feeding

Hey everyone i just got an axolotl on tuesday. I dont know too much about them but i have been reading all of you posts.

my axolotl is about 20cm long and is yellow, but scence i got him he hasnt eaten anything. i have been trying to feed him live worms (thats what they fed him at the shop).
He looks really healthy and he is always swimming around the tank with a smile on its face.

Is there anything wrong or id this normal for them when you first get them?

Hi Jayson and welcome,

It sounds like very normal axie behaviour. It may take your new axie a day or two to settle in. Axies of your ones size only need feeding once every other day or two. They can go for a lot longer with nothing.

Have a look at www.axolotl.org its got heaps of good suggestions about keeping and caring for axies. This site too is very helpful there are lots of experienced breeders and keepers ready and willing to share their knowledge.

Good Luck

i wouldnt be to concerned as at that size i would say he is a young adult settling in.
they tend to only eat a couple of times a week when they are adults anyway as they are not as active as babies.
i dont know how much you know about keeping axies but a good site to visit is axolotl.org on there you will find a complete run down on feeding, health and tank cycling ect.

thanx i was just getting a little worried if he was sick or not

the person at the shop said that it was only a baby. I didnt think that they were that big when they were a baby.

Welcome to the forum Jayson.

The main things you'll need to keep an eye on is water quality and temperature especially heading into summer.

Ideal temperature, if you can maintain it, is below 20C. When it starts heading towards 24C you may start having problems. See: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cooling.shtml

How long have you had its tank setup and did you cycle it. See: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

If it's only been setup for a few days, you need to keep an eye on water quality, testing the water every few days for ammonia/nitrite. If you don't have water test kits, then take a sample to the petshop and ask them to test it and write the figures down. Then don't buy anything they advise to fix/cycle the tank, as invariably a lot of what they advise (or try to sell) are only temporary fixes and won't fix the problem.

What do you have as substrate and how big is your tank - An ideal tank size for one axie is 2ft long x 1 ft high/wide.

Make sure if you don't already have any of the following, to get:

Siphon/gravel cleaner (for waterchanging)
Turkey baster (for spot cleaning)
Thermometer

A baby axolotl (or axolotl larva) is usually about just under a cm in length once hatched. So 20cm would be young adult (from 7/8months) or mature adult. Unless they know the actual hatch date, it's quite hard to guess it's age.

thanx for the help kapo the water is normaly between 20-25C i will keep a eye on that.

The tank is about 1.5feet x1feet x1.5feet is that still alright i will be getting a new one soon any way

the tank has been used be other fish for a few years now changed the water out redecorated put in new rock so on, and let the filter run through for about an hour or so before i put him in.

I will post a few pics on when i get a chance