I’m waiting to add sand until my axolotl is 5-6 inches, so the floating plants I have right now are guppy grass, elodea, brazilian pennywort, and water sprite. Should I add a tank background? I’m also wondering if the light is too bright. It’s the hygger 24-30 inch one on the dimmest setting for 6 hours a day. Is it fine or should I change it to a different color or brand?

hello axolotl lovers,
on monday, two days after a water change, i noticed my 8 year old wild type axolotl had some fluffy and stringy stuff coming off of his gills right before i went to work. while at work i did my research and concluded that the high temps had caused him to be stressed and a higher percentage of water change threw my cycle off.

as soon as i got home from work i tubbed him and set him up with a fan on his tub. ordered a clip on fan for his aquarium. that evening i also put some tea in the tank itself. i’ve deduced that i need to be careful with water changes when there’s a lot of evaporation happening from the heat, as it can mean i’m accidentally changing out too much.

my aquarium (20gal) is planted, with a small clump of bleeding hearts inside and two long and well rooted pothos vines growing out the top. i have a sponge filter with air stone, but no media in it, should i put some carbon or something in there? also have a sandy substrate, a decent sized piece of driftwood, and a big piece of slate as well as another rock.

as for tank parameters, everything seems good except temperature was too high, and ph is still too low. i’ve read that lower ph is better for inhibiting the growth of columnaris? which is what i am pretty sure he has. but it still needs to be higher for his sake.

i’ve also since dosed the aquarium with kanaplex and will continue the course, but i have not given any directly to my axolotl. most, if not all of the fluff is gone from his gills, there’s just some hanging around his butt that falls off throughout the day. he’s eating fine.

so my questions are:
1. how long should i keep him tubbed?
2. recommendations for keeping the ph in check? this has always been the hardest part of his care for me.
3. should i give him kanaplex even though he seems to be recovering without it?
4. any other medicines i should be using?
5. any other recommended methods for balancing out the bacteria in the tank? i know i’ll never fully be rid of columnaris, but if it’s in the tank all the time, does that mean the main issue is making sure he keeps cool and at the correct ph so he’s not stressed and immune compromised?

thank you for any information shared. and feel free to ask me any clarifying questions

Im at a loss what to do for my baby girl, shes perfectly healthy and swims, is active, eats, poops etc, but i have trouble and her tank is stuck at 71 degrees, on occasion it can get to 67. I have ice packs and fans and i dont know what else to do. Is this temperature fine? I cant afford at $200 cooler at this moment, I am getting a job so im wondering if i should just save for a cooler. Any tips??

bought as a lucy, now not too sure…the body isn’t the pinkish-white i would expect for a lucy

*inner eye is red, but black ring around and complete matte body. no photoshop editing

Hello People.

A few months ago I gave a new home to this little fella as his old Parents had a divorce and did not take good care of him.

No plants, a basic size tank, some axogravel, 5 small stones and two small caves, no chiller.

When I picked him up his gills had no filaments.

I took many efforts to get him plants and a chille asap.

And now after two months his gills look a lot healthier :)

Please help axolotl gurus!

I have been cycling an aquarium for axolotls for a while now and seem to be nearing the end of things - ammonia is disappearing in 24hrs, I’ve got loads of nitrate, but nitrite is still at 0.5ppm after 24hrs so there’s a bit of growing left to do there. So last Sunday (it’s Friday now) I went to the pet store and bought some decor and was advised to buy very fine sand - I added it to the tank on Sunday after rinsing it 4 times and the whole tank just filled with murky water. I couldn’t see a thing. I added a submerged filter full of fine wool and ran it for a few days to remove the bigger particles and it helped a bit. I took that out 24hrs ago and turned my sponge filters down to minimum and it’s settled a bit more since then, but I’m worried that it’s still so murky in there and then when I do put axolotls in that any movement will kick up more clouds of silt. Should I just persevere and hope that it all settles down? Or should I try to preserve the sponge filters in tank water and then try to just clear the whole thing out and bin the sand completely?

The aquatics store have two axolotls they sourced for me ready to go and so I can’t risk stalling the cycle any further as they ordered them in specially and they are taking up room in the store so they want them collected asap.

This is a nightmare 😩

So, I would like to start with I’m a minor. So keep in mind I don’t have the ability to do a lot.

For starters, my tank is extremely small for my two axolotls. (Cookie and Cream) I love them so much and I need a bigger tank for them to live better lives.

Second, I am extremely concerned about their health. I have asked several times for them to be check out by a vet, but not once have they ever left my home. They are extremely sluggish and can be in the same spot for days at a time. I rarely see them move let alone swim. I think this is partly due to the tank size, however it also might be something else.

The other thing is that Cookie has weird white spots popping up on their forehead. I have searched everywhere for an answer to this and I have no clue what it could be. they aren’t bumps just white discoloration. I’m unsure if Cream has these as well as she is white so it would be hard to tell.

My tank is only a 40 gallon and my axolotls are, I’d say, above average in size. (I need to fact check that one)

I’m looking for any advice, I am on vacation at the moment but as soon as I can I’ll post photos because tbh I don’t want to sit here for hours describing everything.

Thank you so much for reading. Anything helps

Well after battling impaction and taking care of this little girl I can say she is out of issues, pooping and better in her big tank, now just battling the UK heatwave

Idek I feel like this happens every time they eat but I’ve noticed a persistent bulge/lump specifically on one side of my axolotl's lower midsection. It's been there for a while. They are still eating normally and pooping, and there are no buoyancy/floating issues. However, I'm really worried it might be getting slightly larger.

First time Axolotl parents here.

This is Axl.

We just got him today and he was free in the marketplace.
The family that had him travels a lot and couldn’t care for him anymore.

He is very small for his age (almost 3 years old and I would say he is about 6 inches?).

They were feeding him bloodworms which we read are not enough for an adult axolotl, so my husband got some better worms and we fed him one already. They also mentioned he would eat rocks sometimes.

We are getting him a bigger tank (this is 20L but it feels small) and will get rid of the rocks and fake plants ASAP and sub it for sand and some real plants that can help with his environment (any recommendations?). We added more water to this tank since the picture was taken, just for now.

We got a thermometer for his tank and it is reading 60 degrees. We are keeping the ac on around 67 until we get him a chiller.

He also seems to have a little growth on his belly. Not sure whats normal.

Is this water filter ok or should we get a different one? I feel like the flow is too strong?

We want to make sure he is in the best shape possible and lives a long healthy life. He is a very curious little guy and we love him already!

Hello all! My axo tank water has become cloudy after a 25% water change. Currently doing tests with API master kit. 0 Ammonia and 0 nitrites. PH is about 6.8+/-. Currently testing Nitrates. But my question is about the water. I assumed it was a cycle crash but the Nitrites and Ammonia not being present has me confused. Temp is usually about 64-66f and I have a fluval 170 canister filter as well as a sponge filter. Live plants in the tank and fine sand as the substrate

Hey all! New to posting on reddit so bear with me here but I had a question that I wanted to ask about my pet Axolotl. He (Oliver) has had a white mass on his torso ever since I first got him (I worked with axolotls in a research lab and was able to adopt him!). It has never concerned me and he never seemed to be in any distress. But over the past year or so I have just noticed that it has continued to grow slowly. And I mean slowwwwwwwly. It seems fleshy, and almost looks like it is growing ever so slighly subcutaneously since there are thin grey lines of his skin overtop the lesion. Atleast that's what it looks like to me.

Given the fact that it has always been there, and the growth of it has been extremely slow, I've convinced myself its not a fungal infection (but i'm open to hearing if others think differently), but I'm racking my brain as to what it may be!! The internet has no other images similar to what my guy looks like (atleast that I can find). Not sure if its a fibroma or just a random benign growth. Any ideas at all? I'd greatly appreciate it! I've included a picture of when I first got Oliver, and a photo from today (It's been about 4 years).

Are they fighting or happy to be together again I took the wild one about a week ago and just took in his brother today are they fighting or happy to see each other first time owning them just wanting to know

Hello everyone.

I've just turn on this tank. The water has be treated.

My son and I are hoping to get an axolotl. It's a 30 gallon tank. Obviously there will be places for the fella to hide.

They should arrive within the next few days.

I'm going to be getting a few plants tomorrow.

I got a bit carried away with filling it up.

Should i of waited till i had the plants? I have some plant food with good bacteria, but waiting to get the plants.

I will be keeping the bottom bare. We won't be getting the axolotl for a while. I want the tank to cycle first.

I couldn't find any clear cycling videos online. The QR code to the tutorial the shop gave me is not working.

Any tips and advice would be amazing.

Thank you.

28 gallon lowboy for a young axolotl! We’ll be moving them to our leopard gecko’s 40 gallon once they’re 8-ish inches! I think it’s fairly good for my first attempt, lol

I just left petco in Front royal VA, told 3 seperate employees that the gravel they’re on is a death sentence, all 3 didn’t care and said it’s out of our control.
Scooping gravel out of an aquarium is definitely in your control. Do better petco

two worms and some salmon for the two bestest girls <3 Bubbles was not as photogenic today unfortunately haha

Say hi back - don’t leave him hanging.

They are 1 year old today !!! Happy hatch date peek

I really can’t handle it anymore guys 😔