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We had some Water Dogs that are now Salamanders, and my Hubby now wants some Axolotls...

How do you keep the tank cool enough for them??? That's the biggest thing stopping us from getting them right now. There's no way we can pay a thousand dollars for a water chiller and our summers are too hot. =)

Congrats!! They are cute!!
 
I'm in the uk and I've had that tank in the same place for years so I know the water will stay cool enough. but I do have chiller blocks just in case.

Leo is 4 inches at the moment and the other is 3 inches. They'll grow up to 12" in length. They are in a 45 gallon tank. So they are adorable at the moment, but will grow into big monsters lol.

Brandi: I've had my eye on these for years, I've had newts and thought they'd be quite inactive like the newts but they are actually quite active and very nosey!
 
they are lovely!

I do hope however they are not together yet - - both have to be a minimum of 4" to live together - - the 3" is at risk of still developing cannibalistic tendencies - - the 3" can cause some serious harm to the 4"

Even just putting a divider in until the littlest one is more than 4" will solve the problem. Unfortunately once cannibalistic habits are learned they are rarely "unlearned" - that axolotl will need to be solitary for life due to aggression.
 
Temp isn't an issue unless you keep your house really warm. They need to be very well aerated (lots of bubbles), this can help a lot of the temp is borderline.

I have not heard of that. I grew mine up together without any issues. If they have places to hide and are fed well they shouldn't start eating each other.
 
Actually temperature is an issue - - they need to be kept cool - temps over 75*F for an extended period of time can cause stress and illness

And if you research Axolotls, you will see many articles about their cannibalistic tendencies as babies.

www.caudata.org has lots of infomation

http://www.axolotl.org/rearing.htm - covers when the cannibalistic stage occurs and when it ends

http://www.axolotl.org/housing.htm - covers tank and temperature etc
 
I specified that in most homes UNLESS IT IS KEPT VERY WARM temp is not usually an issue. Many people have the idea that they need to be in the 60s, but the low 70s is fine.

Yes, they can be cannibalistic, but if they are fed well and have enough hiding places this tends to not be an issue. But that is from experience, not from articles online.

FYI I wrote an article on axolotls that will be published in TFH Magazine.
 
Everything we've read says that the temp shouldn't be kept over 72, but 65 is ideal. That's great to know... Our home stays pretty warm though, even with the swamp cooler. Our other tanks (for tropical fish) don't even have heaters because their temps stay at about 78 pretty constantly. We want to keep at least 4-5 of them, so we need to get a hold of, and find a place to stick a 55+ gallon tank and get it set up first. =)

Hubby fell in love with the Water Dogs at the LFS right before it went out of business, and bought them up with out much research to begin with (other than we had to get a new tank specifically for them, we didn't know much...). He was slightly disappointed when they turned into Tiger Salamanders, but we're still loving them! He's been wanting some of those guys ever since.
 
Jenste said:
Actually temperature is an issue - - they need to be kept cool - temps over 75*F for an extended period of time can cause stress and illness

And if you research Axolotls, you will see many articles about their cannibalistic tendencies as babies.

www.caudata.org has lots of infomation

http://www.axolotl.org/rearing.htm - covers when the cannibalistic stage occurs and when it ends

http://www.axolotl.org/housing.htm - covers tank and temperature etc
Click to expand...

See, that link says temp should be between 57-68, our house is way too warm. That was the problem we came up with with the water dogs, and were able to keep the tank at a steady 72, but not lower... =) This is great, though! I'm learning so much!
 
72F is fine as long as there is a lot of aeration. That is about where my tank is.
 
72 might be ok - -this needs to be considered a high temp in your eyes though, not a median.

also try using low wattage for only a few hours a day for lighting to reduce heat, kept in rooms such as kitchens and basements. Lots of airflow in the room they are in (fan, AC)

Heat is a huge stress factor for them - a lot of axolotl owners struggle with maintaining temperature in the summer and have to resort to moving the tank infront of an AC unit or putting the axolotls in the refrigerator for the axolotls health.
 
Jentse: Yes they are both in the same tank (the smallest is 3.5 inches), I have plenty of hiding spots and am feeding them lots so I'm seeing how it goes. The tank base is 32" by 18" so it's more than big enough for them both to have plenty of their own space. I do have a back-up (just in case). The minute I see any signs of agression they'll be separated. The only agression I've seen is towards their dinner :).
 
dipsydoodlenoodle said:
Jentse: Yes they are both in the same tank (the smallest is 3.5 inches), I have plenty of hiding spots and am feeding them lots so I'm seeing how it goes. The tank base is 32" by 18" so it's more than big enough for them both to have plenty of their own space. I do have a back-up (just in case). The minute I see any signs of agression they'll be separated. The only agression I've seen is towards their dinner :).
Click to expand...
Aw, they're TINY! Is Leo a golden albino? Do you have a name for the other one yet?
 
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