Sudden Dislike for Pellets

My axolotl now has sudden decided he doesn't like pellets, i even put one right above his mouth and nothing! I was worried he didn't feel like eating. He usually took them if they were just around, but now he won't. He still eats his blood worms though, just drags the whole cube down and CHOMP! But is that enough nutrition for him? Just bloodworms? I guess I could go get some earthworms out of the compost, but how much should I feed him in lieu of the pellets? He's a juvie about 3 1/2 inches long and growing!

Also, now he won't eat the bloodworms! I just tried to feed him a cube and all he did was smell them, dart around the tank like a crazy person, and then come back to the same spot and sit there even with the worms dangling above his head. I don't know what could be wrong. I did a water quality check and everything seemed fine, it might be because I moved his tank to a spot where there's a lot more light and I only have a few plants in there (I've been on the search for a hide). I hope he gets over this soon,

Try feeding him every other day.

I started doing that a couple of weeks ago when my little guys were 3.5 inches, and now then never turn down food and are growing like crazy! (5 inches long).

They are also eating pellets

Ok, how much should I feed him every other day? A whole cube, or half a cube + some pellets? Assuming that he'll eat the pellets and worms... I'm going to try to find him a hide today so he can be a bit less stressed, that might be his problem now with the new filter and all. He's been riding the current a little bit. Could be too strong for a baby so I turned it off for now.

Well, I generally feed mine 5-9 pellets each. Once they slow down and their eagerness is gone I stop. They WILL keep on eating if you keep on feeding, but you can sort of tell when they are full.

I don't know about cubes, but you should see the same signs.

Try to get them on pellets and larger, live earthworms only.
Those bloodworm and brine shrimp cubes are horrible for water quality! I was having to do water changes every couple of days because it would get so murky, but ever since I got mine to eat pellets, I only do changes once a week, and you can't even tell that it needs a change. The water is always crystal clear!

He seems to like blood worms better definitely. I try to feed him pellets and he just doesn't go at them like he does the worms. I'm just worried that it's an abnormality causing him to not eat. I checked the water quality (except the ammonia test keeps showing up with no color) and the temperature is only about 2 degrees F above what it usually is. I guess he's just not hungry. Is that possible too?

this happened to me too! They used to love pellets, thats what they were fed at the pet store and it was what they were used too. I changed them to heart which at the time i thought was an ok staple, which they go crazy for, and now they will not go back to pellets, they just spit them out! They're not good enough any more (they are on worms now)

they'l spit them, then happily eat a worm instead. I think they get picky when they know tastier options are out there. Its like a kid that doesn't want to eat vegetables... the more healthy but less tasty option.

No offense to anyone here, but the general oppinion of your axolotl MUST have pellets/worms as the staple of their diet i think is blown a little out of proportion. It is ok to feed him only bloodworm for a little while, he will still thrive and be healthy. He is not going to drop dead. After all they would not have only eaten only one thing constantly in the wild, even if it was the most nutritionally complete.

its like you will not be diseased if you eat only potatoes, you could actually survive quite well on them...you'd just not be AS healthy as if you ate a more balanced diet. Many healthy axolotls live happily on blood worms and beef heart, even if they are not the full package diet recomended on the forum. Mine lived fantastically on heart for a few months (they even bred a few times) while i was sourcing worms.

i'm not sure on the exact nutritional value of bloodworms, so you might have to keep in mind the moderation of feeding... eg. I fed my axies once or twice a week on the heart because it has a much higher than recommended fat content. I think each food would have a different feeding value.

i'm not saying its the best food for your axies to be on long term, but your axies will still be OK on bloodworm. I have yet to see an axolotl turn down an earthworm, so if they are spitting pellets maybe look for some of them in the meantime?

also i think its sort of cute when they spit things out or vomit... is that wierd?

It is kind of cute when he eats a whole chunk and is like oops got too much and spits some out. But I don't know if it has to do with him seeing other options and not liking the others. He's only been fed pellets and blood worms. I even tried some different pellets. I think he's just refusing food in general. I hope it goes away in a couple of days. I checked my water quality, it seems fine. Might be the new filter and location stressing him out. He should get used to it soon, and maybe he'll eat then.

yes good luck! what type of filter do you have?

Zoo med 501 canister filter, also the axolotl is probably even more stressed out because I put a towel over his tank to get rid of some of the light, and my infinitely intelligent cat tried to jump into the tank before I grabbed him, and I think he might have hit the axolotl because the axie was just chilling at the top of the tank in his plants. This house is a mess.

Also, what happens if my axie doesn't eat for 3 or 4 days? What do I do...

yellowpebble said:

No offense to anyone here, but the general oppinion of your axolotl MUST have pellets/worms as the staple of their diet i think is blown a little out of proportion. It is ok to feed him only bloodworm for a little while, he will still thrive and be healthy. He is not going to drop dead. After all they would not have only eaten only one thing constantly in the wild, even if it was the most nutritionally complete.

its like you will not be diseased if you eat only potatoes, you could actually survive quite well on them...you'd just not be AS healthy as if you ate a more balanced diet. Many healthy axolotls live happily on blood worms and beef heart, even if they are not the full package diet recomended on the forum. Mine lived fantastically on heart for a few months (they even bred a few times) while i was sourcing worms.

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Ahhh no that's not what I meant sorry! It's fine to feed them other things, but pellets and worms are good because they barely muck up the water. Mine still get the occasional brine shrimp cube because they love them, but those cubes are worms stuck together with frozen wormy water that is so cloudy you can't see through it, so when you drop that in your tank, all that melts and get into your water.
Feed it to them every day and the water gets messy FAST. I meant it in more of a "try to get them to eat these cleaner (and more nutritious) things for their regular meals, just to keep the water better for them."
I never meant for them not to be fed anything else.

sorry didn't mean specificly you! just how everyone enphisises worms or pellets, it freaked me out when i was feeding them something else.

yellowpebble said:

sorry didn't mean specificly you! just how everyone enphisises worms or pellets, it freaked me out when i was feeding them something else.

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Haha it's ok! I just didn't want anyone to think I was giving bad advice.