Axolotl Housing
Axolotls come from Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco in Mexico. They like lots of hiding places and plants to hide/climb/lay eggs on. Whether you use manufactured decorations or decor from nature, make sure to always check they don't have a chance of lowering your water quality. For example: some types of rocks effect the pH of your water, some wood harbors fungus, and some plastics leak poison. Do your research!
It is also important to not use small pebbles as the substrate in your tank. Small pebbles will clog your axolotl's stomach and kill it. Use sand, large river stones bigger than the axolotl's head, tile, large slate rocks, or bare bottomed tanks.
Axolotls also prefer tanks that have low water flow. After all, they came from a lake. There isn't much current in a lake! Using a filtration system of some kind will make keeping good water quality easiest for you. There is info in the Q&A section about filters. Make sure that if you turn the current on any output valve own, so there is low water flow in your tank. It is also best to disrupt the surface of the water with a water stream or bubbles. This gets any protein buildup off the surface, and helps maintain healthy oxygen levels in your tank.
It is also important to not use small pebbles as the substrate in your tank. Small pebbles will clog your axolotl's stomach and kill it. Use sand, large river stones bigger than the axolotl's head, tile, large slate rocks, or bare bottomed tanks.
Axolotls also prefer tanks that have low water flow. After all, they came from a lake. There isn't much current in a lake! Using a filtration system of some kind will make keeping good water quality easiest for you. There is info in the Q&A section about filters. Make sure that if you turn the current on any output valve own, so there is low water flow in your tank. It is also best to disrupt the surface of the water with a water stream or bubbles. This gets any protein buildup off the surface, and helps maintain healthy oxygen levels in your tank.
Water Quality: You should cycle your tank before putting animals in it for their safety. Information about cycling a tank can be found here. Once cycled, check your water quality at least once a week. You can find quick and easy testing strips here, or you can take a sample of your water to a fish store and they will test it for you. This chart provides safe ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, and pH levels for various fish. Axolotls require similar conditions to Goldfish. If your levels are not correct, do partial water changes until they are right.
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Water Temperature: Axolotls do best at 64 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius). Your tank can be as cool as 55 degrees Fahrenheit, or as high as 68 degrees Fahrenheit, before you need to worry. If your tank gets too cold they will become sluggish and lose their appetite. If they get too hot they will become stressed out, and their metabolism will speed up, causing them to get hungry faster. Stress from being too hot, too cold, or changing temp too fast can lead to death. The safest environment for your axolotl is one with a steady temperature within a few degrees of the ideal temperature. It's easiest to maintain a cool temperature by putting your aquarium in the coolest room in the house. If you need to cool your fish tank, here are helpful videos!
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Other inhabitants: Since axolotls require specific water perimeters, and they eat using vacuum mouths, it is important not to house anything with them. Either they will eat the other animal, or the other animal will eat their gills/skin. The exceptions to this rule are ghost shrimp or small feeder fish, which the axolotl will eat. If you add creatures for your axolotl to eat, make sure they do not have hard bones, exo-skeletans, or shells. These things will "impact" or fatally constipate your axolotl. Some axolotl owners keep snails. It is only okay to keep snails if the snail is too big to fit in the axolotl's mouth.
Aquarium size: Once you get one axolotl, you'll want another. How many adult axolotls can you keep in one tank? The most important factors in this decision are water quality and health. However, the basic formula many owners use is described in the chart to the left. Some people keep 2 adults in a 20 gallon, but I've found that that can cramp them, and they begin to bite each other. If you are housing small juvenile axolotls (2-4 inches), you can usually house more.
The key is having enough floor space for your axolotls. So tanks that are longer, rather than taller, are more fun for your axolotl.
The key is having enough floor space for your axolotls. So tanks that are longer, rather than taller, are more fun for your axolotl.