# My Axolotl breeding journal (lots of pic)!



## Fish rookie

Hi all,
I introduced a wild type male axolotl into my female albino axolotl tank a couple days ago, and I found some eggs attached to the rocks this morning.
The eggs are white and round and are surrounded by some jelly-like layers.
I have rearranged the tank to try get them to spawn but I did not expect this to happen so soon.
What should I do?
Do I need to remove the eggs now or should I wait a few days?
Should I take the eggs out of the rocks or should I just remove the rocks with the eggs into the breeding tank?
Is it safe to remove the eggs from the rocks?
After they have been removed, do they need to be attached to something in the breeding tank.
I can removed the rocks but lots of eggs are also attached to a new cave that I have put into the tank for them to hide, so I am hoping I can keep the cave inside their tank. 
The breeding tank need to have a high gH and more aeration but low temperature, is that correct?
Thanks all for your help in advance.


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## cadillac_jack

I have no idea at all but thats pretty cool... I know if you search back in time there was another member who had her axoès breed.

sorry brain gap.... cant remember but search it she had pics from begining to end , and even sold off the offspring if memory serves.

if they are all that is in there I would be inclined to just leave them alone and see what happens. but that may very well be the worst advice. I do think if you insist on moving anything I would move mom and dad before I monkeyèd around with the eggs
good luck keep us posted.


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## Diztrbd1

good reference:

http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/breeding-spawning-section-15/oops-they-did-22032/

http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/breeding-spawning-section-15/axolotl-larvae-9129/

http://www.axolotl.org/breeding.htm

http://www.axolotl.org/rearing.htm


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## Fish rookie

Thanks for taking the time to find those links for me, John, they are extremely helpful. Really appreciate it. 
Now we just have to try not to mess it up and hatch these eggs successfully for the first time in our life.
Will keep you guys posted. If you see no update, probably means we have failed.
Wish me luck.


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## cadillac_jack

members name was kokobo, or chokobo or something in the thread i was thinking of but those are both good examples


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## Fish rookie

Hi Jack, thanks for the help. I will look it up.


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## Diztrbd1

lol @ chokobo......Kameko aka Grete_J was her name


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## nigerian prince

cool, what are they? salamanders?


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## Diztrbd1

Yes they are salamanders. They originate from Mexico and a few years back were near extinction in the wild and now on the critically endangered list in the wild.


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## nigerian prince

thank god for fish rookie, if the environmental whack jobs had their way they'd be banned as pets and would probably go extinct


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## Fish rookie

My female was bred by Pat as far as I know, and he did a great job. He trained them to eat pellet so it is very easy to keep.

If you want to keep them, it is very easy and simple.

Just cold dechlorinated water, no need for a heater or anything fancy. 10 gallon for an adult, smaller tank for younger ones, very easy to accommodate. 

Only thing is do not use gravel or pebbles smaller than their heads because they may swallow those and get hurt or even die. Barebottom, sand, or slabs are perfect.

If they are stressed the end of the tail may have a little curl, if the current is too strong their grills might bend forward, if the water is dirty they may have fungus but that is pretty much it.

They can regenerate their limbs. Very hardy and cool pet to keep. Unlike Salamandor, axolotl cannot survive on land.


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## Fish rookie

I have removed the eggs from the ornaments. I also removed some rocks in the tank-- with eggs attached--to the breeding tank. So, I have some eggs just sitting in their gel casing on the bottom, and some attaching to rocks, in the breeding tank.
I have added alkaline buffer, epsom salt, equilibrium, and non-idoized salt in the water, with a sponge filter to creating some aeration, in a 9 gallon cooler to used as my breeding tank. Water is kept pretty cold because I need some time to set up a brine shrimp hatchery before I can deal with the lavae. I do not want them to hatch too soon. We do a bit of small water change to keep the water clean in the breeding tank. 
I hope we are doing things right. It is our first time but if it does not work out hopefully we can get more spawn.
These are really hardy, cute, and interesting creatures. They are banned from importation and are pretty much extinct in nature. We really want to be able to breed them so more people can enjoy them. I hope we will succeed. Will keep everyone updated. Thanks.


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## cadillac_jack

how can you search members.. is there a member search bar or whatever this thread that i remember was pretty good from what i read/ remember kimmy chocobo or something was the user but if i knew how to search them out i could find the thread im not 100% that it is the one disturbed looked up.. it was a while back


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## Diztrbd1

click on community up above, then click on members list in the drop down (this link will get you there: http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/members/list/) and search away. Or you could just type Axolotl in the search bar and see all the treads regarding them. I might be wrong but Kameko is the Axolotl guru here and the one you were talking about lol the "oops they did it" thread was 50 days of pix from beginning to end....I even made a video using the pix: http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/breeding-spawning-section-15/oops-they-did-22032/#post194917 (direct link to post with vid)


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## cadillac_jack

info is right but i swear the user is wrong ... i tried looking via the search bar but it wasnt the thread i remember regardless you posted good info its just i remember another one ... but it was long long ago


Diztrbd1 said:


> click on community up above, then click on members list in the drop down and search away. Or you could just type Axolotl in the search bar and see all the treads regarding them. I might be wrong but Kameko is the Axolotl guru here and the one you were talking about lol the "oops they did it" thread was 50 days of pix from beginning to end....I even made a video using the pix: http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/breeding-spawning-section-15/oops-they-did-22032/#post194917 (direct link to post with vid)


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## Fish rookie

John, do you by any chance know how she did 100% water change daily? I do not think they can be left out of water, can they?
BTW, that link and the video is absolutely awesome. Thanks a lot.
It looks like a lot of work but at least we have something we can use as a guideline instead of trying to figure it out on our own.
She mentioned neutral pH but I have always kept mine at 7.4-7.6. She did not mention adding any mineral in the water, but I read that harder water is better for growing them out, I wonder if I am doing it wrong by adding minerals in the water?
I wonder why she needed to separate them in so many petri dishes instead of keeping them together in one container? They do not eat each other until they have their limbs.
I wish I could ask her but I think she has quit. I want to set up everything properly before the eggs hatched hence all the questions.
I hope this can be a educational experience for my little girls and I hope we can successfully hatch and raise them but it is too early to tell. 
Thanks a lot for your help.


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## xxKeatoxx

Im totally interested in a pair when they're all old enough! Soo cute! i love the little faces


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## barvinok

Did you try to contact kamikazechocobo?


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## Diztrbd1

ahh there's the name Jack was thinking of. Rookie I know nothing about them myself best to contact Grete_j or the other name suggested since they have both bred them with luck.


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## Claudia

Congrats!! Really cool and awesome experience


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## cadillac_jack

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ha i knew it 
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/bree...ng-eggs-need-know-what-feed-baby-axies-29887/
day late and a dollar short but There isa what i was after ... jeeeeez only took like 5 days


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## cadillac_jack

barvinok said:


> Did you try to contact kamikazechocobo?


thats the one... thank you my brain was completely malfunctioning thats who had the thread i was talking about


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## Fish rookie

Thanks Jack. 
The eggs still look exactly the same. I am not sure if it is because the temperature is low or that I have done something wrong. I will try to ask some body.


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## Fish rookie

The eggs have changed from being a small white dot to a curved sideway "u".
I have set up a daphnia culture and also a microworm culture.
Just in case I fail to hatch them, I have asked Pat to adopt some of the eggs. He is much more experienced and knowledgable than me so hopefully at least one of us will succeed so more people locally can enjoy this wonderful pet.


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## cadillac_jack

Slow hatch time on those .. im used to my fish 7 days from laying to free swimmers , I just saw a bunch of baby axy's at paws n jaws in nanaimo like 1 inchers they were so cute I even though maybe I could put one in with the wifes goldfishies but then I saw my flowerhorn and ran out of cash haha


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## Fish rookie

Hi,
Yes, they are slower and take much more work than other fish I have bred before. But I only had experience with cories, otos, guppies, plecos, and easy things like that.
I have kept the temp very low in the breeding tank (which is a cooler) so that also slows the process down a bit,
From how I understand it they need quite a bit of work once they have hatched, this is the easy part. I need to feed them one by one and change their water daily, and once they get bigger they may eat each other so I need to separate them from each other and feed them and change their water one by one daily. I think it takes more than 30 days to get them to have all limbs, but I am not sure. We will find out if all go well. 
I am feeding my microworms fish flakes food in their culture so hopefully they will be loaded with more nutrients when they are fed to the larvae.
I will try to hatch some brine shrimps when they have hatched. 

I have tried to put my axolotl with my goldfish for a few months and never had any problem. They left each other alone.
I also kept my axolotl with some white clouds before, but the white clouds disappeared slowly one by one over time. LOL
Now I just kept them by themselves in a species only tank.
If the axolotl has eaten well the head and the belly should be about the same in width. If the belly is much thinner than the head may not you should not buy it.
I read that even if part of their brain is eaten they can still regenerate it but I have never tried to find out if it is true. LOL. Mine never fight at all. I think that mostly happened when they were younger, or if they have not enough food.
They are very cute, unique, and interesting. You should get one next time you go to your LFS.


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## Fish rookie

I check the eggs this morning and noticed that some fo them have changed--some of them now look like a mini tadpod, with a big dot in the front and a long tail in the back.
I tried to take some pictures but they came out very blurry, I will try later, sorry about that.
Anyway, I will keep an eye on the eggs every day and report back if I see anything different.
I have prepared some smaller containers and have prepared a water bucket for daily water chnage for each container.


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## Fish rookie

O mine o mine....eggs are starting to hatch. I will have some brine shrimps ready tonight. We will seperate the lavae from the eggs tonight afte rmy daughter comes home from school.
I am thinking of putting them in some small plastic tubs. I will try to take some pictures tomorrow.


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## Fish rookie

I just spent an hour separating about 25-30 larvae into small containers from the breeder tank.
Then I looked at the parent's tank and guess what, they have spawned again!!!!!
So, I put their eggs into the breeder with some of the eggs that are almost ready to hatch.
Lots of work!
I have over 100 eggs in the breeder tank now!


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## ah_gel

Fish rookie said:


> I just spent an hour separating about 25-30 larvae into small containers from the breeder tank.
> Then I looked at the parent's tank and guess what, they have spawned again!!!!!
> So, I put their eggs into the breeder with some of the eggs that are almost ready to hatch.
> Lots of work!
> I have over 100 eggs in the breeder tank now!


oh man the boy is desperate!!


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## Fish rookie

There were so many little guys popping out I have been too busy with feeding them every 2-3 hours and doing 100% water changes daily.
I feed them live microworms and live brine shrimps. Usually my daughter does the feeding after school, and I do it during the day. We change the water together with a turkey blaster by sucking out all the water carefully without sucking the babies out, then aged water is added back to the containers one at a time. We have a lot of containers now. They have spawned again so more eggs have been added to the breeder tank.
There seem to be different morph available, some are dark and some are white.
Pat(mykiss) has given me lots of valuable suggestions, advise, and shared his extension breeding experience and knowledge with us, big thank you to the man!
This is them in the breeding tank (aka cooler) before they were hatched. I put the rocks in there because the eggs were attached to the rocks.








This is them after they have hatched. I added a sponge filter inside, and some snails to suck up the dirts. I have placed a bag of crushed coral in there, plus I have added minerals in the water to increase hardness for better growth.








This is them in a glass dish. I have not lost any. I have culled two because they appeared to have a deformed spine. I cull because I want to make sure all the babies are of good quality, genes, and health.








More pictures of them. I placed them in glass containers and BPA free food safe plastic containers.
















papa and mama axolotl
















micro worms culture--in Omgea One fish flakes with bread, yeast, and oakmeal








live brine shrimp








more pic of papa








and papa and mama together


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## Fish rookie

More eggs have hatched, I have over 100 larvae now! 
Not one dead yet fortunately. These guys are like their parents, very hardy! LOL
I need to get many more tupperwares. I am leaving some of the newly hatched ones in the breeder tank until they get a bit bigger. I think they will eat the egg sac first before they eat the brine shrimps.
The bigger ones all have orange stomach from eating brine shrimps. Very cute, but lots of work to change their water everyday one tub at a time and feed them every 2 hours.


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## Atom

Fascinating thread. What are you going to do with all these babies and all the future generations. You've got a Noah's arc going here.


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## Fish rookie

They are still all doing very well, no death to report. The next batch of eggs are hatching now so I have a lot of larvae. 
I will probably sell them when they are grown, but it is too early to say because they are still very small. 
There are so much work to do now regarding cleaning, feeding and daily 100% water changing. I just want to focus on growing them out properly first.
Thanks for reading and following my thread.


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## Fish rookie

Everything is still going very well. I have asked my daughter to do all the water changes as I have no time. Child labor is very common in my household when it comes to fish tanks. LOL
She now changes all the water 100% in all containers daily.
I lower the water in my cooler to only a few inches and let some larvae live inside to see how they will hold up. So far so good. The key seems to be providing an abundant supply of live brine shrimps with microworms along with clean water.


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## NODES

what will you do with all of them when they get a bit larger?


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## skabooya

Wow that is really neat


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## Fish rookie

Thanks for all the interest. I took some pictures to show everyone how my daughter changed 100% of the water for each container and also taken some shots of them with a penny for size comparison.
Thanks everyone for following my journey of breeding the very interesting and fun axolotl.
Water was sucked out with a turkey blaster here.








These are the cute little guys sitting in very little bit of water. We do this in the bathroom and the aging water barrel is sitting next to the containers so they only need to stay like this for may be a few seconds and they are completely fine. 100% daily water change is done to keep the water clean and the larvae healthy.
















Water is being introduced from the aging water bucket into the container.








This is a size comparison. They look orange because they eat lots of live baby brine shrimps.
















This is mama axolotl.


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## Fishy_Addiction

Didn't realize the reptile hides could be submerged... I have that exact same one for my leopard geckos! XD

Sent from my GT-P6210 using Tapatalk 2


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## Fish rookie

Yes I have been using that cave for a while now. It is very easy to clean up as I only need to lift it up to suck out anything that may be found inside then put it back on the sand. 
I used to have a lot of plants and driftwood in this tank but I have removed them to make sure I can take all the eggs out into the breeder tank. The eggs do not stick well on glass or sand but do very well on rocks so I used to put a few rocks in the tank when I first introduced the male. After I realized they would not fight, I removed the rocks with the eggs so the only piece of decroation is the cave. They have been living happily since.
Anyway, everyone is still healthy and I have not lost any yet. I still have some eggs about to hatch so I cannot do a head count yet.


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## Diztrbd1

Fishy_Addiction said:


> Didn't realize the reptile hides could be submerged... I have that exact same one for my leopard geckos! XD
> 
> Sent from my GT-P6210 using Tapatalk 2


They are the best caves imo..I like the natural look to them....I've been using them for a couple years now in my tanks without any issues and they still look as good as the day I put them in.


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## Keri

This thread is torture, I love axy's (but i need another tank like I need another hole in my head!) 

Thanks for sharing and I look forward to updates, great pictures!!!


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## Fish rookie

NODES said:


> what will you do with all of them when they get a bit larger?


Thanks for the interest.

Some people have contacted me to buy a few to try grow them out at this stage. They are only the size of pennies now so they are much cheaper to buy at this point. It is a great experience for children and the whole family to see them grow. I will wait a week or so before I deliver the babies to the buyers just to be sure.

I have not lost any since day 1. With good water and good food they should not have problem. Just need to perform 100% water change daily (to keep the water clean as the brine shrimps will die off in the water; but if you have other ways to get the water clean that is fine, too. e.g. you can use a breeder box attached to a big tank to reduce frequency of water changes). They need many feedings of live brine shrimps to grow so a brine shrimp hatchery is needed. I also feed live micro worms but it is not a must.

Care for them is very easy. As they get bigger you can feed chopped up bloodworms to get them to eat frozen food. Then you can give them some pellets to get them to switch.

Once they are grown they are very hardy and easy to look after. You do not even need a heater, and only need a 10 gallon tank for one. Filter is optional as they are not too fond of strong current. For my adults, they only eat once every 2-3 days so water quality is very easy to control. I now have a Eheim 2213 in my 25 gallon with the outlet pointing to the wall but I have also kept them without any filter (50% water change once a week) for a long time without any problem.

Hope this helps.
This is papa after he ate some pellets.


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## TigerOscar

Cool thread, I would definitely be interested in a couple, I showed my son and he was stoked.


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## Fish rookie

So, all is well. I checked them everyday for any with bend spine, or any deformation but I have not spotted any. They all seem very healthy. Not lost any yet. Still feeding brine shrimps and microworms. 
I have removed all the un-hatched eggs and moved all the larvae into container so the cooler is now retired.
They are all being grown out in small containers. I have both wild and leucistic (white with black eyes).


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## Fish rookie

I saw a very cute scene and I just want to share with you.
Papa axolotl wanted to get into the cave but mama axolotl was very insistent in staying in ...alone..so at the end papa settled to sleep outside.


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## Fish rookie

So all is well in this little crazy baby axolotl villa, everyone is eating well and growing.
Still feeding live hatched baby brine shrimps and live microworms.
I tried to count how many larvae I have and I stopped at 100.
In this batch, I have wild and leucistic.
In case some of you are wondering, leucistic looks pinkish with black eyes and they are very adorable.
I have found a video of a leucistic for your reference.


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## Fish rookie

I added some more yeast to the microworm culture and they have just exploded. They have lots of microworms to munch on now. 
During water change we noticed that the bottom and sides of the containers were covered with some slime so we took over an hour to wipe all the sides, including the bottoms, of each containers down with a papertowel. We are done and we did not accidentally kill any of the babies. 
I am too tired now but I will take more pictures may be in a few days.
Thank you.


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## MrJackyTang

Wow ! Congrats Bro ! Keep us updated !


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## Fish rookie

I found some eggs with larvae visibly curled up inside their gel casing inside the cave so I took them out and placed them in a little container. This morning, I saw many free swimming larvae!

This is what they looked like this morning.










Fed them some microworms and brine shrimps and they seem very happy!

One more tub to do water change on I guess.

So far, none has died and they are all growing.



















I have given it some thoughts and I feel that it is probably better if I sell them after they are off live food. My plan is to get them to eat frozen bloodworm after they have grown a bit bigger and once they start eating frozen bloodworm they should be much easier to take care of. I would feel more comfortable selling them at that stage.

Having said that, if you want to buy them now to enjoy growing them out, and if you can provide them with an abdundent supply of fresh hatched baby brine shrimps on a daily basis, then please feel free to contact me. If you live around the Richmond area, you can buy fresh hatched baby brine shrimps from Pat(Mykiss) for a very small fee. That would save you the trouble of hatching them and you can control the timing in a much better manner so you do not need to worry about not having brine shrimp ready to feed your baby because they are still being hatched or things like that.

It has been a great experience to grow these guys out. It is still just a hair longer than a penny so it lives in a very small tupper ware container. It does not need a filter or heater either. All that is needed is to have some aged water ready and perform daily water change with a turkey blaster then feed them every few hours.

My daughter really enjoys taking care of them. I just stand next to her and watch her do water change and such. She always remembers to feed them before she goes to school and then I feed them when she is in school. After she comes home she will do her homework then do her water changes around 5pm. She then feeds them everry 2 hours until she goes to sleep. It is rather amazing to watch them grow, and see the responsiblity that my daughter has taken up along the process. I promise her she can have the money from the sales of the baby axolotl as I feel that it is only the right thing to do after she has put in all the hard work. Hopefully she will develop a better appreciation, respect and understanding of animal in nature from this unique experience.

pic of papa and mama.










Soon, the babies will start to have arms and legs. 

When they start to have arms, they may start trying to attack each other. They can regenerate their limbs but I have never seen it happened so I have no idea how fast the limbs will grow back.

I plan to buy a big rubbermate tub for them later. I am hoping with lots of food and lots of space they may be okay with living together so I do not need to have too many containers. We will see.


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## Fish rookie

Some of them have tiny arms!!!!
The bigger ones are no longer penny size, they are approaching quarter size. 
I have been trying to take pictures of the ones with the tiny arms but it did not work out.
Sorry but I will wait a bit then take some pictures of their tiny arms again when they are a bit bigger.


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## angeles

It's great hearing all the progress.
Can't wait to see the pictures.


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## Fish rookie

Everything has been well. They are generally over the length of a quarter now. 
I keep them in cold water as that is what they would have been grown in had they lived in their natural habitat. Being my fist time I want to be extra careful. I have read that if the temp is too high they can get stressed or even sick. So far, everyone has been healthy and doing well. 
I have been feeding them live baby brine shrimps, live daphia, and microworm, daily 100% water change in each tub, and have the tub all wiped down with a papertowel.
Starting today, I will try to feed them chopped up Hikari frozen bloodworm to see if I can get them off live brine shrimp.


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## Fish rookie

I managed to take some pictures of a few of them. They are longer than a quarter now and have arms.








They are supposed to be white, the orange tint comes from eating live baby brine shrimps.








This little guy just jumped up to eat a piece of daphnia.


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## mikebike

I wonder if they could thrive/survive in my pond?


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## Fish rookie

Not at this size but some people do keep adults outdoor. Axolotl prefers very similar parameters to gold fish and koi, except that axolotl produces much less bio-load.

I would imagine that a pond will be very similar to their natural habitat which is a lake with cold water and little current. 

Although most of the time they will stay on the bottom, they need to come up to the surface for air from time to time, and sometimes they like to float on the top, so you should still be able to see them even if kept in a deep pond.

They will eat anything that fit in their mouths (i.e. anything smaller than their heads) so it is important that there is no big pebbles which is a bit smaller than the size of their heads in their habitat. Some axolotl swallowed such pebbles and choked to death--the very tiny ones are fine, and the really big ones will be okay too; but the ones that are just a bit smaller than their heads are very dangerous for them.

If you have smaller fish they will probably slowly disappear over time. 

I know some people put their axolotl in the fridge when they are sick, so I know they can stand a very low temperature. But I do not know if you need to bring them inside in winter. They actually prefer colder water but your water needs to be above freezing, so I think it really depends on your set up.


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## mikebike

my pond is 4 1/2 feet deep with 75 feet of 3/4 inch water pipe buried below the pond

the water is circulated through the burried lines for geothermal heating and cooling keeping it above 40 in the winter


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## Fish rookie

I am very happy to report that I have successfully weaned them to eating Hikari bloodworm and my own live white worm which is gut loaded with Omega One veggie flakes, Omege One plankton, and spirulina powder.

I defrosted the bloodworm in some aged water. I dropped some selcon inside the container and let the worms soaked inside for about 15-20 minutes then I dropped the food inside each of their tubs with a dropper

Thanks for all the Pm about buying them. I am thinking of waiting a bit before I sell them because I want to check and cull all those who have not showed a good growth rate. This way, I can be sure that everyone I sell is absolutely healthy and not genetically inferior.

The axolotl below are mostly from my second spawn so they are smaller. I am very pleasantly surprised that even these little guys would take the worms readily.

I even got the mom and dad to post for me this time. LOL
















This is a greedy little bugger, he has got two worms!
















Another guy who has two in his mouth! You can see the live white worm next to the blood worm in the picture.








This guy has caught a white worm.


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## Fish rookie

A week has gone by, they have grown a lot. 

I am feeding Hikari bloodworm soaked in Selcon (a HUFA supplement), and live daphnia and some live white worms. No more live brine shrimps.

Size wise they have grown longer than a loonie. 

I have bought some bigger containers and moved them to their new homes a few days ago and everything is fine.

I have been trying to get them to eat some pellets but so far no luck. They all have arms and are much chubbier; but no legs yet.

My daily routine is to soak the frozen bloodworm in selcon for about half and hour then put them into each container, daily 100% water change and wipe down each container during water change. It is a lot of work and is getting expensive with all the bloodworms used. Luckily my daughter is the one who usually does all these for me as I "supervise." 

I am buying my Hikari frozen bloodworm flat pack from Pat (mykiss) of Canadian Aquatic whose price is better than anyone I have seen in Richmond. He uses a lot to feed his own fish so they have a high turn over, not close to expiry or anything like that. 

Pat told me he will be getting some frozen krills in a week or so. I will feed my axolotl krills when he has his shipment in. Krills is supposed to be very good with lots of amino acids and fatty acids.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic

Krill might be too big for the babies. The adults should be ok. Krill are also quite "hard" especially compared to soft foods like bloodworms.

Great job with these. I may have to try some in my koi pond.


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## Fish rookie

Yes, you are right. I would need to thaw and then chop the krills up into smaller piece before feeding.


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## Fish rookie

With a higher activity level, the gills (the 6 long thingy on their head) will grow longer due to their higher need for oxygen. On the other hand, if the tank water is very well aerated, the gill filaments (the hair looking thingy on their gill) may not grow very long.

I want them to have longer gills so I am putting 2 axolotl in each container. Having someone to play with, they will interact with each other and increase their activity level and oxygen intake. Exercise is also good for them anyway. With only 1 by himself, he will just sit there without much exercise at all. Another reason is because if they grow up alone they may have a hard time living with a tankmate in the future. That is why I choose 2 of the same size to house in each container.

I have taken some pictures for you guys, there are some close ups to show you the gills of some of them. I also took some shots to show the back legs that are just starting to come out on some of them.

I usually keep them on a tray with a white background but for photographic purposes I have placed the container on a black surface.









For size comparison, I have placed my camera cover next to them.








You can see that the back legs are starting to come out in this little guy.








Another angle of the tiny back legs.








A close up on the long gills.








This one has no back legs yet.








A wild one.








This one has a piece of pellet sitting on his head, he is getting very tiny short back legs coming out as you can see.


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## angeles

Thanks for the update.

It's great to see their growth and that they've moved on to other food.

They sure are getting big.


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## Fish rookie

I have put a few of them up for sale in the for sale section. Thank you.
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/fres...te-leutistic-grey-spotted-wild-axolotl-89337/


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## opt-e

I just spent my morning reading through this entire thread. I love how you have been so meticulous documenting every step along the way. This will be very helpful to anyone who wants to breed in the future. Great work! Looking forward to seeing them progress to adults.


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## Fish rookie

I have been asked a lot of questions as I met the buyers of the axolotl I am selling. I think I will put together a FAQ section to summarize what I have learned so far here.

There are many ways that work very well. I am only sharing what has worked for me.

Q: How much should I feed them?
A: If you keep them in a small container, I suggest to put about 1/2-1 cube of bloodworm in the container for every 2 axolotl (2-2.5") in the morning, come back and check on them in the evening when you are back from work to see how much they have eaten. You can then adjust accordingly how much you need to feed them.

Q: Can I put them in a bigger tank with my other fish?
A: Yes, you can, as long as your other fish are not too big. However, since they have never seen or live with other fish--especially fast swimming fish--so they may be a bit stressed out in the beginning. Also, you may not be able to see them often if they go into hiding. In a bigger tank they also have a harder time to find their food. Other fish may get to their food first. So, I would recommend to keep them in a smaller container for now, or keep them in a tank with only themselves. Having said that, I know some people who are successful in keeping them with other fish without any problem. You can use a turkey baster to feed them if they have problem getting their food in a big tank with other fish. Some fish may nip their gills thinking it is a worm or some kind of food. Keeping the water clean should help the gills to grow back quickly. If there is some kind of infection on the gills, and if it does not look too bad, you can cut the infected part off. 

Q: How deep should the tank be?
A: Since they need to swim up for air, if the tank is too high with a lot of current they may find it a bit difficult to reach the top. Most regular tank up should be fine in my opinion. They can survive in a pond as well. When they have developed their back legs fully they should be able to swim better. Just make sure there is not too much floating plants and other stuff on the surface that may stop them from reaching above the surface.

Q: How do I keep the water cold for them in summer?
A: Although it is recommended that they should be kept in cold water my experience has been that room temperature in summer is fine for them. If you are really concerned and if it gets very hot you can freeze some water bottles and float them in your tank. If you have a canister filter you can also sit the canister in a bucket with ice pack to cool it down a bit. In most cases the temperature should be fine. Usually basement is colder and keeping the tank from direct sunlight will help, too. If the axolotl is stressed out the end of the tail will curl up.

Q: They do not seem very active and they sometimes float on the surface for a long time, is that normal? 
A: They are slow eaters and not very active in general. They also like to float on the surface, and sometimes they will stay upon the surface to get more oxygen. It is 100% normal. If you get more than one they will more likely interact with each other. With only one he/she may just sit in the same spot or float on the top for a very long time.

Q: Can I keep more than one in a small tank?
A: If you feed them well it should be okay. If they grow up together they should get along fine. If they have accidentally bitten each other, the missing limb should grow back over time. Just keep the water clean to help with recovery and prevent infection. But if one is much bigger than the other the smaller one may get eaten.

Q: What is your water parameters?
A: This is what I add in my aging bucket. For 5 gallon of water I add 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 epsom salt, 1/2 aquarium salt, 1/4 equilibrium, and then aerate over night. They will get used to your parameters as long as it is not extreme. Please acclimatise them slowly though.

Q: How do you change their water?
A: I put some cold tap water in a small 5 gallon bucket with some buffers (stated in the previous FAQ) then I put an airstone inside and let it aerate over night. When I am ready to change my water I use a turkey baster ($1-$2 from Dollarama or other dollar store) to suck out all the water, wipe the container with a paper towel, then fill it up with the aged water via a turkey baster. It takes about 1-2min for me to change water for one container. As they become bigger they can live in a bigger tank with a filter then daily water change is no longer needed.

Q: How long does it take for them to be fully grown?
A: It really depends on how you raise them but I would say about 1-2 years they should be much bigger. When they are mature the color at the end of their toes will change--the tips will turn dark on the white kind (leutistic, albino), and white on the wild kind. At this point they are ready to breed.

Q: Can you sex them yet?
A: I am sorry I cannot at this point. The male are usually longer and female are rounder. The male also has a big sac around the back leg but it is too early to see at this stage.

Q: What else do they eat other than bloodworm?
A: You can feed them earthworm, meal worm, white worm, cut prawn, daphnia, brine shrimp, and pellets. Any high protein pellets such as sinking cichlid will work. It is best and easiest to slowly condition them to eat pellets when they are still young. I also feed them chopped frozen krill which they really like.

Q: There are some fine specks of dots on the leutistic, is that normal?
A: Yes, it is the way they are. I have read that keeping them in a lighter surrounding may help them to stay whiter. I used to put a piece of white paper on the bottom of their containers and when I keep them in a tank I use a white sand substrate. A bit of darker specks on the top is 100% normal, it is not an indication of any illness.

Q: I want them to have longer "horns" how can I achieve that?
A: The "horns" are their gills. If they are more active or if the water is less aerated their gills will grow longer and you should also see more filaments on the gills. They will grow their gills longer when they have a higher activity level which requires more oxygen intake. Having more than one in the tank will help to achieve this.

Q: What should I watch out for? 
A: They are very hardy and tough. However, you need to make sure your water is dechlorinated and that you do not have large pebbles which they may swallow and choke to death. They will eat anything that is smaller than their heads. So, pebbles just smaller than their heads is not a very good idea to be used as substrate. Usually, sands, slabs or barebottom is recommended.


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## Fish rookie

I have put the bigger guys in a 45 gallons today. I have in this tank a XP3, an Eheim Ecco (the biggest one, forgot the number), a Fluval G4, and a 24 W UV. So, I am pretty sure I have more than enough filtration. LOL
I have adjusted the current so they are not too strong. It is a tall tank and they are staying on the bottom almost all the time.
I have adjusted the temperature to be around 25 C. They are all very happy and active. 
The smaller babies are still kept in small tupper ware. I only moved those with back legs into the bigger tanks.
I will post some pictures later. I need to charge the camera up first.
Thank you.


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## Fish rookie




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## Fish rookie

They spend much more time swimming in mid water after I put them in their new tank. 
It did not take long for them to figure out how to find their food in their new home. They also swim up to catch the worms before they hit the bottom sometimes. It is very cute and fun to watch them. 
The height of the tank does not post any problem for them to take a breath at the surface of the water when they need to.
A lot of them have their toes visible on their back legs already.
I am doing 50% water change every 3-4 days now. UV on all the time, with a XP3 for bio filtration, and a Fluval G4 HOB for mechanical filtration. I have turned off the Eheim Ecco as it does not seem to be needed and I felt hat it was generating perhaps a bit too much current. 
I have adjusted the spray bar of the XP3 to point at the back glass to reduce current.
Everyone is happy, eating, and healthy. No death or any problem that I can see.


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## UnderseaGal

There is a lot of information in this thread!
Thanks for sharing this process in so much detail.
It's fascinating to watch these little guys grow!


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## Fish rookie

To learn and to share what we have learned is what this forum is for. I hope others may find this helpful. Axolotl is a very interesting and hardy creature, too bad it is almost extinct. I hope more people will be interested in keeping and breeding it.
I could not have done this without the guidance and help of Pat(mykiss) from Canadian Aquatic. 
I just counted and I have about 90 young axolotl adults and juvies in total, all healthy and eating like pigs!
These are two I just sold yesterday to someone who came to visit from the island (thanks a lot btw). They are about 2.5".

















I also have some smaller guys and this is them during feeding time.


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## angeles

Thanks Richard,

The axlotls are adorable.
They made the ferry trip just fine and are eating the frozen bloodworms without issue.

I do have to say, they are little poop machines.

Cheers,
Allan


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## Fish rookie

Great to hear that, thanks a lot Allan. 
Pooping and eating lots is good news. Sounds like they are already settling right in their new home. 
Cheers!!!!


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## Fish rookie

A lot of interesting info about this interesting endangered species in this video--what their lives were like before, what their natural habitat is like now, what challenge they face, what are they being used for in Mexico, what is killing them, where can you find them now, what is being done, and what we can do to preserve this wonderful creature..., enjoy.


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## Fish rookie

I put 2 of my goldfish in their tank to let them get used to living with gold fish since several of my customers said they wanted to put them in their goldfish tank. I am very happy to report that they get along really well. I have placed some ornaments and rocks with cave-like holes in the tank just in case but everyone is out and about swimming and eating all getting along very well. I do not see any nipped gills on the axolotl nor nipped fin on the goldfish.
I am still feeding microworms, daphnia, bloodworms, krills, and pellets. Water change 30-50% every 2-3 days.


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## Fish rookie

I am happy to report that I have just delivered 10 leucistic axolotl (2.5-3") to IPU Richmond.
I believe some of these, if not all sold, will be made available in their Burnaby location as well.
I have been a customer of IPU for years and I know Angelo (fish room manager) always takes great care of their stock. I am very happy that these little guys are now under his attentive care.
For those who would like to check them out, the info of IPU are listed on their web site, which is Island Pets - Aquarium & Aquatic Pet Supplies and Services
These are pictures of the 10 pink pokemon, aka axolotl, which are now available in IPU. 
























Please go check them out!!!


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## Fish rookie

I fed them some chopped up live earthworm yesterday and they LOVED it. I did not have the chance to take any picture as they finished them in seconds!

Basically, they now eat rehydrated Australian freeze dried blackworm, along with frozen krills, Hikari frozen bloodworms, live daphnia, live microworms, small chopped up earthworms, and a sinking high protein pellets. I sometimes rehydrated the blackworms in selcon but water is fine.

Their favorite is Hikari frozen bloodworm!


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## Fish rookie

I want to thank you IPU for taking this wonderful picture of the axolotl that are now for sale in their stores. 
They look so happy and cute!








photo courtesy of IPU (http://islandpets.ca/)


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## nao

what are the feeding needs of adult? what can be feed how much how often.? and when are little ones adult?


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## Fish rookie

Hi Nao,
For adults, earthworm is probably what they like the most. You can start a culture yourself or buy from your local LFS, just make sure they have no chemical.
Besides that, wax worms and some mealworms are also liked by them. You can gut load them before feeding.
For someone who does not want to mess with live worms, Hikari frozen bloodworm complimented with a high protein pellets is also a good diet. You can also feed a pellets as their staple diet if you do not want o mess with any frozen or live food.
It takes about 1.5 years for them to become mature but it also depends on the temperature you keep them and how often and what they are fed, things like that--it may take longer.
My adult ate once every 3 days. When I put another adult inside they became more active and ate much more often. So, how much they eat depends on their age but also their activity level--if you only have one and he is always sitting on the bottom then he probably does not need to eat much; if he is always swimming around or interacting with some other axolotl then you probably need to feed more.
If mine are not hungry they simply will not eat. I usually drop the pellet to hit their nose or wiggle some worm in front of their nose to draw their attention--if they are hungry they will eat those right away. If they let the food sit on the bottom for 10-20 minutes without showing any interest I will use a turkey baster to remove them.
I like to use this guideline: as long as the belly is about the same width of the head they are well fed; if the tummy is much thinner you need to fatten them up; if their tummy is much thicker than their head you are overfeeding.
Hope this helps.


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## Fish rookie

Summer is around the corner and my tap water is now at about 20 C as opposed to 18 in winter. The axolotl have grown a lot more at a higher temperature.
I have set up a for sale thread here for them at different sizes:
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/freshwater-livestock-classifieds-25/fs-axolotl-93945/
Some more pictures:

































































They are being spoiled with earthworm, mealworm, rehydrated blackworm, chopped krills, white worm, bloodworm and pellets. As you can see, they are all quite chubby and active. LOL


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## Fish rookie

I have just delivered 10 more axolotl to island pets unlimited (Island Pets - Aquarium & Aquatic Pet Supplies and Services).
In this batch, they are bigger than the ones IPU got last times--a few of this batch are at 4.5" and some are 4". At this size, they are considered young adults. 
As young adults, unless you do something very grossly ridiculous they should be very hardy and easy to look after. 
You can feed them only once a day, and may be once every two to three days after a few months.
I am so glad to see these axolotl selling so well at IPU. If you miss out last time, now is the time to go grab some. 
Thanks.


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## Fish rookie

I was asked by a customer what to do if there is a missing tail/hand/limb?
Basically they will regenerate their missing body parts as long as there is no infection.
In order to avoid infection I would suggest a lower temperature and more water changes to keep things very clean.
Axolotl is very strange in that lower temperature tends to help them to heal and recover; while a higher temp tends to stress them out.
I would also add some minerals (calcium and magnesium) in the water column to help them heal. Basically, Seachem equilibrium, kent RO right, or just calcium chloride mixed with epsom salt would work. Some people also put a bit of salt in the water, but be careful not to put too much salt. If you see a fungus spot, you can just do more water changes and they will sometimes go away. If it is on the gill you can use a pair of clean scissors and trim off the white cottony part. Methylene blue will work, too, if all else fail. Caution: do not use medications that contain malachite green no matter what, because malachite green can kill them.

I was asked several times about what kind of stress signs to look for in an axolotl. One thing I would look for is the appetite; secondly, if the gills turn very white--rather than pink--then something might be wrong; furthermore, if the tail end becomes curl and looks fray and clear it may be an indication that something is stressful. If you see these signs but not sure what is causing the problem, it is usually related to the amount of current, temperature, and how clean your water/tank is. I would recommend to clean the tank up really well, reduce current, and increase the frequency of water changes. You may also want to watch your feedings to make sure you are not feeding too much too often, which can easily pollute the water too much too quickly. When they become bigger they will eat less so you do not need to keep feeding them the same way. 

I believe I have mentioned this before: To make the gills pink and feathery, you can try to reduce current and aeration in the tank, as well as increase their activity level.

Hope this helps.


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## Fish rookie

I forgot to mention the pellets I feed my axolotl are special high protein pellets that I got from Pat (Canadian Aquatic), who works in the university of BC.
These pellets have high protein, fatty acids, vitamin and minerals. My axolotl really love them and grow very well with them. They can also be fed to other fish.
Some of the axolotl are now 5" and they are very active and healthy. 
I have only a very small amount left. After I finish finding them new good homes I will let the parents take a break.
Thanks for reading my threads.


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## Fish rookie

Some updated pictures.


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## Cookiemonstar

Awesome thread! I saw your axolotl at island pets last week. Went back the next day and it was already sold!
Will you be selling anymore of these? They are adorable.


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## Fish rookie

Thank you for your interest in this wonderful creature.
I have just delivered another batch of leucistic axolotl to Island Pets (Island Pets - Aquarium & Aquatic Pet Supplies and Services), they should be available in the Richmond location now. 
Please check them out. 
They do not seem to last too long.


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## Fish rookie

I have been asked many times about how to keep the tank temperature down especially in summer.
I would like to share my experience here.
First off I want to say in my humble opinion that water quality is more important than the water temperature in and of itself. For example, if I only change my water 10% once every 2 weeks and I feed one cube of bloodworm every day, along with feeder fish which produces lots of bioload (and may contain all sorts of pathogens), chances are no matter what my temperature is my axolotl will likely be stressed and eventually get sick. On the other hand, if I exercise good husbandry and perform 50% weekly water change without over feeding and I siphon out uneaten food and poop regularly--even if my temperature is a bit high (e.g. 25-27)--my axolotl will likely be much healthier.
These are not wild caught axolotl, they are home bred and are a few generations from the wild, so they are used to our room temperature. 
It is worth noting that my breeder tank have UV sterilizer and I change their water very frequently. I do not feed feeder fish or add into the tank anything that may contain pathogens and I never cross contaminate (I use separate siphon and net for the breeder tanks, and I never add water/filter sponge from another tank into the breeder tank) or add any fish into the tank that has not been quarantined. They are very healthy. As long as reasonable care is performed on them they should be very hardy whether they are kept at 16 C or 25 C.
There are a couple ways I would like to share here regarding how to lower their temperature that have worked quite well for me. 
The first way is to use a fan, something like this: Multi Fan - Dual Aquarium Cooling Fan
It is pretty inexpensive and can lower the temperature by 2-4 degree consistently. They come in many system and power.
The second method that I have tried is to use a Brita water jug placed in the fridge for my water change. Brita water does not contain chlorine so there is no need to use water conditioner. By performing frequent small water change with a Brita water jug you can keep the temperature in the lower range without shocking them since you are only changing a small amount each time.
Some people suggest using a frozen bottle but I am not a big fan of this method.
If you have a lid/ canopy and/or turn the light on all the time it will also increase the temperature. 
Hope this helps.


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## Fish rookie

I only have about 4-5 Leucistic axolotl and 2 Wild axolotl left. I may just keep them myself or sell them if anyone wants them. This chapter of axolotl breeding has come to an end. I may breed again but I cannot promise anything because it really was a lot of work.
I have met a lot of very nice people and I want to thank each and every one of you guys and gals for giving our axolotl a good home. 
I also want to thank Island Pet and Canadian Aquatic (Pat) for promoting this wonderful creature to a wide array of hobbyists--a lot of which have never seen or even heard of an axolotl before.
Also, a special big thank-you to Pat (mykiss). He kindly offered me so much help and guidance from the very beginning in so many different ways. I have learned so much. Pat is really a fish and breeding expert, without him, I could not have done it.
I hope all of you guys and gals who have purchase your axolotl from either myself, Pat, or IPU enjoy your new friend and cherish him/her for many years to come.
Thank you so very much for sharing this exciting and interesting breeding journey with me.
Cheers.


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## Mykiss

Thank you Richard for your posts and keeping the axos! Without it we wouldn't have learned so much.


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## Keri

Thanks for sharing with us, they are so cool looking !


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