Mexican Walking Fish, Axolotls Ambystoma mexicanum Introduction Mexican walking fish are fascinating creatures looking, and Feeding often acting, like miniature pre historic monsters. These Earthworms are by far the most suitable food for walking fish. animals can grow up to 30cm in size make excellent pets, To ensure earthworms can’t bury out of reach in the aquarium living up to 10 years. gravel, where they would die within a few days, its best to limit Axolotls are the larval stage of a salamander, and are gravel depth to a single layer of smooth standard aquarium gravel only a few millimeters thick. different from other amphibians in that they have the ability to reproduce while remaining a sexually mature larva. They An occasional feed of finely cut lean beef may be offered, but also have the ability to undergo metamorphosis (similar to a if fed regularly the fat in red meat would almost certainly lead tadpole changing into a frog) and change to an air breathing, to health problems such as fat accumulation in internal land dwelling, salamander, but this very seldom occurs. It organs. Sinking fish pellets may also be offered. AI Naturals seems that most strains have now lost the ability to Range Frozen Turtle Mix is ideally suited to Axolotls as well. metamorphose. Mexican walking fish come in various colours, including dark brown , olive, black, albino and golden Feeding every second day is usually sufficient. Requirements (pictured above) forms, (which have bright pink gills) and a for food vary with temperature, they normally refuse to eat if piebald (spotted) form, which is seldom seen. the temperature falls below 10°C or goes much above 20°C. The name walking fish refers to the animal’s habit of walking Their preferred eating time is at dusk. Always remember to remove any uneaten food or pollution will occur. whilst under water. They should not be removed from their aquarium and forced to crawl on land, as they cannot Compatibility breathe out of water. Individuals may attack others in the tank if sufficient shelter is Housing not provided. Rocks, plants and cut plastic pipes are suitable. Axolotls are best housed in conditions similar to goldfish as It is most interesting, that in the event of a limb or portion of their water requirements are very much the same. An the animal being bitten off, it will regenerate. The damaged aquarium 60cm x 30cm x 30cm will house a full grown pair of individuals are best isolated and given extra food and axolotls. As axolotls extract oxygen from water through their attention. The regeneration process seems to be more rapid gills water quality is very important, therefore your tank should at lower temperatures. Axolotls have a large wide mouth, be adequately aerated and filtered. A regular partial water well adapted for preying on fish, and therefore fish should not be kept in the same aquarium. change helps remove excess waste compounds and keeps the pH from dropping as axolotls can be quite messy eaters. Sexing Using a little crushed coral or shell grit in the filter is also a Male and female axolotls are not difficult to differentiate when good way of achieving pH stability. Lighting is best kept sexually mature, which is at about 12 months of age. The moderately dim as axolotls are somewhat nocturnal in nature, male shows a swelling around the cloaca area (the sexual with albino forms becoming stressed under bright light. opening) between the back legs. Males have a longer tail Axolotls have poor eyesight and can often ingest gravel when and the head is narrower. The female lays between 300 to feeding causing a number of intestinal issues, so it is advised 1000 eggs when she spawns in early spring. Eggs hatch in to either keep them in a bare bottom tank or with a fine about 2 weeks at a temperature of 14-18°C. Parents should substrate (eg less than 2mm). be removed from the tank after spawning and young raised on live food. Newly hatched brine shrimp or sifted water fleas Water Quality (Daphnia) are quite suitable at first. Later, juveniles will take · Temperature: 10°C — 20°C. live aquatic “black” worms (tubifex). · pH: 7.0 — 7.5 · General Hardness: 150 — 200 ppm. 2017 Mexican Walking Fish (Axolotls)—Health Guide Ambystoma mexicanum When keeping these fascinating animals as pets, it is very very sensitive to various common aquarium medications. important to ensure that they are kept in the right Below you will find list of common fish medications, divided conditions. In the same way that we monitor water into those which are either Safe or UnSafe for use with parameters such as temperature, pH and GH for fish, it is Axolotls. vital for the good health of your Axolotl that you monitor these as well. In addition, Axolotls require all of the usual Before commencing any treatment, read the ‘house keeping’ activities that pet fish require, including directions carefully and follow the recommended regular water changes, appropriate diet, and adequate dosage strictly. The following is a Guide only. space. Individual circumstances may vary—contact your local pet store for more detailed information For great tips about the right conditions in which to keep your pet Axolotl, download the “Mexican Walking Fish before treating. Care Sheet” from the Aquarium Industries website. Safe or Relatively Safe Products Unfortunately, as they are live animals, they may suffer Methylene blue - non-toxic in low dosages. from a bacterial or fungal disease on occasion. Your Melafix (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals) - effective Axolotl will be more prone to illness if it is not being kept in against external sores and bacteria. the right conditions, as our experience has shown that over Pimafix (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals) - effective 90% of fish health problems are caused by poor water against fungal infections. quality. Panacur - at low dosage levels - effective against internal parasites, specifically roundworms. Once you do have a sick Axolotl, you will need to treat it to Metronidazole (Seachem) - Used at a lower dosage help it recover. Treating Axolotls can be difficult as many for reptiles as an anti-parasitic treatment in food medications are toxic or unsafe for use on amphibians. (inject it into a food). Salt baths - 6 gram/litre sodium chloride salt solution Remember water quality for 15 minutes. As with all aquatic life, an analysis of the current water Triple Sulfa (tri-sulfa) - Broad-spectrum antibiotic conditions is extremely important in determining if the issue sold for aquarium fish. Active against. Active Ingredi- is an environmental problem or pathogenic disease. If left ents: sulfamethazine, sulfacetamide, and sulfathia- unchecked, poor water quality will also cause disease and zole. death. Before treating, test your water first. Correct if necessary. The following products are toxic to Amphibians, Required Water Parameters and NOT safe to use on Axolotls. · Temperature: 10°C—20°C Sterazin (Waterlife) - contains malachite green. · pH: 7.0—7.5 Cuprazin (Waterlife) -contains copper sulphate and · General Hardness: 50—150 ppm other toxic cuprous compounds. Protozin (Waterlife) - Not safe to use with Before commencing any Treatment amphibians. Treatment should always be a last resort, once you have Anything containing malachite green and heavy ruled out: metals. Incorrect water parameters Incorrect or inadequate filtration Temperature (Remember: Axolotls like the temperature to be between 10°C - 20°C. They will be far more susceptible to disease during summer if their water heats up. For advice on inexpensive ways to cool their water during heat waves, refer to the Aquarium Industries “Guide to helping your fish cope with extreme heat” Care Sheet). For more Care Sheets like this, and for Incompatible tank mates etc. important advice about caring for your Take any corrective measures required before Mexican Walking Fish, visit our website: making a decision to commence treatment. aquariumindustries.com.au Medicating Amphibians Axolotls are amphibians and need to be treated as such. They absorb many compounds through their skin, so are 2014 .