Axolotl Care

Axolotls need their space! 

 

Most hobbiests recomend at least 10 gallons per adult axolotl with a 20 long being the ideal tank for one adult.

 

Axies tend to stay near the bottom so height isn't all that important. Younger axies can be housed in smaller spaces with size upgrades as they age. 

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For a substrate, we recommmend sand or nothing--small rocks can be a problem if axies eat and can't pass them.

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Hides are great too-- PVC pipes, broken pots or coffeemugs are good places to start!

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Axies don't need lighting and blacklights can damage their skin, so we recomend a low-light environment or infrequent lighting. 

Axolotls like it cool-- the cooler the better!

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Generally, an air-conditioned home will be fine if you keep your axies out of direct sunlight.

 

Try to maintain the temperature below 70 degrees Fahrenheit (20 Celsius). If you are struggling here, blowing a fan across the surface will evaporate the water, but cool it in the process. You will have to change out water more often with this system, but it can be worth it through hot summer stretches. 

Juvenile and adult axolotls love bloodworms that can be purchased frozen at most pet stores including PetCo and PetSmart.

 

Adult axolotls, and larger juveniles can graduate to small earthworms and then eat these for most of their lives. We reccomend our soft pellets that meet the needs of growing axolotls. Juveniles should be fed every day or so, and adults can eat a couple worms or teaspoon of pellets a few times a week.

Monitoring and managing nitrogen in your tank is essential. Axolotls produce waste and, if this waste builds up, harmful ammonia levels can rise quickly. 

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We recommend weekly water changes of 20% of your tank's water and weekly monitoring of ammonia levels. If your ammonia spikes, an 80% water change usually brings the levels back down. 

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Never change out all your water. You want a healthy community of bacteria to process nitrogen in your tank!

To manage wast and provide oxygen, filtration is a must in axie tanks. 

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However, axolotls don't like a lot of running on water so "sit-on-top high-yeild" filters are not ideal. 

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We recommend bubble filters like the one we sell or sit-inside filters for larger axies.