Your Axolotl might seem quite happy in their tank, apparently enjoying staring at you, but have you ever wondered if your axolotl is sensitive to sound? Axolotls feel the vibrations caused by sound waves as those waves pass through their tank. Their environment, and their individual character traits can impact their sensitivity to sound. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at axolotls in general and explore how they are impacted by noise and if it affects them. From their hearing abilities to their reactions to music, let’s take a look.
Are Axolotls Sensitive to Noise?
Most animals have some common sensitivity to noise, which will include your axolotl. The axolotl has very good sense of hearing, as it’s important for them to protect themselves in their natural habitat and to find food.
Loud noises, such as overly loud music or construction type sounds, can be stressful for your axolotl, leading to changes in its behavior or physiology. Axolotls are affected by the vibrations from these sounds which travel through their tank, which can stress them out.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that axolotls are unique creatures with their own individual personalities and sensitivities. Sometimes your axolotl might be more sensitive to noise, while others aren’t affected by sound vibration at all. To ensure the well-being of your axolotl, it’s best to monitor its behavior and keep unnecessary noise levels in and near its environment as low as possible.
Can Axolotls Hear Things?
As previously mentioned, axolotls have a highly developed sense of interacting with sound. However, the sense of hearing is not through an actual ear, but by using different parts of their body to pick up vibrations through the water. This means they are more than capable of picking up all sorts of sounds from both inside and outside their environment, and reacting to them, either in a positive or negative way.
Axolotls are capable of hearing a range of sounds, including:
- Loud music. This can be stressful for axolotls, leading to changes in their behavior or physiology. It’s important to keep the volume of any music played near axolotls at a reasonable level.
- Vibrations from sudden loud noises and bangs can distress your axolotl and impact its behavior or cause it to stress. Fortunately if the sound is not frequent it shouldn’t cause any long term harm.
- Axolotls are also capable of hearing everyday sounds in their environment, such as splashing water, footsteps, a washing machine, the list goes on. Most of these sounds aren’t usually any cause for concern, but it’s worthwhile monitoring their behavior and noticing if there is any pattern when certain regular sounds or noises are occurring.
Do Axolotls React to Music?
Music has been known to have a profound effect on animals. If music soundwaves are going through your Axolotl’s tank, it wouldn’t be strange for it to act differently.
Even though music has been shown to calm animals like dogs and horses, not much is known about how it affects axolotls. Some owners have said that soft music makes their axolotls seem calm and relaxed, while others have said the opposite, that it makes their axolotls feel stressed.
It’s not clear how axolotls perceive music. Even though they have a great sense of hearing, it’s not clear if they can tell the difference between different types of music, or if certain types trigger positive or negative behavior.
To the best of our knowledge, there have been no scientific studies conducted on the effects of music on axolotls. More research is needed in this area to understand their perception and reaction to music. At the moment any reaction to music is purely anecdotal.
Axolotls Reaction To Sound
Overall, as mentioned there is no hard evidence on how everyday sounds affect your axolotl. There is however anecdotal evidence that your axolotl may become distressed if the sound frequency is lower. Above around 1.25kHz seems to produce no reaction.
The frequency band reported to be most likely to cause distress and behaviour change is the low level frequencies between about 300Hz down to 50Hz. That particular band seems to be the range that is reported more than not, but is not conclusive. This falls right in the range of a bass speaker, so close proximity between bass speakers and a tank is more than likely something to want to avoid.
At feeding time pay attention to your axolotl’s behavior as you approach the tank. If your pet is looking like it’s preparing to be fed then that is because it can feel familiar vibrations of your feet as you approach the tank.
Conclusion
Although there is no hard evidence on the effect of sound on axolotls, with each individual behaving differently, we do know that their sense of hearing is vibration. Lower frequencies appear to be more of a problem than high frequencies. The most important takeaway is to remember your axolotl will feel the vibration of all everyday sounds and noises. Where a cat can run away from a noisy vacuum cleaner your axolotl can’t really escape. Although we all need to get on with day to day life, the best care for your axolotl is to make sure it’s not in an environment of daily excessive low frequency sound. That way your axolotl is likely to be far happier.