Just Got An Axoloyyl - Anyone Keeps These?

[fishnovice]

Apologies -laptop crashed, didn't mean to have so many identical posts. Moderator please delete duplicates. Thnaks

Finally found one, I've been after axolotls for ages but lfs in London rarely stock them and the only one I saw was £35. I've called him/her Alex. He's pure white with black eyes, so not an albino surely? Their owner bred them from eggs, There were 5 of them in an 18in tank, rather crowded I thought. They were very still and hardly moved at all. Is this normal? Mine seems to spend all his time sitting still on tank botttom. Mind you he's only been in for a few hours and is probably still settling down.
- How active are they at about 5in?
- What's the best food? he was brought up on frozen bloodworm and fresh musels -rather expensive!
- How do you tell sexes apart?
- At what age/size do they start breeding? I'd like to get a pair (or 3 if that;s better for them)and ry to breed them It would be fun to watch tadpoles grow.Any advice on breeding?
Thanks

 

[plecostomus-mad]

thats pretty cheap i think, in hereford, one lfs has 4 priced at 65 quid each!

 

[jacko32]

what is it a newt ?

 

[keithp]

Go to caudata.org/forums they have everything you need to know on axolots.

 

[Jenste]

I'm sorry...but if you have been after an axolotl for ages, shouldn't you have had time to do research on them?

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I'm sorry...but if you have been after an axolotl for ages, shouldn't you have had time to do research on them?

I think that too.

as KeithP said... www.caudata.org (link in my footer) will be your best place.

Axolotls in my opinion are not very active; I dont own one - but their lack of activness has put me off owning one.

Best food = chopped up earth worm

One will have a bigger "bulge" at the base of their tail but yours might be a bit young to tell.

For 1 adult axolotl a 2ft long tank is recommended; so you'd need AT LEAST a 4 foot tank for 3 (it's recommended 2 food minimum PER axolotl and then an extra foot per axolotl); I wouldn't put one in a 2 foot tank; I'd go for 3 foot if possible.

Also when younger the axolotls can be canabalistic.

Jacko32: An axolotl is an axolotl not a newt (they are the larval form of a salamander basically; they are a form of animal which permanantly lives in it's larval form).

 

[jacko32]

I'm sorry...but if you have been after an axolotl for ages, shouldn't you have had time to do research on them?

I think that too.

as KeithP said... www.caudata.org (link in my footer) will be your best place.

Axolotls in my opinion are not very active; I dont own one - but their lack of activness has put me off owning one.

Best food = chopped up earth worm

One will have a bigger "bulge" at the base of their tail but yours might be a bit young to tell.

For 1 adult axolotl a 2ft long tank is recommended; so you'd need AT LEAST a 4 foot tank for 3 (it's recommended 2 food minimum PER axolotl and then an extra foot per axolotl); I wouldn't put one in a 2 foot tank; I'd go for 3 foot if possible.

Also when younger the axolotls can be canabalistic.

Jacko32: An axolotl is an axolotl not a newt (they are the larval form of a salamander basically; they are a form of animal which permanantly lives in it's larval form).

cool thought it looked like a newt

 

[Forestpisces]

I own 2 axolotls your would be a leuistic i have my femal Wanda ( golden albino) she's the more active of the two and loves to glide about the tank at night she also loves making a real racket by playing with the thermomiter on the glass she's 8 inches and fully grown. My other is a male ( wild type) called Sirius, named by my other half haha, he's much shier but slightly larger at about 9 1/2 to 10 inches. I bought them as a breeding pair for QSS Aquatics for £70! They had youngsters for £17.99 each all of which were leuistic ( pink/ white with black eyes). Axolotls are not known for their activeness but i find mine to be far more active at night, they dislike bright light and enjoy caves to hide in should they wish to
They are also coldwater mine are comfortable at 20C but do prefer it slightly lower at preferably 12-16 this is harder in the summer as for once in england we are having good weather

caudata.org is a real gem hope i helped.

 

[fishnovice]

Thanks everyone for the hint about caudata -I'll definitely look them up on that. So relieved to hear they don't move around much as I thought mine might have been sick from being in an overcrowded tank with his siblings.

I did research axolotls on the internet but got a lot of conflicting advice so decided to follow what the previous owner was doing =after all he had successfully reared them to maturity. I have plenty of worms in my organic composter but was hoping someone would recommend some kind of pellet or flake food for them. There's no way any of my friends or neighbours would handle live worms or bloodworm to feed him if I am on holiday. Also worms tend to bury themselves deep in compost in winter to keep warm so would be difficult to find a daily supply.

I have a large tank to move him into when he's bigger and might even try to find him a friend if I can. Hence the question about sexing them as I don't want to end up with 2 males constantly fighting!

 

[Paradise3]

I just got one of these! Mines an albino, still young only about 3-4". Mine was reared on frozen bloodworm aswell. The reason i have one is because my mum saw me researching them! So today when she went shopping she decided to "surprise"(more like shock) me with it! She got it for £8 and it's in brilliant health. I hadn't finished researching it yet and my mum brings home this little albino axolotl! So basically i need to know some other stuff. The one thing i am doing is getting a 3ft tank off gumtree hopefully, if this is ok to keep it in? I bought some frozen bloodworm to give it aswell. How long will it be before it will need this 3ft tank? It would take me 4 weeks to raise the £40 that the person is asking for. Would it be alright until i get this tank in my quite large, 5.5 gallon? It has plenty of room at the minute.... but obviously i wouldn't have bought it without having the tank ready and set up! I really need some help here as i would love to keep it and the shop don't take fish back! They said to my mum "This is a small, peaceful community amphibian" Yeah right! It get's 12" long!

Alessa x.