AXOLOTL

balam · AXOLOTL

Has anyone here ever kept an Axolotl?

I would just love to have one of these guys, they are fascinating amphibians and native to only one part of the world, Lago Xochimilco in Mexico City.

I will have to research a bit more on them but Mexican authorities do very little to protect their natural habitat.

Cites has in fact put it in the endangered species list, but you can still purchase them.

Axolotls, whose scientific name is Ambystoma mexicanum, are salamanders that exhibit incredible properties found very sparcely in the animal kingdom. They can regenerate body parts and exhibit neoteny, the ability to remain in larval stage throughout the length of its lifetime.

I would not like to go into this venture without the proper set-up, space and financial backing to create a breeding operation, either way, increased awareness is always the primary weapon in the defense of any species.

Check out: axolotl.org

Thanks for your interest.

reptilebob

The hardest thing with keeping these guys (as well as many newts and salamanders), is that you need to have a water temp between 55-70 degrees, and to keep them healthy, it shouldn't fluctuate much. Lighting, filters, and your house (if you're not keeping it in the 60's) will, of course, keep the water much to warm, unless you have a chiller. These are usually expensive ($100-$1000+) and made for larger fish tanks. You can also make a chiller, but home made ones are usually meant to replace the large expensive ones as they're not cheep to make either. You'd also have to have the water pumped to a separate area to chill, as you never put a chiller were the animal can come into contact with it.

Also, the smaller the volume of water, the harder to keep it at a constant temperature. I'd recommend having a large reservoir of water in a separate tank where the filtration and chilling is done. (if you do this, remember to keep the temp probe for the chiller in the main tank, not the extra one).

All and all, it is a challenge to keep these guys, but can be worth it. Tiger salamanders may be a good substitute, as they can withstand higher temps, and you can sometimes buy them in larval form. They take a little while to loose their gills, so are "axolotlish" for some time. Good luck!

aznkon

I use to own two of them long long ago when they only discovered the greenish/brown version. Well I should say my dad owned them. He kept them in a large 200 gallon tank with koi and other fish. They're pretty awesome fish but the problem I noticed is that the bodies are soft. Both of them "dissapeared" after about a month or two of being in the tank. Before one of them disapeared we noticed that the frills around the gills were being eaten. There are two theories on why they went missing that have been floating around my house. 1) they crawled up the filter or heater wire and escaped and 2) because of the soft skin they got eaten during the night bones and all. I have a hard believing that they got eaten because koi are less active at night and we didn't have anything else that would be able to eat them in just one night. The second theory would make sense if those arms of theirs weren't so flimsy and look useless. they might have jumped out and then crawled somewhere and dissapeared but we have yet to find bodies (over 10 years now).

Bottom line they seem easy enough to keep if you've have a few fish before then these guys are no problem to keep. My only advice is to keep the water level a little low so they cant' jump out and make sure not to have fish taht like to eat soft flesh. other then that they aren't picky eaters and the temperature range for them is easy to keep except if u live where it gets really hot then you might have some problems. but other then that they're easy if you've taken care of tropical/coldwater fish.

ftorres

Hello,
I am from Mexico City and I never saw Axolotls in the wild.
They used to sell them a lot in petshops.

It is stimated that in 10 years there will be no more A mexicanus in the wild as Lake Xochimilco is being used to rear fish and other areas are getting contaminated and polluted.

Well anyways, I used to have them and loved them. they do like cooler temps so that is the only major problem.

They are stablish in many states here In the US of A.

California prohibits them and therefore you can not get any shipped here legally.

Michael shromp is a guy who used to sell them a few years ago he shipped some to me the following year he no longer ship to California.

But if you live in Nevada you can get some shipped to you Wink

There is people here in Cali with them and they are raising them, so you can check your local Craiglist you might find one.

I should be getting some CB californian ones hopefully soon, if any extras are available I will let you know.

francisco

PS I would not mind starting a breeding project with you or more members interested on this wonderfull specie.

balam

This all sound great to me.

I will be leaving my apartment in about 4 months and moving into a house in El Monte = MORE ROOM.

Regarding the Axolotls that disappeared, my belief on that on is that shouldn't keep fish w/ the Axolotl at all.

The gills being chewed on is a first sign, they also have cannibalistic tendencies while young.

It baffles me though that there were no remains found.

I'm in for the breeding program given that all conditions are right for bot the members and the Axolotls, we will talk about it more at the BBQ

Thank you.

WBurke17

El Monte is where I grew up, what area are you moving too?

ftorres

Hello,
Here is an article about Axolotls

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200811..._la_am_ca/lt_mexico_water_monster

regards
francisco

~Abyss~

Been wanting one of these since i was 13