Question: Is it ok to just feed my axolotl live food?

Hi Guys

I'm new to owning an axolotl. I've had many aquariums in my past and even worked at one for four years so I know the basics. But I recently got a gold axolotl (2 weeks ago), housed in a 30 Litre tank with sand as substrate and rock caves, filtration etc. I don't know how old he is because I just purchased him from the local pet shop but guessing by size (about 20cm) and the fact that he has dark toes indicating sexual maturity I would say maybe 2-3 years old.

My problem is he won't eat anything but live fish! On the first day I had him he took a small piece of raw fish from my hand - barramundi to be exact - about the size of my little fingernail but then he refused to eat it the following days! I tried him on earthworms, meal worms, bloodworms (live and frozen), more fish, prawn flesh, axolotl pellets... but nothing. The water all tested fine and I put it down to him just taking some time to settle in. After a week of him eating nothing at all and me getting worried I went to the pet shop and bought a couple of feeder guppies to try them out. Well he gobbled them right up (after putting on a hilarious hunting show). So I guess he's just fussy or is a big predator and likes to hunt. I don't have a moral problem feeding him live fish and I live in Perth right near the river so getting a steady supply of glass fish and mosquito fish wont be a problem. My main concern is will he be ok just eating fish or does he need a more varied diet and if so, how can I get him to eat other stuff?

Thanks

Live fish are ok,though you have to be really careful as they transmit all sorts of nasty diseases.

Best thing to do is buy heeps and set them up in their own tanks so they have a place to be quarantined, really you should wait a month after buying them to feed to your axi.

As for the size I'd say yours is probably closer to about 10 months (I'm judging for my own axi who is about 8-11 months old by my guess and 22cm) rather than 2 years... he/she might just be an early bloomer.

Even though fish are ok you should keep trying to get your axi to accept earthworms, as they are by far the best food for them. I find that holding the worm above my axi and letting her see it wriggle is the best way... if I just drop it in the tank she'd never find it... her eyesight is SHOCKING

Yeah, I was worried about that and also worried about the fish nipping at his gills, but seeing as they only last a few minutes in his tank I'm not that concerned about the latter. As far as disease goes, I really trust the aquarium that I got them from but in future I am going to try to breed them myself in a small tank to save on cost and also because I really like the whole process. I used to breed fish and yabbies for my barramundi and sarratosa. Would an axolotl eat a pinkie/baby yabbie?

I have some worms and I have been trying to entice him to eat them each day by wriggling them right above him - literally in front of his mouth - but after showing initial interest he backs away from it every time. And I guess because I don't want him to go hungry I cave and give him another fish.

I don't like the idea of making him go hungry, but I thought about not feeding him for a few days and then trying the worms again to see if he would take them, but this might not work seeing as he initially went a week without food and wouldn't touch the worms so I dunno. Maybe he's just picky!

Thanks for your help!

Hey Muffin,

30 litres is too small for an adult axie, regardless of whether this issue is related you need to consider upgrading your tank asap.

Do you have the full list of water parameters? You may find that the water conditions are less than ideal because the tank is so small, and axie is feeling a bit under the weather, and picky about his food.

Hmm... maybe I have miscalculated my tank litre-age as when I worked with fish I was sure a 20" tank was ok and as far as his general health - by looking at him - he seems happy and active enough. The ph, nitrite and nitrate levels are all within acceptable limits.

But regardless he is going to be upgraded to a four footer in the next week or two.

Thanks for your input

A four-footer! Fantastic!

Remember that axolotls aren't fish, and although you may have a LOT of experience with fish, try not to assume anything relates in the same way to axolotls

muffinhead said:

But regardless he is going to be upgraded to a four footer in the next week or two.

Click to expand...

LUCKY BOY!!! Mine is also just about to be upgraded.

Breeding fishies is probably the best way to ensure they are good for your axi

Yep I think that he would go for a baby yabbie... but be careful of the claws... axolotl skin is very delicate

I went down to the river over the weekend to try to catch him some minnows, glass shrimp or taddies but had no luck.

He has chomped the last of his live fish but I did get him to take a frozen blood worm cube from me yesterday so fingers crossed he is over his fussy stage. I was wondering about things like mosquito larvae? It doesn't seem like they would be very nutritional and he would have to eat about a hundred of the little suckers but I was thinking of giving them a shot because I have heaps and easy access. I've heard of people feeding very young Axies on them and my mother in law feeds them to her pond fish but are they ok for my guy?

Mosquito larvae should be fine. I feed all my young axolotls on live food till they are about 6months old. Try getting backswimmers and water beetles drangon fly nymphs.they are all good and im sure thats close to what a wild axolotl would eat. Live foods really good I think and its fun for the axolotls to actually have to catch their food and any uneaten food will live in the tank for later. No clean up that way.
Good luck

If I remember correctly, bloodworm are actually mosquito larvae anyway
And, I keep bringing them up as examples, but my friend's axies (that I ahve been nuturing back to decent health) would only eat thawed bloodworm cubes when I 1st got them + only if I used a pipette to squirt the stinky stuff right above their heads. 1/2hr feeds every morning + evening was a nightmare! LoL! I then started just pipetting it into the water (they were all in seperate isolation tubs though), then when I wanted them to change to worms, I cut + soaked the worms + fed by plastic tweezer (they were used to being hand fed by then, so the change wasn't too bad), but they constantly spat them out. I was harsh though + would only feed them bloodworm once or twice a week, figuring they'd accept worms easier if they were a bit more hungry + with 2 of them, it was a slow, but easy process. The 3rd axie was very picky + accepted worms for a week or so, then refused them + started to lose weight, so I kept him / her in as larger isolation tub (while the others moved into a 2.5ft tank + progressed onto whole worms) + fed bloodworm again, but not by pipette this time.
I did that for a few weeks, then left him or her with whole worms for a couple of days at a time + it is now sharing the tank with the others (partitioned off, so I can stll monitor feeding) + is snapping up the whole earthworms.
It's a gradual, but rewarding process
Keep trying, as earthworms are agreed as being the best diet for axies.

P.S. Because I have corn snakes too, my adult axies get a pinky mouse once a month or every 2 months, just for something different, but if your guy wants to hunt, I don't think that'd be much help. Plus, they are no good as a staple diet.
Try feeding with a turkey baster - you'll create less of a shadow over the little 'un + you can use it for bloodworm too, if they seem popular (then the baster will be associated with food). Or, try cutting the worms up into smaller pieces while your axie gets used to the idea of them (you may need to soak them for 5mins before feeding to your axie though, as some worms make a yucky taste in defense + soaking them removes it)

Thanks for all the great advice guys!

I put some mosquito larvae into his tank last night and he munched through them pretty quick. I got some earthworms from Bunnings (as I live in a townhouse with no real garden and the only "soil" I have is 80% sand. No worms there!) but they are ridiculously small so I'm gonna see if I can fatten them up. Even if Clarence doesn't want them i guess it's good for the environment and all that.

I want to try to introduce some live plant matter to the tank to help with ammonia spikes and just add to the environment/ecosystem in general and I was thinking a small amount of duckweed might be ok seeing as it floats and wouldn't get in his way so much as potted plants. I know the stuff multiplies like crazy and I would keep track of it but my main concern is that Clarence sometimes gulps air at the surface of his tank, what would happen if he accidentally got a mouthful of duckweed?

Hi I have a fussy axol and found he loves frozen cooked prawns I started feeding him them and he doubled in size within 2 weeks prawns increase there appetite but too many can turn them pink