Feeding Troubles

Hi,

I have recently gotten an Axalotl about two days ago. It is about 15cm long, and I have a few questions about feeding it. I was given a pack of frozen bloodworm cubes, but when i put them in the tank, they fall apart and go everywhere. I put a dish in the tank, and have tried holding the cubes there until they fall apart and settle in the dish. The problem is though, that I have found the dish empty, but have not seen my axalotl attempt to eat it, and after an hour after I put a cube in, it still wasn't eaten. Is there anyway that I can lure the axalotl to the food, and make sure he eats it, or is their another food I should find. I don't wan't my first axalotl to die after 2 days of having it

You can try handfeeding your axolotl rather than leaving it on the tank floor. I let my frozen blood cubes defrost a bit and then break them into bite sized pieces. If you wiggle it in front of your axie, it should snap at the food. Anything that falls on the ground tends to be hovered up by my axie over the next hour. What was your axie fed on previously? If it was not blood worms, then it may take a while to start eating a new type of food. Just keep trying.

Your axolotl is very new and they can be stressed for the first few days and might not eat. 2 days is not a long time for an axie to go without food. Adults should be fed a blood worm cube about 2-3 times a week, and younger axolotls a bit more. But to be safe, I would recommend you make sure the temperature and other water parameters (ammonia/nitrate/nitrite/ph) are ok to rule out water quality problems stopping your axie from eating.

Also, I notice in your picture that your substrate is gravel. I would recommend changing this as soon as possible as axies should not be kept on gravel. They can ingest them and this can cause serious health problems. You can use a bare tank floor or washed sand.

Thanks for the help,

another question, are Earthworms a better staple for axolotls, or should I stick with bloodworms for now? And is their a certain brand of testing kit I should get?

I have heard that earthworms are great food for axies. Never used them myself though so can't advise much on on the practicalities. I have heard that you can get them at hardware stores, but if you have a good garden for earthworms you can just feed ones you find there, if they haven't been exposed to pesticides and other chemicals. You can also feed axolotls soft salmon pellets, brine shrimp and crickets as well. Bloodworms are a good food though, so I wouldn't worry too much if it is difficult to obtain worms.

Not sure about brands for testing kits. I have 'Sera' testing kits but have not used any others for comparison. The kits that you use drops of testing stuff in water are much more reliable than ones where you put a piece of paper in water to test though. I would get these tests asap as if your tank has not been cycled before you put your axie in then you will need to monitor the water parameters closely until the cycling process has been complete.

Could you explain cycling to me exactly? Is it the same as dechlorination?

No. Dechlorination is adding water ager/conditioner drops to tapwater to remove chlorine and/or chloramines.

Cycling starts when you add an ammonia source to a new tank; ie you added your axolotl and started feeding it. Any waste produced (from leftover food) or waste excreted from your axie produces ammonia (which is normal). This starts the cycling process. See: www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtm

While this is happening you need to test your tankwater daily or every two days for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. If there are any levels above 0 for ammonia and/or nitrites you need to do 20=30% waterchange to tankwater on the same day. There is no need to add any chemicals to fix the pH or bind/lock the ammonia or absorb the nitrites/nitrates. These are invariably temporary measures and will stuff up the cycling process. Waterchanges will sort things out.

Also, keep an eye on the tankwater temperature - an ideal temperature is below 20C. Anything above 20C and you need to start cooling the tank down so your axie doesn't get stressed and sick, see: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cooling.shtml

Earthworms can be bought at Bunnings or similar hardware stores. They are a great staple food and you can set up your own wormfarm. You can also use slaters (woodlice), garden snails and/or garden slugs.

I did a Ph test using a pool testing kit as I haven't been able to go to the pet shop, and the Ph came up as 7.0, is this acceptable or should I do something to change it. I also did a 20% water change after.

7 is good Axolotls can handle PH 6.5-8.

The main ones you need to check during cycling are ammonia, nitrite and nitrates. Just continue with daily or every 2nd day 20% waterchanges until you are able to get your tankwater tested by petshop. Don't buy anything they petshop suggests that will fix/lock or bind ammonia - just keep a record of the tankwater tests in a notebook by your tank, so you can refer back to it if you need to (this will also tell you how you progress during the cycling process).