Your axolotl setup checklist
Buy all of this before the axolotl. The tank needs 4–8 weeks to cycle, and that's the step most new keepers skip. Ticks save on this device so you can come back to it.
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Floor space beats height. A 90 × 45 cm tank (roughly 100–160 litres) suits one or two adults.
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Axolotls can jump. A mesh panel also lets warm air out on hot days.
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Cleans the water without a strong current. Axolotls hate flow: their gills fold forward when it's too strong.
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UK tap water contains chlorine or chloramine, which burns gills. Treat every bucket.
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Feeds the filter bacteria while the tank cycles, so it's ready before the axolotl arrives.
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Tells you when the cycle is done and warns you about ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. More reliable than strips.
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The number that matters most. Stick the probe in the water, not on the glass.
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Blows across the surface and drops the water a few degrees in a heatwave. Cheap insurance for a UK summer.
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Grains under 1 mm pass through if swallowed. A bare floor is fine too and easier to clean.
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Caves, wide pipes or terracotta pots. They have no eyelids and like a dark place in the day.
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Anubias and java fern tied to wood, or floating hornwort. Shade and a bit of help with water quality.
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A complete food to use alongside worms.
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The best staple food. Buy from a bait or reptile supplier rather than digging up garden worms that may carry chemicals.
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For weekly 20–30% water changes and picking waste off the sand.
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The permanent fix if the water goes over 20 °C every summer. Expensive, but cheaper than a vet.