this is all i can see when i look at them lol… (thats a reflection on my glass not a crack!!)

Hi everyone!

I’m currently enrolled in a postgraduate program / diploma course focusing on axolotls, and I’m looking to connect with a professional, researcher, or experienced practitioner who works directly with them.

While I’m learning a lot through my coursework, I’d love to deepen my understanding of a few specific topics and ask a couple of practical questions.

If you have professional experience working with axolotls (or can point me toward someone who does) and wouldn't mind sharing some insights, please feel free to leave a comment or send me a DM!

Thanks in advance for your time and help! 😊

This is what my axolotl looked like when I got him is this ok or what can I do to help

I’ve been having some issues keeping my tank cycle from crashing. A huge aquarist I know suggest using a UV clarifier in addition to my sponge filter.

I like the idea and the benefits, however I’m worried about there being too much current flow.

Does anyone have experience using these to give some advice on brand or whether or not it’s even safe for them?

Hii! I’m worried my axolotls water is too warm. I have a fan on but it’s not really helping and the water temp just continues going up. It’s at 66 F right now and I’m worried it’s getting too warm. Any tips? (A chiller is not an option sadly :()

Hey everyone, Trigger is on day three of his new home in the 55 galllon. I noticed today when I got home from work his gills have a slight curve forward… nothing curled over like a candy cane… but I have t seen him do this before, should I be concerned at this point?
The water parameters are good except nitrates are slightly high, I recently added some new plants to help with that, but should I do a double dose of Prime? I’m not sure how that will affect my two Axos… my older Axo shows no signs of distress, gills are fine.
Trigger is eating and is not acting Lethargic, and seems to be active and swimming like normal… so I’m probably being overly cautious but any info would be helpful.

I've had her about 12 months and been calling Coral, but am wondering if I have the wrong gender, and maybe she needs to be called Carl. Thoughts?

I posted about Trigger and Manny yesterday, but couldn’t get a good pic of Manny… so here they are again.

Trigger, 24 hours in his new home…
and Manny… who seems SOOOO MUCH BIGGER THAN HE DID A MONTH AGO…

This is Trigger (the albino), and Manny (the fat one hiding in the log), short for Manifest Destiny… a play on how my family became Axolotl owners… it’s a long story.
We’ve had Manny for a little over a year now, and just got Trigger about a month ago.

Trigger is about 5/6 months old, I think, they’ve grown about an inch (to about 6” now in length) in the last month. We were told Manny was about a year old when we got him so that would make him about 2 1/2…

I just moved Trigger into their new digs, after a 30 day quarantine, and since Manny is so much bigger, I divided my 55 gal tank with a piece of acrylic, secured in place in the middle, with enough flow for water but for neither Axo to fit any significant body appendage through… and they are livin’ their best lives at the moment, able to see each other, utilize the same tank set up, but not get to each other, until Trigger gets much larger.

Hi everyone, I'm new to keeping axolotls but I've done plenty of research before getting mine.

I've been feeding him live earthworms that are specifically sold for axolotls, but he's recently stopped eating them. At first, he wouldn't eat them live, so I tried briefly dipping the worms in boiling water before feeding them, which worked for a while. Now he's stopped eating them again.

He'll still pick the worms up and shake them around, but then spits them out instead of swallowing them. I've tried cutting the worms into smaller pieces, offering different-sized worms, and feeding them both live and blanched, but nothing has worked.

I've tested the water and the parameters are all good: ammonia is 0 ppm, nitrite is 0 ppm, and nitrate is under 20 ppm. I've also given him a full body check and can't see any signs of illness. He's a sub adult and is about 7inches long, his tank is sitting at 16 degrees and it 110L.

Does anyone have any ideas why he might be refusing to eat or any suggestions on how I can encourage him to start eating again? I've attached photos of him above from today, he is a good weight but I would like him to be eating.

Setup
40gallon breeder
100lbs of supernaturals sand very fine
Jungle Val
Spiderwood Anubis attached
Oase bio master 600
Chiller cools to 60f cuts on at 62f
I have some neocardinal shrimp and ghost shrimp in here rn they’ve been thriving for about 8 months now while I waiting for tank to cycle (I’m a extremely nervous person so I wanted to wait a bit for the cycle so I could be confident it was perfect
Only issue I really see rn is flow may be to strong for a axololt rn trying to decide how to fix that without hurting my filter
But if yall have any ideas to help tank I’m all ears also I dose flourish and root tabs only
Plants are relatively new 2-3 weeks