New axolotl, not eating?

Hi All,

We got our new juvenile axy, Zissou, on Tuesday, he arrived from a breeder in Swindon (probably someone on here i expect so thanks!) all safe and sound.

He is about 5-6cm long I would say and I am a little concerned about how much he is eating. On the first day when he was released into the tank he did a fair bit of exploring and when we dropped in some bloodworm came swimming up towards the surface very interested. he didn't actually come up to the surface and eat it, but i gave him some via tweezers and he took it, shook at it alot and seemed to eat some (although some came back out).

Day 2, we offered him bloodworm via the tweezers but he ignored it. Left quite a few in the tank and he may have eaten some, but difficult to tell as it sinks between the large gravel we have got. Removed any uneated worms with a siphon at the end of the day.

Day 3 (today), offered him some bloodworm via tweezers and he took one, shook at it for quite a while and then it seemed to come back out. I am worried these bloodworm are too big and it's putting him off eating, but i'm not sure. They are just normal frozen bloodworm that i would give to my tropical fish (defrosted of course). Have also tried tweezer-feeding some axolotl pellets cut to a small size, but he ignored those and then they fell between the gravel...

How much should i be expecting him to eat and how often? Have looked a lot on this forum and the rest of the net but can't seem to find a conclusive answer.

I have attached some pictures of him on his first day, can't see any difference now, his gills and abdomen might be slightly paler, but i think that might be my mind playing tricks on me! and it is more difficult to see as he seems to be a bit more shy now (hiding amongst the gravel etc).

Do you think he could be having trouble finding food because of the large gravel? We put it in as read so many places that small gravel is a choking hazard, but i'm starting to think maybe we should remove most of it so he (and us) can see the food and keep a better eye on things. Would a bare glass bottom (on black polystyrene) be stressful for him? And then we could replace it when he gets a bit bigger...

Water quality seems to be good (Ammonia 0.25, nitrate <10, pH 7.4-7.6). Temperature is a little bit high (21C) but have opened a window in the room to try to bring it down now. There is a filter but it's on pretty low, could try turning it off i suppose.

Help or advice would be great please, i'm quite worried, other half thinks i've gone mad and we should just let him settle in a bit. I hope it is just that!

Lorna

My best guess is that animals tend not to eat or breed until they are happy and have ajusted to their new enviroment, give them time and im sure it'l start eating again:happy:

axies that size should be fed daily. infact, I find it hard to believe that my axies were once that small.

give your new mate time to settle into his new home and it should start eating again soon, and with a rather ferocious appetite to boot!

if you haven't already, consider changing those river pebbles to sand. it's much easier to keep the tank clean as waste falls between the pebbles and causes water quality issues. Normal washed play sand is great.

Yeah, sand is better than gravel of any size - no doubt little Zissou will find some easy enough to swallow when s/he's bigger. Plus, as you've discovered, they will trap uneaten food + poop, affecting water quality.
There is nothing at all wrong with having a bare bottom tank - my babies have no substrate, for that reason + the adult axies I've been nursing are in a bare bottom tank too, so I can easily monitor what they are eating + what's coming out the other end. Plus, they only have a sponge filter in a 2.5ft tank, so I need to do more regular water changes + be even more vigilant about water quality.
Little cutie pie, BTW

He is cute, isn't he!

Thanks for all the replies, i'm trying not to worry too much. We've removed the gravel so he's just got the bare glass bottom at the moment. I put in some bloodworm last night and not sure if any have gone, i think i need to start keeping an exact count of the number in/out. There does seem to be some sandy/dusty matter that's appeared overnight so i guess he went to the loo. That's hopefully a good sign.

He's hiding in his log at the moment (and has been since last night) but i guess we just have to wait for him to come out and then try some more food.

Fingers crossed :errr:

Lorna

An update:

You will all be pleased to here that little Zissou is doing fine!

I think it must have been either him settling in or not being able to find food amongst the gravel. By the end of the week when I first posted he was eating 1 or 2 bloodworm a day, and we have now upgraded him to 1-2 mealworm a day, plus bloodworms when he feels like it. He's growing and really filling out already, exciting times!

Thanks for all the advice, hopefully he will stay fit and healthy (and hungry!) so I won't have to post back in this particular bit of the forum

Lorna