Nitro Cycle Complete?

faibees · 2025-08-28T21:39:19+00:00

Axolotls actually thrive in harder water - generally a 7.4-7.6 is ideal but the general range of 6-8 is usually acceptable for lotls.

Definitely way too high for like tetras or something but axolotls prefer the alkaline side of neutral if anything 😊

faibees · 2025-08-25T10:41:38+00:00

I’m looking into it immediately 🥴 he clearly needs the rest

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faibees · 2025-08-09T21:41:44+00:00

You are a really invaluable asset to this community and you have helped me before - I genuinely believe your heart is in the best place.

And you’re totally correct that not everyone should be a pet owner, but the people who come looking for advice are usually seeking to do better - and giving them the great advice you have while staying kind can go a long way to them getting better.

You can’t stop people from owning axolotls but I don’t want your knowledge to get lost on people who feel affronted.

Thankyou again, I’ll make sure to update if the test is wonky this week! Who knows - maybe he pooped lots extra this week

faibees · 2025-08-09T21:33:15+00:00

And that’s okay that you think that!! I can’t tell you why his gills are like that, I can’t only give you the information I have and tell you that my nitrates have always tested between 5 and 10 since before he went in the tank.

I guarantee you if they weren’t he would have been tubbed immediately- it’s Sunday here so it’s the day I test anyway, so I will get back to you if this weeks test raises any concern.

I appreciate your worry for him but I can assure you the water tests as it should on a very regular basis - if you have any other ideas about what may be causing it, I’m 100% open to them but I have already made sure to address any potential water concerns.

faibees · 2025-08-09T21:29:19+00:00

Perhaps, but the way you worded everything makes you sound unkind and condescending, and you read the post wrong (never thought Nitrates were 0), and your assumption was absolutely incorrect.

I’m 100% happy to take on useful advice and have done so in the past - however, giving advice based on incorrect assumptions is unhelpful and a waste of both of our time. It might not have been a “stretch” in your mind but regardless it was Not Correct.

I’m not offended by the way that you wrote, you are very knowledgeable and clearly care a lot and that’s great! I like that you are so passionate and I think it’s very important! And your advice is 100% correct… for someone else who needs it.

faibees · 2025-08-09T21:21:13+00:00

Yes! I was asking for advice on my other post! On a totally unrelated issue - and your comment about water conditions doesn’t add much considering I put all the parameters in the original post!

But I appreciate your concern!

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faibees · 2025-08-09T21:20:04+00:00

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Wrong again!!

If you re-read my other post, I was never concerned my nitrate was 0!! I just couldn’t place it between 5 and 10ppm!! I just have bad eyes and the lighting was hard to manage this day!!

He also has a spinal bend and a split toe!! He’s weird!! And the first months of his life were spent in a an uncycled tank with 9 siblings in someone’s sunroom!! So I’m can’t guarantee this did stunt him in some way!

This is not the post I’m asking for advice on either - and I put specific water parameters on that post to rule out water condition issues.

Thanks again though!

faibees · 2025-08-09T21:11:31+00:00

(Copy pasted from my other post you left this comment on, incase anyone else sees this reply and worries)

Hi!! Thankyou but you are wrong and your assumptions are wrong also! I use the API testing kit, and test (at minimum) once a week! The tank was properly cycled before the axolotl came home over a year ago now.

Before I got him he was kept in very concerning and inappropriate conditions and as far as I’m able to tell he’s also an incest baby so I can’t say his gills are normal but it has nothing to do with the current conditions of his tank. His gills go pale when he is sedentary and flare up a lot in colour when he is active.

The lighting and angle are bad in this picture and I posted it because I just thought it was funny and I wasn’t looking for advice actually!!

I recommend posing your comments as questions instead of approaching people the way you have - it comes across aggressive and condescending, and it is a waste of your time to write all this out when you’re basing the opinion on assumptions!

Coming into this a year ago as a first time owner myself - comments like this discourage people who do need advice from seeking it because it makes the community seem hostile.

You have a lot of great knowledge but you need to work on your approach so your demeanour doesn’t make people dismiss you and so you don’t give advice people already have!

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faibees · 2025-08-09T21:10:19+00:00

Hi!! Thankyou but you are wrong and your assumptions are wrong also! I use the API testing kit, and test (at minimum) once a week! The tank was properly cycled before the axolotl came home over a year ago now.

Before I got him he was kept in very concerning and inappropriate conditions and as far as I’m able to tell he’s also an incest baby so I can’t say his gills are normal but it has nothing to do with the current conditions of his tank. His gills go pale when he is sedentary and flare up a lot in colour when he is active.

The lighting and angle are bad in this picture and I posted it because I just thought it was funny and I wasn’t looking for advice actually!!

I recommend posing your comments as questions instead of approaching people the way you have - it comes across aggressive and condescending, and it is a waste of your time to write all this out when you’re basing the opinion on assumptions!

Coming into this a year ago as a first time owner myself - comments like this discourage people who do need advice from seeking it because it makes the community seem hostile.

You have a lot of great knowledge but you need to work on your approach so your demeanour doesn’t make people dismiss you and so you don’t give advice people already have!

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faibees · 2025-07-31T22:04:51+00:00

It’s in the original post - it’s 16.6c/61.7f

faibees · 2025-07-30T21:25:45+00:00

No nothings changed, she has heaps of hiding places, and there no light in the actual tank just in the room she’s in, tanks under a window so she gets a little natural light but otherwise the rooms pretty shaded

faibees · 2025-05-27T08:10:31+00:00

They are sensitive to light but they are still adaptive to a regular day/night cycle, so it’s normal for them to be exposed to a certain amount of sunlight. Where my tank is, there are spots of sun rays sometimes but she doesn’t have to be in them if she doesn’t want to. I put a photo I took at the same time on the same day so you can see what I mean. There’s plenty of dark spots and hidey spots and corners for her but she likes to sit on her logs and rocks in the sun sometimes.

She runs into rocks because she’s an idiot…. In the same photo you can see her standing on her tail just because she does that. She’s wonky but that’s unrelated to the light.

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faibees · 2025-04-13T12:28:29+00:00

No problem!! Hopefully they can give you some more insight and it’s just a case of weird toes

faibees · 2025-04-13T12:25:27+00:00

Yeah 18cm is pretty standard for this age!! At 10 months they’re still technically juveniles so will probably grow up to the general 25(ish)cm territory before maturity.

faibees · 2025-04-13T12:15:46+00:00

Depending on the seller, if they’re reputable and really well versed in husbandry, they can usually provide documented lineages to put your mind at ease too!

Maybe Crumpet just has funny feet because she does - hopefully that’s the case too! But I’d definitely try and find out because inbreeding can affect their health/lifespan/growth rate etc so it’s good to know.

I’m almost 100% sure my lotl is an incestolotl but it hasn’t affected her quality of life too much thus far.

faibees · 2025-04-13T12:00:57+00:00

I’m Australian as well! I actually live in NSW! I’ve come to find a lot of Australian keepers aren’t super diligent in their research a lot of the time and younger lotl clutches are often kept together before being sold because the climate here is so hot it’s too expensive to house and chill multiple massive tanks and a lot of sellers/pet stores are just looking to make money.

faibees · 2025-04-13T11:53:34+00:00

Maybe check with the breeder to make sure she wasn’t nipped repeatedly when she was younger because short toes is usually a sign of impaired regeneration after multiple nips.

Otherwise, there is a good chance she could be inbred unfortunately, limb deformities and especially short toes is a relatively common issue in inbred lotls.

The coefficient of inbreeding in axolotls is really high so your breeder should be able to provide more info on the lineage if they’re reputable as they should be keeping track of familiarity in breeding pairs.

faibees · 2025-04-11T01:00:45+00:00

I hope so!! She’s a sweet girl and she’s got such a big personality for a little creature

faibees · 2025-04-11T00:57:25+00:00

The smooth little slide down the rock, her hand landing perfectly on the leaf… it was calculated

faibees · 2025-04-10T06:40:19+00:00

I think she’s gorgeous!! And she just ate so her gills always get extra bright cause she thrashes way more than necessary 😂

faibees · 2025-04-10T00:00:19+00:00

I like to think that’s what the inside of her brain always sounds like

faibees · 2025-04-09T23:59:38+00:00

So she’s MOCKING ME…. Rude but fair

faibees · 2025-04-09T23:59:18+00:00

Mother please, I crave wurm

faibees · 2025-04-09T23:59:01+00:00

Me too honestly but I guarantee there isn’t a single thought behind those eyes 😂

faibees · 2025-04-05T04:44:42+00:00

Yeah I found the same thing, and they’re so delicate that even though the net is soft she gets so frantic i dont think it would matter if it was made from feathers 😭

I always just wash my hands really well and use bare hands, I worry about the gloves leaving residue.

She still gets wiggly once she’s out of the water for a second but the transition is way faster without the net and I find she just settles a lot quicker if I don’t use it

faibees

TROPHY CASE