I have aquariums, but not all have fish in them. Most have axolotls, a full time water salamander that cannot stay out of water. the pics are of some three week old babies.
I have aquariums, but not all have fish in them. Most have axolotls, a full time water salamander that cannot stay out of water. the pics are of some three week old babies.
They run around room temp. I do not have chiller. Here are pics from yesterday when they were a month old. They hatched on September 11th. The picture with the squares in the background under the tank has squares that are two inches between the lines so the babies are about 1.5 inches long now and sould grow their front legs in the next week or two.
Last edited by matherfish; 10-12-2019 at 03:42 PM.
They are really interesting. They need their temps between 64* and 74* but they do better if their kept between 64 and 68*. 74 is pushing it. They are curious and like to watch what is going on in their surroundings outside their tank. If injured, their limbs and organs will grow back without any scar tissue. They never leave the water like other salamanders unless they morph, which is rare. You can feed them live earthworms or some died foods. Mature Axolotls will usually only every two or three days. Babies need to be fed twice a day and juveniles need to be fed daily.
I know this may be TMI but maybe it will answer most of the questions people might have.
I thought I'd add a link to your earlier thread about them for people interested:
https://www.koiphen.com/forums/showt...8-New-axolotls
What kind of water volume per Axolotis do they require? Filtration?
They look like they'd be a lot of fun to have!
A mature axolotl needs a 20 gallon tank because they grow up to 14" long but I have some grown ones that are only 9" long. For each additional axolotl you need 10 more gallons. I use sponge filters with an air pump but some use small filters. They are fresh water animals but you need to use Prime to take the chlorine out. Do not use water conditioners with aloe, etc. You can use a bare bottomed tank, or any substrate that is sand if the axolotl is mature, or stones that are too big to get in their mouth. They inhale their food like a vacuum cleaner and swallowed stones or grains of sand cn get their digestive system impacted. When feeding juveniles or mature adults, feeding live worms or worm pieces most people enjoy using long tweezers. Some people really fix the tanks up with decor. The axolotl also does not like bright light so you do not need aquarium lights on all of the time. They like to have a place to hide in also.
My tanks are bare bottom for easy cleaning, and have some pvc fittings in them for hiding places, and have anacharis for them to float on or hide in, and to improve the water as well as add color.
It seems difficult, but they are really pretty easy to keep. They can live up to 15 years, but I do not know of anyone who has had theirs that long.
Thanks, Steve. The first ones I got were young juveniles. I sold off all but three of them and have bought some other older juveniles so that I would not take a chance of inter breeding, plus I wanted more color variations.
I forgot to mention that some axolotls carry a gene called gfp which makes the axolotl when under a black light glow a bright neon green color. It is really cool looking.
I think these are cool. Such interesting creatures. Thanks for sharing.
-Steve in Phx.
Novice Extraordinaire
Look how big their feathery gills are! The albinos are really hard to take a picture of because they are almost see through.
Now at 6 weeks old the axolotls are stouter and longer, most around 2" long. They are now eating live black worms and daphnia. I have separated them into 2 two gallon tubs. Ironic that I have 14 wild variety axolotls and 14 albino variety axolotls so I divided them by variety.
Last edited by matherfish; 10-26-2019 at 05:45 PM.
I failed to mention in the last post but some of the babies have grown their back legs and the others should have them within a week. The front legs will be coming next. The little legs are very small and so hard to se, and photograph. The little legs are near the tail, just past the end of their fat bellies.
Last edited by matherfish; 10-28-2019 at 11:30 PM.
So awesome!
Sometime in the next year my husband is going to help me set up a fish room in our basement. I’m hoping my tanks at room temp will stay cool enough to keep these guys. They are so fascinating and adorable!
The axolotls are so interesting to have and enjoy. I am posting pics as the babies grow, but the adults are also fascinating. I will post some pics of some of the adults in a few days. Today's pic is a pic showing two siblings, both from eggs that were laid at the same time so the babies were in the same clutch. They have been fed the same things but one has definitely outgrown the other as seen in the pic. There are some big babies, like the big one in the pic, and some that are the same size as the smaller one. Genetics is interesting!
Look at the difference a month makes! These little guys are now around 3.5 inches to 5 inches long and are now big enough to ship, just in time for Christmas. I have wild, melanoid, golden albinos and melanoid albino varieties. They are great aquarium pets!
A golden albino axolotl is pictured here as it "floats" to the bottom of the tank as though held by a parachute. Axolotls will swim at times, and at other times will walk across the bottom. They go to the top of the water at times to get a gulp of air, but mainly breath through their gills. When swimming, they will sometimes just stop and float back to the bottom. They are inquisitive and investigative.
Hello there! Another axolotl (Mexican salamander) pic! To keep an axolotl you only need a 10 gallon aquarium until they get about 6 or 7 inches long, and then you need a 20 gallon aquarium so they have room to swim. You need a small air pump and a sponge filter to help keep the tank filtered. You do not need a top for the tank as they won't climb out, and you do not need a light as they really prefer low light. They eat earthworms which can be bought at Walmart, Sports Academy, pet stores or bait stores. Easy care! Contact me for more info.
Jim, these need to stay 70* or lower but I kept them in my non- air conditioned garage and it got hot in there during the summer by putting a fan on them or putting frozen water bottles in the tank. Some people buy chillers. I understand your frustration, but maybe someday you will be able to get one.