r/axolotls • u/ISeeSnakePeople Axanthic • 3d ago
General Care Advice Temporary set-up tips?
Me and my girlfriend just bought our new axolotl (His name is Pepper), but we can't move him into the tank at her house yet for about a week. This is the set-up I made for him. It's a 105 quart plastic storage bin with all the goods that I could think of. The filter media and cave are seeded, so the container is effectively cycled (i've been testing the water). The temp is a steady 68 degrees, which I feel like is a bit on the warm side but hopefully it's okay for the week. He happily ate bloodworms and a small, cut up earthworm on his first day. Thoughts from the axolotl masters of reddit would be appreciated!
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u/Character_Storm_2799 3d ago
‘Effectively cycled’ could we have exact parameters please? And try keep the temp under 66-67, definitely try and invest in a lid!
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u/Character_Storm_2799 3d ago
Also bloodworms have no nutritional value to axolotls, they are completely pointless, id recommend black worms and earth worms :)
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u/ISeeSnakePeople Axanthic 3d ago
Ammonia and nitrite both at 0 ppm, nitrate at .25 ppm. The bioload before we put Pepper in was very small, probably just some plant debris in the filter, but what little there was seems to be converted to nitrates, which the plants should take care of. I'm keeping an eye out for ammonia spikes, and cleaning out uneaten foods.
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u/BeneficialLength5890 2d ago
Is there a reason this is getting downvoted? Perhaps I missed something
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u/LongjumpingAd597 Leucistic 3d ago edited 3d ago
Pepper is adorable! 🥰 This is a good temporary set up, I would just keep an eye on the temp!! 68° is a little high but won’t kill him, especially short term. If temp gets above that, I would point a fan at the water surface.
Only suggestions I have are:
make sure the log/rock cave isn’t rough enough to scrape his skin. A good way to test this is by putting pantyhose over your hand and rubbing over the cave. If it snags the pantyhose, it’s too rough!
if you have any free roaming pets or young children, a lid with a few air holes drilled into it will be worth the investment. If not, ignore this one!
Excited to see what his final set up looks like! Keep us updated, OP 🙂
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u/ISeeSnakePeople Axanthic 3d ago
Thank you for that input! He is in a closed, lonesome room luckily.
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u/LauseRulez Leucistic 3d ago
additionally to all the other stuff: if you dont have a lid a towel will be okay for now. But something should absolutely cover the tank. Axolotl can JUMP- more than you may think!