cool now where is my pokeball

I love these, I want one ;-;

They are fantastic. I love my two. My attachment to them is horribly increased by the fact that their tank is on my nightstand right next to my bed and I fall asleep watching them. This pic happened this morning when I woke up and he was just right there being perfect.

Took me 4 years to find them; a breeder in RI had babies. Always get a pair, they actually interact with one another and its sometimes comical... Last night I gave them nightcrawlers to eat and Vasen had one sticking out of his mouth. Oikea came over and Vasen backed away in a manner that suggested "NOOOOOOO! MAH WURM!"

Our local pet shop has them. I wish I could get a pair. :(

Are they in good condition?
Sometimes they can be "water dogs" which are really neonatal Tiger Salamanders... They get sold as Axolotls but arent really them.

Oh yes yes. This is a privately owned business that specializes in reptiles and amphibians over all other animals. They're quite knowledgeable.

would love it, thats for sure :P

hoog!

Awww yours is so big! :D I got one a few days ago and it's still 10 cms. :) Can't wait for it to be as huge as yours!

I've only had them 6 months and they've grown to 7"
Mine didnt even have back legs when I got them, they were so small.
All I can suggest if feed heavily and change water often. My two were in separate betta containers until they were large enough to go together. They got fed heavily every day and had all their water changed daily until they went into the tank.

Make sure you dont use gravel with them! Sand or large pebbles only!

If you have any questions about care feel free to ask.

Whoa they grow so fast! :D I've read quite different stories about growing though, some only get to about 15 cms whilst other grow to 25 in a few months!

I feed him a cube of frozen bloodworms a day (not frozen of course ;P). He can't finish everything, I usually put it in a bowl in his tank to prevent bloodworms from going all over the place and leave it for about half and hour - an hour. He usually doesn't finish it and I gotta throw away the rest, but that's okay I guess :) He looks kinda skinny IMO, having seen a other axolotls on pictures, but that might just also be his age.
I haven't changed his water yet, I have a filter. It isn't looking very murky at all, but I'll change about 30% in a few days I think!

I don't use gravel but black sand :D It was a bit clumpy at first because I think oxygen made it clump together, but now it's alright.

I do have one question, I noticed while I was feeding him today that he has black tips on his toes O_o This indicates sexual maturity, right? I'm so confused because he looks so small!

How long have you personally had yours?

Usually black tips indicate sexual maturity which can happen when they are a year old I think regardless of size. Mine have not developed black toe tips yet but Im 90% positive I have a male and female due to small differences in head shape and body structure.

I accidentally grew mine quickly by keeping water quality super clean and feeding heavily.
Do you test your water frequently? If so what are your Nitrates reading?
If you dont test or do water changes frequently you may see an increase in growth and feeding activity if you change water more often. If your guy is in a 10 gallon tank Id say a 20% water change weekly would be good to keep water quality superb. Tough aquarium plants are good for them too as they will help keep the water cleaner between changes. My tank has a crazy amount of plants.

I switched my guys to sinking dwarf frog pellets(you can find those at most pet stores or you can easily order them) when they became big enough to eat them. Your guy should be large enough for them but they may take coaxing to feed by adding bloodworms in the mix. The pellets are high nutrients and prevent the axolotls from having any dietary deficiencies which could be a potential issue if just feeding bloodworms and nothing else which could then lead delayed growth.

Differences in growth that you read about online could be as simple as one person doing poor husbandry while another keeps them in excellent condition. Or it could be due to genetics, hard to say. I know one guy who has 2 axies that hes had for over a year and they've only grown to about 5" but he also doesnt change water frequently and keeps them in a 5 gallon tank which is too small for axolotls in general. If he changes his habits will they grow? I do not know.

I've had him since 28th of Sept (my bday :D). I wasn't there when I purchased him, he was a gift from my parents, so I didn't have a chance to ask the petshop owner how old they approximately are (although I have learned not to trust petshop people at all, lol). I just thought he was so tiny compared to other sexually mature lotls!

I haven't tested my water yet and yes I think it's a 10 gallon tank. I do have two real plants and two fakes, I was planning on getting more real ones sometime soon! They're two cryptocorynes. Is it possible to have lillies in the axy tank too? I love the look of lillies but idk if they willl do well :)

I read the exact opposite of what you're saying now :P I read that bloodworms and earthworms are excellent forms of nutrition, while pellets are poor/decent. Makes sense to me, dogs' kibble is way worse compared to fresh food. :) There's even pellets specially for axolotls here but even those didn't get very good reviews. Maybe it's a matter of personal taste?

Also, is it mandatory to keep them in at least pairs? I'm kinda scared to put a new one in right now as I've read they can nibble at eachother when they're young/small.

When I was saying the pellets part its more that if you only feed one food then there can be nutritional deficiencies. Earthworms are excellent. I feed mine a mix of different things with pellets being a primary diet, then I feed worms 2x a week and then different frozen foods in between. To me the pellets are kinda like a multivitamin where there is a good amount of vitamins and minerals that could be missing if I only fed one type of food.

Lillies should be fine so long as your axolotl doesnt break them. I have some pretty weak stemmed plants in my tank that my two havent broken up. I have Cryptocorne, Java moss, Java fern, Ludwigia, Subwassertang, Amazon sword, and Frog bit in my tank. The Ludwigia is the weak stemmed plant that has yet to be broken. If you live in the US I could probably send you some Java moss and Frogbit. :)

With pairs Id only put them together if they are similar sized and over 4" in body length. Everything I've read says keep them in pairs, I've never kept one single so Im not sure whats the big deal.

Ohh I see! I thought you meant you were feeding the pellets as a complete food! I can try to see if I can get a hold of some pellets, but I've only seen them online so far (and not for sale). I'll keep an eye out! Do you get your earthworms from the ground or from petstores too?

I just ordered a bigger batch of plants (about 6 and a few moss balls) from the german amazon, but it says the delivery date is about 16 okt - 13 nov >_> Ah well I'll wait and see when they arrive. I'm not from the US btw, I'm from Holland, way across the pond! But thanks for the offer anyway <3 Do you have skype or something maybe so I can derp about axys with you? :P

I dont have skype but I have AIM and Facebook if you are interested in those. I can note you those.
I had skype once and didnt use it enough so I dont bother with it :<

I don't have AIM or Facebook, lol! :< AIM isn't used at all in Holland. It's okay though (: If I have another question in the future, is it okay if I shoot you a note?

Yes you can! Too bad FA doesnt have a chat system.. that would be amazing.

Awesome, thank you so much :D

Oh another thing
"I haven't changed his water yet, I have a filter. It isn't looking very murky at all"

Thats a major thought process that causes people to end up failing with fish tanks and other aquatic creatures. Just because the water looks fine and the filter looks decent doesnt mean the water is ok. By the time the water is noticably looking worse to people means its been harsh for the aquatic life for longer period of time.

Amount of water changes can either be the failure or success of a tank. Saying this to get you thinking about it whether you've had him a long time or just recently got him. :)

I work at a fish store btw, been there for 5 years.

Thanks, the are kinda hard to find in the pet trade but they are one of my favorite things I've kept. :)