Feeding problems Adult Male

I have a 2 year old gold male who spent his life in a tank in a shop where small gold fish came and went from his tank as they were sold.
He has only ever been fed on gold fish that he was able to catch nothing else
I have had him for just over a week and in that time he refuses to eat garden worms and blood worms and when ever anyone walks near my tank he rushes to hide.
He is getting thin from refusing to eat so yesterday I got a half dozen small gold fish.
Put him and the fish in a 20ltr tub for the day covered the tub so there was no bright light and all he did was sit in the corner and took no notice of the fish.
Today he went back into the main tank with a few of the gold fish and once in the tank he was snapping at the fish but was too slow to catch them.
Tonight I tried him with garden worms yet again refused to eat them.
After a while he is after the fish but again he is too slow and not able to catch them.
Any advice on what I can try next would be great thanks.

Firstly I would ditch the goldfish from his diet. He won't get the nutrition he needs from them. Have you tried blanching the worms first? If not try pouring hot water over the works for a second (this will kill the worm and stop it from excreting a foul tasting substance axolotls sometimes don't like) and then immediately with cold water (cool the worm down and stop it from cooking). Also what type of earthworm ihave you tried? Maybe you could try different types of earthworms? Make sure they come from a chemical free source (nowhere where pesticides or fertilisers have been used). Otherwise, you could try axolotl pellets as another good staple diet. Seeing as he is losing body condition, I would maybe consider other options that may at least entice him to eat so he at least gets something in him such as bloodworm or maybe scallops (I have heard these can be enticing)? Once he is more stabilised though it would be best to get him into earthworms or good quality axolotl pellets as these will be more nutritious

Sorry I did not add that I have tried pellets with no luck..
The worms are from my garden.. also have some red compost worms from my worm farm refused both.
I understand you saying ditch the gold fish.. I was thinking as he is getting thin a gold fish is better then nothing at all.
I will try blanching the worms if that dosnt work I will try scallops.

Have you got a BCF store in your area? They sell "Catchall Crawlers" which are containers of earthworms they sell for live bait. The worms used are European Nightcrawlers and they may prefer these worms?

You could maybe also try Fish Fuel Co frozen axolotl blocks? I don't think they are generally recommended on the forum as a staple diet as they contain a lot of marine food and algae but I used to feed these to an axolotl I had years ago and he seemed to like them. Maybe these will entice him to eat? At least until he is more stabilised and you can get him onto something more appropriate?

BCF yes not far from me...will give them a ring in the morning
Fish Fuel Co frozen axolotl blocks ok great they give me a few more options
I will let you know how I go over the next few days .. cheers

No worries . Good luck and definitely keep us posted. Other members here might have some other suggestions you could try.

Also, it is extra important to maintain good water quality for him to give him the best chance. As he is weakened by not getting the nutrients he needs and being underweight, he may not be able to fight off illness as well as he should. Keeping him in good water will help keep illnesses at bay

I have tied 2 BCF for Nightcrawlers they do not stock them on the central coast.
Have also tried a few pet supply with no luck.

So Sunday night he went into a tub with 30 live Tadpoles .. The next morning was only half a dozen left... First time he has eaten in over a week.

Tonight I tried him with blanched worms he just spits them out and go's to hide.

Not eating for one week is not that long for an adult axolotl. Some people only feed their axies once a week or so. Keep trying the worms and pellets. If you drop the pellets right in front of (or on top of) their nose they often instinctively snap at them. You can also drop a worm in front of him and leave the room so that nothing scares him and he might go after it.