what is this (link inside)??

Question

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://gmby.net/redsun/0106/fish2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://redsun.gmby.net/2006/01/fish-with-legs.html&h=200&w=300&sz=43&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=R3EPgxRUsEPt5M:&tbnh=77&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfish%2Bwith%2Blegs%2B%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den

can you buy theese at petoc or petsmart??

Answer 1

They're called axolotls (also known as "Mexican Walking Fish", even though they're a salamander). I used to keep and raise them. The photo in your link is an albino, and I kept these, leucistics (white with black eyes, so not an albino which has pink eyes), and the wild type, which is a brown background with black spotting.

These will get around 5-6 inches long, and they keep the gills into their adult life, rather than metamorphose into an air breathing adult as most salamanders will (they can lose their gills if not kept in proper conditions as a last-ditch survival effort on their part, but many don't survive the attempt to transform).

The biggest challenge in keeping them is profiving the correct water temperature - they should have water less than 65oF, which is practically impossible unless you have a chiller. They should be able to live for 15+ years, but many only live a year or two in captivity because they aren't kept cool enough.

You can find out more about them in these links:
http://www.axolotl.org/
http://inky.50megs.com/axolotlnewfaq.html


ADDITION: I've never seen these for sale at pet stores. I got mine through biological supply stores (where they are about $20 each) or at reptile/herp shows (where they're about 1/3 the price). If you're interested, here's a link where you can look for herp shows: http://www.kingsnake.com/events.html

And here's a biological supply where you can get them: http://wardsci.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_IG0013576_A_Axolotl+Living+Specimen

Just be sure you can get what you need to keep them properly first!

Answer 2

As stated above, Axolotls are a difficult animal to keep healthy. An aquarium chiller costs a few hundred dollars.

Answer 3

Looks like it might be an albino mudpuppy (a kind of salamander).

Answer 4

That is an albino salamander. It isn't really a fish, it is an amphibian.

Soop Nazi