Two-toed Amphiuma?!

[Raechal]

Do any of you own one or have any of you seen them in your local fish stores?

 

[lozronz]

That is awsome! never seen one, axolotly-type thingy? will definately keep my eye out. Have you found much info on them? any links?

 

[Raechal]

That is awsome! never seen one, axolotly-type thingy? will definately keep my eye out. Have you found much info on them? any links?

I basically just looked them up on google and yahoo and read a bunch about them and saw one at my local fish store for $20 and fell in love with his turned up mouth and bright blue eyes.

He is in my 125 gallon with my Oscar and I am re-doing my whole tank around him. I've added lots of long PVC pipe, and I am starting to plant my tank up with link plants to make him feel more at home. No matter how much my oscar tries to move the plants around.

I tried feeding him dead silver sides, but he didn't eat those, then tried super worms, didn't eat those, then I picked up a bucket of night crawlers in the bait section of walmart as the guy at the fish store said he fed his oscar those and he loved them as a treat so I tried it with mine and the amphiuma gobbled it up!


I guess they only eat about once a week, which I am NOT used to at all as my oscar eats like 5 times a day. haha.

He is pretty cool. I am going to add more sand for him to dig/burrow through along with more live plants, floating plants and probably empty some of the water out and put a floating dock in my tank so he can slide up there and get air easily.

He seems very happy in his new home. he was in a VERY tiny tank in the pet store, probably like 10 gallons or so.

He is about 2 feet long when fully un-coiled.

 

[lozronz]

How active is he? and is he nocturnal? I'm really interested in him, I love the oddball creatures for some reason and he really is cute and oddball.
I live in the UK, I'v been to quite alot of fish shops in my time and never come across one of those. It may now become my mission to find one.

Anyone ever seen one in uk?

 

[Raechal]

How active is he? and is he nocturnal? I'm really interested in him, I love the oddball creatures for some reason and he really is cute and oddball.
I live in the UK, I'v been to quite alot of fish shops in my time and never come across one of those. It may now become my mission to find one.

Anyone ever seen one in uk?

I have NEVER seen them in US shops until now, the one down the street from my house has another one I beleive for sale, but a different kind. Maybe like a one toed amphiuma, which I believe grows smaller than the one I purchased. He isn't very active, he mainly slithers around on the bottom of the tank when he is, or squirms up to the top to take a breath of air. They have fully developed lungs and are like a fully aquatic salamander.

I believe he is nocturnal. I mean he will swim around sometimes during the day but will only eat when the lights are off. He spends 1/2 of his time in a long PVC pipe I have put in my tank for him. He pretty much ignores my parrot fish and Oscar. They're vision is really poor but they have something similar to a fish's lateral line that can sence when food is there infront of them.

I have heard they have 2 rows of sharp teeth on the bottom of their mouths, but I have never seen it and when he ate the night crawler there was never any blood drawn, he just sucked it down like a noodle. I have also heard about them being vicious and biting, but I have pet mine a few times and he doesn't seem to bother. He's a sweet guy and pretty much keeps to his own.

 

[lozronz]

Hey, been doing some googling, did you know it can whistle! Apparently when disturbed? And I think that it might be neotenic which is pretty cool (actually I don't really understand what that is, the descriptions I'v read vary)

Something to do with being able to reproduce before maturity and I think it means as it develops its state changes and it 'devolves into a previous state of its evolution.

Thats how I understand it but I probably need someone to come on here and tell me I'm talking out my a$$.

But it seems to get some bad press here and there, which kinda makes me want one more, its like a fun size lung fish and I love those things. we had one at college that had bitten someones finger off... Im rambling.

Cheers

 

[Raechal]

Hey, been doing some googling, did you know it can whistle! Apparently when disturbed? And I think that it might be neotenic which is pretty cool (actually I don't really understand what that is, the descriptions I'v read vary)

Something to do with being able to reproduce before maturity and I think it means as it develops its state changes and it 'devolves into a previous state of its evolution.

Thats how I understand it but I probably need someone to come on here and tell me I'm talking out my a$$.

But it seems to get some bad press here and there, which kinda makes me want one more, its like a fun size lung fish and I love those things. we had one at college that had bitten someones finger off... Im rambling.

Cheers

They also had an african lungfish at the same store I bought him from. It's neat to watch him come to the surface to get a gulp of air, the suck in air and it makes this little whistling noise kind of, like an inhaling noise but kind of squeaky? Haha. He is really fun to watch although he doesn't do much. He is a beautiful creature.

 

[lozronz]

Yer, the one at college didn't do much except for feeding time when it would really slowly float up to the food to within a few inches then shoot forward and twist in a fraction of a second, used to make me jump everytime!

Pretty serious fish though it must have been over three foot and it bit though two heaters and the cages protecting them, electrifying the tank and it still survived!