How much to feed juveniles

I have two 4-5" svl axolotls in one aquarium. I want to be sure I'm not overfeeding them. I read that they should get as much as they will eat but these are my first so I just need to check.

I've been feeding them two bloodworm "gumdrops", defrosted, spread over much of the aquarium, every evening, and usually one more in the morning. They actively hunt and have cleaned up every stray worm, usually within a few hours, definitely by morning, and spend much of their time hunting more. I tried putting all of the food at one feeling station but found one axie would tend to dominate, tried two stations and it still happened, but spread throughout the tank they seem happy, actively hunt, and honestly it's fun to watch them hunt.

Their bellies are round and full, about as wide as their heads, maybe a bit more, but they are always hungry.

Last night I added Rapashy Freshwater Meat Pie, for the first time. They gobbled it up and continued hunting for more, so I added their usual bloodworms, which disappeared as usual by morning.

They also get occasional blackworms, and next time I'm at the pet store I'm getting more variety. No earthworms worms yet as I haven't gotten the gumption to chop them up. (ugg. When I accidentally chop up a worm while working in the garden I always apologize) and because the local bait shop was out of them the other day. They will get a lot more variety - I've only had them 3 weeks. My question is about the amount of food.

It's that too much? Should I be fasting them occasionally? They appear to be doing very well.

Thank you.

Leslie said:

I have two 4-5" svl axolotls in one aquarium. I want to be sure I'm not overfeeding them. I read that they should get as much as they will eat but these are my first so I just need to check.

I've been feeding them two bloodworm "gumdrops", defrosted, spread over much of the aquarium, every evening, and usually one more in the morning. They actively hunt and have cleaned up every stray worm, usually within a few hours, definitely by morning, and spend much of their time hunting more. I tried putting all of the food at one feeling station but found one axie would tend to dominate, tried two stations and it still happened, but spread throughout the tank they seem happy, actively hunt, and honestly it's fun to watch them hunt.

Their bellies are round and full, about as wide as their heads, maybe a bit more, but they are always hungry.

Last night I added Rapashy Freshwater Meat Pie, for the first time. They gobbled it up and continued hunting for more, so I added their usual bloodworms, which disappeared as usual by morning.

They also get occasional blackworms, and next time I'm at the pet store I'm getting more variety. No earthworms worms yet as I haven't gotten the gumption to chop them up. (ugg. When I accidentally chop up a worm while working in the garden I always apologize) and because the local bait shop was out of them the other day. They will get a lot more variety - I've only had them 3 weeks. My question is about the amount of food.

It's that too much? Should I be fasting them occasionally? They appear to be doing very well.

Thank you.

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To stay on the safe side, I would only feed them once a day. Since you have two adding in 2 cubes of bloodworms seems to be the right amount as I feed mine only 1.

Also, bloodworms should be taken out of the water so don't leave them in overnight as the food rots and increases the ammonia in the tank!

Correction - they're 3.5" body length (doesn't include the tail). Here is a photo of the leucistic (Abe) so you can see tummy size. (He's moving, so his hind leg is blurred, and the photo doesn't show all of his tail.) I think they're okay and not overfed.

Thank you for the caution about leaving the bloodworms overnight. I don't leave the bloodworms in overnight, it just takes the axolotls a while to find them all. Within a few hours, they're 95% consumed, and the axolotls are still hunting. Does having the bloodworms available for a few hours seem like a bad thing, if the axolotls are still hunting? When I check again after work or in the morning, they're always all gone and the axies are looking for more.

With my parrots, the concept of foraging for their dinner is important - in the wild, dinner wouldn't be found all together in one bowl, so the activity and stimulation of foraging for their food is highly encouraged; it makes them happier and healthier. It seems that this would translate to axolotls, although it probably wouldn't be as important since axolotls aren't as intelligent as parrots, and the need to limit ammonia in the tank might outweigh the benefits. These two hunt frequently during the day and night, which seems good to me. Instead of one large meal in the evening, which they've finished in 10 minutes, and then they hang around mostly sedentary for the other 23+ hours, by splitting it into two meals and distributing it throughout the tank, it keeps them active and foraging for most of the day. It makes sense to me, but these are my first axolotls. What is your experience?