Keeping an axolotl at home

It's not difficult to imagine that a small monster will live in a home aquarium today: you don't need to travel far to Mexico for a valuable inhabitant - this is an attractive prospect for many aquarists. The axolotl is called a fantastic animal, and its appearance, indeed, corresponds to such a characteristic. In fact, this is a neotenic salamander larva (a creature becomes sexually mature without turning into an adult form).

This creature is of considerable interest to scientists, as it is characterized by the regeneration of the tail, legs and gills. Therefore, so many axolotls live in captivity: fortunately, this does not become an obstacle to their reproduction.

In wildlife, the ambistoma larva lives exclusively in Mexico, its neotenic form is the axolotl. They can live in captivity for about 10 years. At home, it is not so easy to keep a water monster in an aquarium, it is a rather demanding underwater inhabitant.

It is sometimes a problem for aquarium keepers that this cute salamander is a cold-loving marine life. Temperature parameters of water should not be higher than +20 degrees Celsius. If it has risen to +24 and above, this is already a real threat to the axolotl, which will lead to its illnesses and subsequent death. The higher the temperature, the less oxygen in the water. That's why the warmer the water in the container, the more significant aeration is for the life of the axolotl. If for some reason you cannot keep the creature in cold water, give up the idea of ​​acquiring it.

Dragons (this is also called axolotl) can exist only in clear water. Therefore, the reservoir must be constantly cleaned, not forgetting to change the water. The filtration of water in the tank will be different from that applied to aquarium fish. Monsters love a slow flow, therefore a powerful filter that forms a water flow is considered aggressive for axolotls.

The bottom of the tank must be lined with clean sand at least 3 cm thick. On such a bottom, it will be convenient for the dragon to rearrange its legs. Shells and small stones in the axolotl house are unacceptable - the animal often swallows them, which makes it sick and even dies. The pebbles that you will use to form shelters must be large enough to be swallowed by the salamander.

The monster is active at night, so there should be no shortage of dark nooks in the aquarium, where animals would hide from the intrusive light during the day. It can be a slide with large pebbles or a coconut shell, or even a clay pot with a hole so that the axolotl can hide in the pot - these are common options for such shelters.

You should definitely bring vegetation in the container; the axolotl will find shelter for eggs on the leaves. Live algae are usually replaced with beautiful artificial plants.

The type and brightness of this parameter for a water monster is not fundamental, because the dragons, one might say, have poor eyesight. They are considered nocturnal animals that like to be active in the dark.

A sexually mature salamander and its fry are fed differently. The only common thing is that axolotls are predators; there are teeth in their oral cavity. And predators, as we know from school biology lessons, require protein for development. In their natural environment, aquatic monsters enjoy eating ciliates, crustaceans and zooplankton with pleasure - protein is, indeed, the basis of their diet.

In the aquarium, the axolotl is fed:

• bloodworms and earthworms;
• tadpoles, cyclops, daphnia, brine shrimp;
• slugs and snails;
• a very small fish;
• purchased food for predatory fish.

But it is impossible to feed the axolotl with mammalian meat, the body of the salamander will not assimilate such food. The animal is unpretentious in food, eats every two days. Moreover, the process of digestion of food in sea dragons is so slow that if you leave the axolotl without food for two to three weeks, it is most likely to survive. But still, do not perform harsh experiments, but also do not feed more than once every two days.

The fry eat microworms very well, they will not give up mosquito larvae. If using predatory fish food pellets, soak them in water. When the monsters grow up, you can add mussel and shrimp meat to their diet, give them fish fillets. But try not to feed live fish to the axolotl, they, alas, are often carriers of diseases.

Even if on thematic forums you find information about aquarists who feed axolotl with veal and lean beef, you should not take such a dubious example from them. With such food, the gastrointestinal tract of an amphibian copes with great difficulty.

Sea monster care items can be concentrated in one detailed memo.

1. Experts have calculated the volume of an ideal aquarium for one axolotl - 76 liters. It must be filled with water not exceeding +20 degrees Celsius.Water is prepared in the same way as liquid for freshwater fish. If training is ignored, chlorine and other aquatic chemicals can seriously harm amphibians. The lid of the aquarium should be kept closed as in theory the salamanders could escape.
2. This is followed by the installation of an external canister filter... This is done to keep the water clean, since the axolotls will simply not accept other liquid. Organize a slow flow of water for the monster, a fast one will become a strong stress for amphibians.
3. Provide the underwater kingdom of the axolotl with a literate substrate. Large aquarium pebbles, fine sand are fine. Care does not involve the use of small granules or coarse sand, so that the animal does not swallow them.
4. The light in the aquarium should be dimmed, since both the normal axolotl and the albino do not need the kind of lighting that the fish are accustomed to.... You need to turn on the lamp less often, since the heat emanating from it can harm the amphibians.
5. Monitor your pet's health regularly. If you live in a hot area, adjust the temperature in the room where the aquarium is located. Avoid raising the temperature, if the water heats up to +23 degrees and above, heatstroke awaits the salamander.
6. Feed your pet the right food. Any live food is excluded, mammalian meat is excluded. Do not overfeed the axolotl, it is more than enough to feed an adult three times a week. He needs to be given as much food as he can eat in half an hour.
7. Try to drain at least half of all water from the aquarium once a week.to replace it with a fresh one.
8. Watch for the safety of amphibians, do not allow adults and fry to be kept in the same tank. Other underwater inhabitants in an aquarium with an axolotl are also useless.

Salamander larvae are preferably kept in a separate container, they should all be the same size. Fish and snails will not get along with the monster, as he prefers to eat his neighbors without any sentimentality. But large fish, which are too tough for the axolotl, will also not be good neighbors of the amphibian - because of its bright color, it can become a victim itself. For some reason, the fish decide to attack the gills of the axolotl. If the damage is minor, the body regenerates it. But large injuries become irreversible for the salamander.

And in general, the axolotl does not need neighbors, except for their own kind.

And there are several good reasons for this:

• amphibians are nocturnal, and by their predatory nature they will definitely attack peacefully sleeping fish;
• the temperature of the water in which the sea dragons live is completely unsuitable for most types of aquarium fish;
• an adult salamander should not be kept in the same tank with fry, as cannibalism is inherent in these animals.

Adults can indeed attack fry, especially if they lack protein food.

But you can hear that the friendly nature of the neighborhood reveals an axolotl with ancistrus catfish and adult zebrafish. The monster does not make friends with other aquarium fish. If you decide to make friends with an axolotl with shrimps, he will like such friends, but they will not, very quickly he will turn new neighbors into his own delicacy.

Do not even think about combining axolotl and clawed frogs or turtles on the same territory. Water turtles are predators, so the dragon will be killed by them as soon as possible. Frogs will also not lag behind the amphibian, they will chase it in the hope of biting off a piece of the gill, for example. Newt is also not the best companion for a dragon.

The main and obvious difficulty is not to let the temperature in the aquarium rise in the summer. But to reduce the degree in the axolotl house, it is enough to throw an ice cube or two into the aquarium.

It is worth mentioning the amphibian bite. As aquarists are not told not to touch the salamander with their hands, they still try to contact it. And the animal can bite. In most cases, this is not dangerous for humans; rather, the axolotl itself will be stressed from such contact. But an allergic reaction is not excluded, and then you have to take an antihistamine. In addition, getting an amphibian out of the water can cause it not only psychological, but also quite physical trauma - this is a very fragile animal.

Amphibians can also get sick. Among the common diagnoses concerning axolotls are anorexia, ascites, hypovitaminosis, intestinal obstruction. But if the care is correct, the conditions are right, and the salamander does not get sick, she will live in an aquarium for up to 15 years. As a rule, for so long a monster is not nameless; aquarists come up with a nickname for him. Of the frequent names of aks, spied on the forums, the following can be noted: Lottie, Axon, Phoebe, Prosha, Dormidont and Kuzma.

For the features of keeping axolotl, see the next video.