Any type of fish that will live with Axolotls?

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Hey,

I notice in alot of the youtube videos on Axolotls that other fish are being kept with them. I was wondering if thats possible. Are there any fish that won't nip their gills. How about Mountain Minnows or Danios? Because there the ones I would think to put in with my two axies. Thanks,

Matt
 
Short answer: No.

Basically you can have fish live with axolotls for short periods of time until a. they are small and get eaten, or b. they are big and start attacking your axolotl so need to be removed. They are about your only two options ;) You will get the occasional person to make it work, but most people have no luck I am afraid!
 
Hi Matt,

As Sarah wrote, any fish you can keep with the axolotls must be considered feeder fish, because the axolotls will eat them.

Appropriate feeder fish will be fish that remain small, have live birth, and do not nip at plants (or, more specifically, axolotl gills) (again, as Sarah wrote). Note also that many fish require warmer water than the axolotls do, so either the axolotl will be unhappy or the fish will.

I keep guppies and platies with my axolotls. The aquarium is spacious (120x45x50cm) so the fish have thus far managed to escape being eaten, but you must accept that sooner or later, they will become food.

-Eva
 
I've got a 25 Gallon with 2 axolotls and 6 Odessa barbs. I'd imagine that one day the odessa's will be lunch; but all's fair in love and war :)
 
They did once or twice but the axolotls are getting big enough to eat them so they stay away; the only time the barbs go near the axies is during feeding time which is great because the axolotls don’t like the pellets after they go soft.

Generally larger schools of barbs reduce aggression on other tank members because they squabble among themselves; having 1 or 2 (barbs) isn’t a great idea. Of course some barbs are far more aggressive overall; I wouldn’t put tiger barbs or something like that in there. The Odessa’s like cold water and tend to be a bit more timid, it seems to work out ok…
 
In general, it's best to avoid fish with axolotls. If you are just getting started with axies, you want to avoid stressing them as they settle in, so if you really want to have fish with them you should wait at least a couple of months.

I have white cloud mountain minnows in the same pond with my axolotls. These fish aren't nippers, they tolerate being very cold, and they are fast enough to avoid becoming dinner.

Above all, avoid fish with spines (cory cats or other catfish, loaches, etc). And also avoid tropical fish that need to be warmer than what is optimal for axies (this rules out a lot of fish).
 
Just so you know, Jenni, we all REALLY appreciate your work!
 
Sorry Jen,

Couldn't remember the link. Got it saved now. Credit where credit is due. I'm with Kaysie.
 
I'm not gonna push the buck on this one very hard...But I will a little.

Most of the mishaps in those links were due to barbed fish. That's barbed, not barb :) *kidding* But over-all axolotls are carnivores. Having guppies in a tank with a medium to large axie won't cause any problems other than money loss due to food/fish consumption.

You need to make sure any fish you do introduce are edible. You wouldn't put a corydora catfish with an oscar for the same reason you wouldn't put it with an axolotl. Plecos and other suckerfish have a nack for sucking on live animals that are slow; so avoid. Clearly stay away from oto cats/otocinclus; they're tiny and spiny. Most fish can be rather aggressive eaters at dinner time so you want to ensure your axie gets its food as well as the fish. But so long as the fish you put in there aren't picking on the axolotls (which many will, so avoid aggressive fish like grouramis, most barbs, cichlids, and so on), you should be ok. I'd stay away from any fish over 2" just to be safe.

It's complicated...kind of. But it's not rocket science.

White cloud minnows are like ugly neons that like cold water and are small enough they wont do any damage if they decided to be bold. You could test with small community tropicals... and if they're too slow in your frigid water...Lunch.

It's probably a good idea to hold off on fish until you have a 4"+ axie though. Smaller fish tend to know that Bigger fish are predators.

You could probably do 6-8 white clouds, 3-5 guppies or 5-7 cherry/odessa barbs, and an axolotl or two in a 30-50 gallon without having any problems. Put some coverage in the tank too so the fish can hide, or the axies can.

Research the **** out of the fish you want, and you should be ok.

OR

Just don't add any fish :)
 
What an excellent answer. Sounds like good meat for an article...

-Eva
 
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