# Axolotl Aquarium



## philo (Jul 7, 2009)

Hey, I am in the process of a very 'axolotl xmas' and i have recently custom ordered a tank from M.G Marine, Made to fit a cabinet in my bedroom. The dimensions are 38 inches long, 20 inches deep and 18 inches tall. I was wondering if i could keep multiple axolotl in there and also what filtration system would you recommend? I currently have an eheim classic 2213 lying around, would that be of any use? Any photos of your set-ups would be very appreciated,
Thankyou,
George.


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## Draconis (Dec 19, 2011)

I have an aquarium of a similar size for my two axies. Any more than two in mine and I would feel it was a bit cramped. They're not aggressive but they will sometimes mistake their tank mate's legs as food, so it's better to give them the room so they're not constantly in each other's way. A tank of the dimensions you mentioned would work fine. Also providing separate hides will help them out.

As for filters, I am using an Aqua One CF700 canister filter. This filter has an operating flow rate of 400L/hr, and a maximum flow rate of 600L/hr. As this is quite powerful for my aquarium, and axolotls like relatively still water, I have stuck a shower scrunchie in front of the outflow pipe to drastically reduce the water flow. I'm not familiar with your filter, but if it's an internal filter, they work fine too.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.


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## philo (Jul 7, 2009)

Thankyou  The filter i have is an external canister filter and i guess i could lower the flow rate by using a large spray bar? As for decorations and substrate what would you recommend? I have been told that sand can be used as long as there is a separate feeding dish so they dont eat the substrate ?
Thanks,
George


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## philo (Jul 7, 2009)

And also could i potentially use live plants? I have experience with tropical live plants but im not sure about cold water. Are they relatively similar or will i have to use elodea or something?


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## Draconis (Dec 19, 2011)

You can use a spray bar to disperse the flow. That's exactly what I use my shower scrunchie for. The only difference was that the scrunchie cost me a pound and is doing just as good a job!

I have sand substrate myself. People use large pebbles but the problem with them is that bits of food or waste can get stuck underneath. Avoid using gravel because it's small enough for the axolotl to swallow, which causes impactions.

With sand, I've never seen my axolotls eat any sand. I feed mine earthworms by hand; they swim to the surface and take the worms from me there. It's great because there's no risk of impaction and I can monitor exactly what they're eating. This means I don't have a feeding dish.

Another bonus with sand is it's easier to clean. I don't mean taking it out and replacing it. Ideally you should never have to do that, as a lot of beneficial bacteria will make their home there. What I mean is, when it comes to waste from the axolotls it is very easy to remove with a turkey baster.

For hides you could use plain old pottery. Another thing I know people do is use aquarium silicone to stick pebbles to a plastic tub to create a nice looking hide. Driftwood and mopani wood are good also. They leak tanins into the water which dyes it, but those tanins also work like an antiseptic, so if your axolotl has any nicks or bumps, those tanins will help a little. With driftwood and mopani wood, you can tie live java moss to it. This moss will then grow on the wood, and will eventually cover it if left long enough. 

Fake plants are a good decoration too. Live freshwater plants tend to be green with the rare hint of red, and so it can look a bit boring. Using silk plants can add a bit more colour to the aquarium.

Live plants are great to use. They can really help you create a healthy tank. This is because they feed on the nitrates produced from the waste from axolotls and help oxygenate the water. Look for a mixture of freshwater plants such as anubias, java fern, amazon swords, and java moss and marimo moss balls. These plants can even be found in Pets At Home.


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## Stupot1610 (Jul 6, 2013)

You could also buy packs of live plants from eBay which cost a fraction of the price from pets at home. I bought plants for my hypselotriton orientalis tank from eBay and they were great quality.
I agree with draconis, 3 would be a squeeze but 2 axolotls in that tank would be just fine, although if you don't want any eggs you should look into getting 2 females or 2 males 
Hope this was of some help,
Regards, 
Stuart


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## philo (Jul 7, 2009)

Thankyou for the comments, I think I am going to go for a planted tank, maybe get a huge bunch of live plants off eBay but do they fare well in the colder temperatures? I have decided that I am going to get 2 axolotls, one black and one white. As i want to get them whilst they are young yet still fully developed (Back Legs etc) i believe i would have to feed them blood worms and to do this i want to put a feeding dish in the tank. This would also reduce any risk of impaction due to the sand substrate. 
What about lighting? I have a clip on LED strip that i could use but is there any issue of being to bright on the albino one? In biology I've learnt that the eyes of an albino are much more sensitive to light. 
Thankyou, 
George


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## Stupot1610 (Jul 6, 2013)

Well my hypselotriton orientalis have their tank planted with tropical plants, I got 20 bunches (5 plants per bunch) for about £20 and they were great and that was good few weeks ago and they're still doing fine. But if your worried about it you could go for the packs of cold water plants, although you get some nice ones in the tropical packs and my hypselotriton tank goes from anywhere around 15/16 to 19/20 normally and the plants I have in there are fine. 
Bloodworms would be a fine food whilst their young but you could also supplement it with daphnia amongst other things but bloodworms aren't the most nutritious so when they're older they should be fed pellets, bloodworms and earthworms, that also makes it more interesting for your axolotls instead of eating the same thing all the time. The feeding dish is a good idea, that's what I used when I fed mine. I don't think the sand would cause impaction as it's so small that it'll just pass through. As long as the light isn't on all the time and only when your looking at your axolotls you put it on then it should be fine, but remember they naturally like it dark. If you're worried about the albino getting hurt by the light you could go for a leucistic, they are usually almost completely white apart from having slight brown on the head and black eyes. Good choice going for them when their young! They're sooooooo cute when they're babies. If only you had been looking for these a couple of weeks ago, I had lots of babies wildtype, melanoid, leucistic, albino, gold albino and I could have sent you some, but unfortunately I have now sold my entire collection of axolotls to make more space for other creatures
Regards,
Stuart


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## Draconis (Dec 19, 2011)

I wouldn't really bother putting tropical plants in cold water as you can get nice cold freshwater plants for cheap enough anyway, as well as being easy to care for.

When they're young, bloodworm is a good option, and a feeding dish will help contain some of the mess, but not all. As they grow older, earthworms are a great staple. I buy a quarter pound of dendrobaena earthworms for £5 from a local tackle shop, store them in a large plastic tub with some compost, and they last for months at a time.

Back to substrates, though, you don't actually have to have anything on the floor. Many people just leave the bare glass there. It's the option with the least risk, but personally I don't think it looks as nice as sand.

Low watt fluorescent lights and especially your LED will do great when it comes to live plants. The plants will need a few hours of light each day to help them photosynthesise. Without the light they'll just die off and leave a mess of your tank. LED lights are better than fluorescent tubes because they don't emit as much (if any) heat. Axolotls like cool water, so having an overhead light that doesn't contribute to warming their water is ideal.

Axolotls don't have eyelids, so having an overhead light would be like somebody shining a torch into your eyes. That said, there are ways around this to make it as stress free as possible for them. Firstly, the provision of hides will make them feel safe and secure, while also being a dark retreat from the lights. Secondly, the very plants your lights are there to feed can help your axolotls too.

When choosing live plants, it's a good idea to get a mixture for a few reasons. Not only is it less boring to look at, but they also provide cover for your axolotls. To protect your axolotls from the bright overhead lights, you can use broad-leafed plants such as Amazon Swords. These will block some of the light and prevent it reaching your axie's eyes. Surface plants are good too, for the same reason. Things like Water Lettuce and Duckweed sit on the surface and provide cover for your axolotls. 

Be wary of Duckweed, though. It spreads rapidly, so you'll be regularly removing portions of it from your aquarium. Not only that, but once it's been added, it's very hard to completely remove it all, and so it will keep growing back. It's for that reason I've avoided it, even though it definitely isn't harmful to your axolotls. It's more to do with not tying myself down to always having Duckweed.


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## philo (Jul 7, 2009)

As for the substrate, could i use slate chips as they are very visually appealing and also easy to clean but they seem sharp to me and i dont want anyh=thing to be potentially hazardous 
Thankyou,
George


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## Draconis (Dec 19, 2011)

Like you said, they can be quite sharp so I would avoid chips. However, slate tiling would be fine but it wouldn't have the same effect.


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## philo (Jul 7, 2009)

If i could cut slate tiles that may give a nice effect, i could decorate it with larger pebbles but this takes out the planting element, maybe i could pile stones around the planters?


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## Draconis (Dec 19, 2011)

You could do that, or you could tie the plants to some driftwood with fishing wire and gauze. You can buy plants already tied to driftwood from stores or on the internet if you feel doing it yourself would be too fiddly. Marimo moss balls are excellent in this aspect because, as their name suggests, they're balls so you don't have to root them to anything. Axolotls love them, too. I've often seen mine sitting on their moss balls as if they're mini sofas.


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## philo (Jul 7, 2009)

I would love to 'litter' the tank with mossballs but i have not got access to large ones which i find much more appealing, And they take an age to grow, I Think i will go with the idea of tying plants to driftwood and have mossballs all around the floor. Then i would not have to have a feeding dish :2thumb: Now what could i do about making natural hides? I would like to stack slate tiles but i i am worried about the sharp corners :bash: help ?!
Thanks,
George


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## Draconis (Dec 19, 2011)

You can use a polishing kit to smooth the edges, then use aquarium silicone to stick the tiles together. You could stack them, or you could make a shelf that acts as a hide. I've seen a couple done this way and they looked quite nice.


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## creg (Jun 10, 2012)

M.G Marine in Dudley? i used to go there for my fish and corals etc :2thumb:


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

Slate chips should be ok if they are too big to actually eat. If you do use sand, aim for playsand (available from argos, Early Learning Centre etc); it has rounded particles that are easily passed if swallowed.


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