big for the axolotls to eat.
Hmm I see.
As I'm thinking about breeding I was thinking about turning my 3foot tank into axolotl tank and breeding them.
Substrate is sand, water quality and aeration will be good.
So they are cold water and can be kept with goldfish.
are breeding them hard? or is it harder to sex them?
Swarsh
As I'm thinking about breeding I was thinking about turning my 3foot tank into axolotl tank and breeding them.
Substrate is sand, water quality and aeration will be good.
So they are cold water and can be kept with goldfish.
are breeding them hard? or is it harder to sex them?
Swarsh
You can't really sex them until they are larger. From what I have read breeding them is pretty easy (not platies and convict cichlid easy, but relatively easy). If they weren't so easy to breed they wouldn't be so widely used for research in captivity.
Not any goldfish, only the slow fancy goldfish. Usually what happens with mine is the goldfish don't know what the axolotls are, get nipped once (see a mark on their tail), then learn to avoid them. This requires the tank to be large enough and water quality to be high enough to house both. But yes, fancy goldfish are the only thing I would add to their tank.
Not any goldfish, only the slow fancy goldfish. Usually what happens with mine is the goldfish don't know what the axolotls are, get nipped once (see a mark on their tail), then learn to avoid them. This requires the tank to be large enough and water quality to be high enough to house both. But yes, fancy goldfish are the only thing I would add to their tank.
All good info from reptileguy. I don't know if I would add goldfish if you breed them though. A lot of people recommend not having any fish with them to keep their water quality better, but it works for some.
Hmm i see, so in a 3 foot tank 115 litre, how many will i be able to keep ?
and as for sexing, how do i tell when they grow up?
also, will i be able to mix the different types? 1 black 1 albino 1 wild ?
and will they be able to mixbreed??
thanks,
swarsh
and as for sexing, how do i tell when they grow up?
also, will i be able to mix the different types? 1 black 1 albino 1 wild ?
and will they be able to mixbreed??
thanks,
swarsh
yup all the different types can live happily together provided you provide enough places for them to hide and the tank is big enough. they can all breed together too. i highly suggest http://www.axolotl.org/ to read about how to tell the sexes apart, how to breed them, etc. they're considered sub-adults at 6 inches, but they usually don't breed until they're bigger than that.
I would only have two in that size tank with no tankmates (no goldfish). What you may want to do is buy more than two (get 4 or so) and when they are sexable sell the others to get a proper pair. From what I have read you will need at least one other tank to breed.
Good Info from reptileguy. Breeding is super easy I bred them and supplied many people that would resale them for profit. I raised them because it was fun. The big thing now is the GFP axolotl they glow green under a black light. I would go to caudata.org and find a breeder from there Michael Shroom is a known and respected breeder. You can also buy eggs and raise a bunch from the get go. That was I started 10 years or so ago. Good Luck