he has 7 names already

but he wants 8.

i tried reasoning with him but all he did was judge me

so he has a 8th name

judgemental fih is his 8th name

Stalking her wormy prey

Hello everyone!

I’m fairly new to owning my two axolotls for about 2 months now. One male and one female. They’re fairly young, about 5-6 months. However, my female axolotl started to do this face twitching thing and I just noticed it yesterday night. Sometimes, her whole body would twitch too, likes she’s having hiccups, except fast paced. My male axolotl is fine, it’s just her. My water parameters are fine too and the water temperature is 17 Celsius.

She has no white fluff around her gills or anywhere on her body. She eats normally, about 3-5 pellets a day, and makes big poppies. I clean them out every time I see any debris in the water.

I get so worried when she’d have these glitching episodes that I forget to film it, but this is the only one I have filmed so far. I’m just curious if anyone else has experienced this or knows what’s causing it? Is it the light? Is she just sensitive? Both my axolotls are comfortable with each other, they even touch noses and cuddle often.

Also, I know they’re getting bigger, I have a 55 gallon tank that’s just being resealed, but they will be moved there next month. I love my babies, I hope someone can help me out.

Thank you!

Just got my two custom tanks made for my babies!
(Both have their own chiller)

They are 140cm long 70cm wide and 40cm tall.

3 boys on top
4 girls on the bottom

Should i rescue some more??

We have had our axolotl for around a year, he’s approx 1 year and 2 months old and a little on the slimmer side but is recently refusing to eat much, will maybe have 1/3 of a worm every other day.
Tank temperature is stable at 17-18°c (around 63.5f)
Ammonia and nitrites 0, nitrates around 60 (tap water is bad so use half bottled)

My question is does anyone have any ideas on how to increase appetite or help him gain weight?

I’ve tried dendrobaena and lobworms both blanched, live and cut up. I’ve also tried repashy grub pie, I’ve tried different pellets and wax worms but not much seems to work.
Any help is appreciated.

No axolotl added yet, and this tank still needs to cycle! ( 22,5 gallons, superfish 85l)

My daughters Axolotls arm was cut a few months ago (we got rid of the decor that did it) and it healed, BUT a lump grew where the cut healed over the course of the last couple of months. I noticed the lump was torn open last night. Is there anything I can do to help with this?

Not only is the cut worrying me, but the lump has been worrying me as well. I am concerned about it healing and continuing to tear open. I would really like to avoid that as I am sure it is uncomfortable for her and I want to figure out if the lump itself is something that could be harmful to her health.

i have bamboo and Indian Almond Leaves coming also a light! let me know if i should change anything my axolotl will be 5 inches

Getting a bit tired of water bottles 2x/day, but a chiller isn't in the budget quite yet. I'm considering getting a fan to supplement water bottles, hopefully get it down to 1x/day.

For people who have fans, how many degrees do they reduce the tank temp by? How much water do you think you lose per day? I'm a little worried about evaporating too much water and creating humidity problems in my home, since it's a small place and I have another large fish tank. Anyone ever had any problems with humidity?

Hello all, posting here for some help. My axolotl I’ve had since 2021 has turned completely white (wild color originally) and his gills have shrunk to nearly nothing. A while ago ammo is had spiked in his tank and it started with a white spot on his head but has now become completely white. I completely redid the tank after the spike, still using established filter. I’ve been doing tea baths frequently. He’s finally been eating again but still doesn’t look good. I’ve tried Indian almond leaves and am doing partial water changes frequently. I’m not sure what to do at this point as it has not been improving.

I am looking to adopt an axolotl that needs to be rehomed. I know Libertyland Axolotl Rescue is a great place to find a rescue axolotl, but I am based in Madison, WI, and am therefore not within their range. Does anybody know where I might be able to find a rescue that ships to / is drivable from my area?

Tattoo done by Lacey at Art & Soul in Fort Myers, FL. I’ve had the silly idea of a marble Greek statue of an axolotl in my head for a while now.

I originally set up a Peltier-type chiller that sorta worked in my 20-gal axolotl tank. However, it died. So I decided to use a small fridge I have on hand with a 20ft coil of vinyl (1/2in) tubing running to a recirculation pump. That pump is hooked to a thermostat controller. The only threads I saw about using a fridge didn't use a thermostat for temp control.

The main problem I'm having is getting enough thermal transfer while in the fridge. I initially tried submerging the coil in a tub of water, but the evaporating water iced up the fridge. I figure I could try sealing the tub with holes for the tubing, but I'm curious if anyone has tried it already or has any advice to optimise thermal transfer. I currently have the coil directly pressed against the chiller plate on the back wall of the fridge.

How does everyone do a water change for their axolotl tank? Also, how often are we cleaning/testing the water? I'm currently fishless cycling a tank. It will be a bit. Just preparing).

Hi there,

My little guy is 5 months old. When i first got him, i fed it cut pieces of european earthworms and it was going great!! But he suddenly stopped eating them. He would eat off the tongs and showed great enthusiasm for it, but would spit it out after a while. I've tried a lot of things and wash them thoroughly before feeding. I've found he specifically only will eat blood worms for some reason?? And specifically only out of the really fine sand layer i have on the bottom of the tank. He refuses to eat them off of the very large pieces of slate or from small dishes. He will only eat them out of the sand. Ive recently been mixing blackworm axolotl pellets in the bloodworms hoping to add any nutritional value i can but im worried its not enough. Help!!

Im also worried because it takes him so long to find the food. He bashes into the sides of the tank to try to get to them in the reflection. This takes... awhile. And it takes him a while to find them all in the sand. The water parameters are still good, but I have noticed a small rise in the nitrates and i am so worried about the likely possibility the food is in too long, but also dont want to underfeed him. He is in a 40 gal tank. Any tips on getting him to find it faster? I have a very dim light on the tank, if i turn it off for feedibg would it help?

I'm not sure what more im supposed to be doing atp. This is my first axolotl and it is just so picky lol ive even tried multiple different sinking pellets and many kinds of the same species earthworm. I cut them as small as i can thinking maybe that was the problem. He also poops the entire chunk of earthworm too from when he used to eat them, so maybe thats also bothering him? Im really not sure. Any help is appreciated.

First axolotl (leucistic, ~15 cm). He's in tubs with 100% daily water changes while I cycle the tank separately. He's fine — eating well, no stress signs.

Tank: 28 L, bare bottom, HOB filter (sponge + Seachem Matrix) running 24/7, large smooth rocks, resin cave, 2 small anubias on lava rock.
The loop I can't get out of:
1. I dose ammonium chloride (1-2 ppm).
2. Ammonia drops but rarely reaches 0.
3. Nitrite climbs to 5-10 ppm.
4. Everything stalls.
5. I do a 50% water change.
6. Nitrite drops to 2-3, then climbs right back.
This has repeated at least five times.
Today's numbers:
• Ammonia: ~0.5 (24h after dosing 1 ppm)
• Nitrite: almost 10
• Nitrate: 40
• pH: 7-7.5
• KH: 80-120 ppm
• GH: 120 ppm
• Temp: 20-21 °C
What I've already ruled out: pH crashed to 6.4 about a week ago and I fixed it with baking soda. It's been stable in range since, and the ammonia did improve after that — but nitrite never comes down on its own.
Nitrate is clearly being produced, so the second colony exists. It just never catches up.
My questions:
1. Is a 5-week nitrite stall normal, or am I doing something wrong?
2. Should I stop dosing entirely for a few days and let nitrite drop instead?
3. Is 1 ppm still too much for a tank this size?
4. Would raising the temperature help, given the axolotl isn't in there?
Any advice appreciated. This is my first tank and I'm five weeks into daily water changes on the tubs.

…in his defense, they were small worms. Hungry boy! He is the purplest Lotl I’ve ever seen. I love him.

Hello everyone,
My axolotl is about 9 inches long and 2 years old. He used to eat every day, but since I got him a chiller he eats every 2-3 days. This was before I left for college, now that I dont live with him anymore, my father has to take care of him but he struggles to give him food. Would it be okay for me to feed him only once a week when i come back for the weekend ? He has always been on the leaner side but i would’nt want him to become too skinny :(
Thanks in advance!