Amazing Alice The Axolotl
Meet Alice!
Many years ago now, my boyfriend and I had a pet axolotl or mexican walking fish called Alice.
The Axolotl is a weird and wonderful creature that swims and walks around its tank with Darwinist like movements.
You would not be surprised at all, if when watching this creature, that at some stage it would suddenly come climbing out of its tank and start walking and breathing outside of the water.
Amazing.
Not a cute cuddly pet by any means but certainly a very interesting one which surprisingly enough you can grow quite fond of.
Alice was so interesting, it was great just to sit and watch her swimming around in her tank!
Alice The Axolotl
The Axolotl or Mexican walking fish is exactly what the name suggests.
Unlike other fish this one has legs that are not fully developed so it both swims like a fish and walks along, floats really, on the bottom of its tank.
It is as if they have been frozen in the first stage of evolution, by forming legs, the next having the ability to breathe outside of water, losing their gills and obtaining lungs to breathe with, Darwin's theory of evolution.
They come in four different colors, Alice was a dark brown, some being so white they look albino.
Axolotls Originate From Lake Xochimilco, Mexico City.
Keeping A Clean Tank For Alice!
Alice was kept in a medium-sized tank decorated with live plants, pebbles and rocks in the lounge room and was a constant source of conversation when people came over and some even become quite attached.
It was most important to keep the tank out of direct sunlight and to keep the water clean for her, cleaning the tank out and filling it with fresh at least once a month.
Meanwhile having a pump in the tank filters the dirty water and also provides extra oxygen which they need in this environment.
Feeding Alice was fun as fresh meat, such as worms, are place on a thin wire, soft as not to course damage, and held on the surface where she would come to feast. She would then take a snap at her food, as they have little teeth, and then swim down to the bottom to eat.
Keeping your axolotl healthy is work but not hard just continuous maintenance that you should be aware of before acquiring a pet like Alice.
Fresh tank water at all times and good food from pet suppliers such as trout and salmon pellets and frozen or live worms should keep you pet axolotl happy and contented though out its life.
Axolotls At Home
Have You Had an Axolotl as a Pet?
Would you like an Axolotl as a pet?
© 2010 Julia M S Pearce
