Four new axolotls, I have questions

pent565

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Ok, I just bought two adult leucistics, a little melanoid, and a little gfp wildtype. I have a few questions for the wonderful people on this forum.

First off, the adults are two years old, and apparently bred last winter. They seem small, though. About six inches, seven would be generous. The male is clearly sexually mature, however, and both display dark toes. So, will they continue to grow, especially if I put them in my 75 gallon tank (I've got them in my 25 gal bare bottom closet tank for now, in case the shock of moving induced breeding), or are these two just going to be small fry? I've read peoples posts about 9-13 being a fairly common size for axies.

Along the same lines, I just got them a few days ago, and the melanoid was smaller than gfp wildtype. So, the tank I had expected to let them share is now the gfp's tank, and the melanoid is in a screen breeder trap in my 75 gal. Its basically a mesh cube. Will the smaller amount of space stunt growth further? He already seems even further outdistanced by the gfp.

Also, the pellets people speak of using, they call them salmon or trout pellets. I can't find these anywhere. Can someone name a brand that I can get in canada, or shipped to canada? I've been using a sinking shrimp pellet designed for bottom feeders in an aquarium, as well as bloodworms and earthworms for the adults, and mosquito larvae and bloodworms for the small ones. They also enjoy the occasional woodlouse.
 
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Most of my adult axies are about 6 inches too. They bred successfully (also was the first time my female axie laid eggs. Nothing weird happened).
I'm not sure if they'll get much bigger but I won't count on that. My axies are almost 2 years old and not growing anymore (or maybe so little that it's hard to notice).

Even if you have 2 axies from the same batch they all end up growing different. Some will end up huge, others will be little buggers for life. I've heard about axies being smaller in smaller tanks, bigger in larger tanks but I haven't witnessed it myself. But ofcouse... a bigger tank is better :D

I don't live in Canada, but most pellets can easily be found in pet stores. Or you can buy them on the internet. There are also axie pellets out there (I thought they were from New Zealand but you can sometimes find them on eBay). The best food is earthworms, I only feed them pellets and bloodworms as a treat).
 
I agree with morrison size can vary to the individual axolotl, I had one that was 12 inches from the petshop so I had no idea what age it was, and i've also previously owned an axolotl that at 2yrs was only 3.5-4.5inches (I named him/her midget) tho i believe this was because the breeder brought up his larvae on crushed pellets only and midget was the sole survivor due to bad diet.
The average size i see in pet stores is around 6 inches, personally i searched for larger ones they are both about 9inches and breed easily. Keep in mind too it is alot for a young adult axolotl to produce the amount of eggs they do, It can sometimes lead to death:( I just cant believe that they were being bread a year ago if they are now 2yrs and 6inches they must have only been small.
I think they will def grow larger, they love earthworms and are most nutritious to an axolotl but mixing it up will help with growth so you can feed them axolotl pellets, sinking salmon pellets, some cherry shrimp, frozen bloodworms(messy), the occasional feeder fish(from a trustworthy supply as they are know to carry parasites and other bad stuff). If you speak to a couple of your petstore owners they should be able to order in the pellets. there are many others I haven't listed, the link below has more info.
Axolotls - Feeding
 
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  • Shane douglas:
    with axolotls would I basically have to keep buying and buying new axolotls to prevent inbred breeding which costs a lot of money??
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  • Thorninmyside:
    Not necessarily but if you’re wanting to continue to grow your breeding capacity then yes. Breeding axolotls isn’t a cheap hobby nor is it a get rich quick scheme. It costs a lot of money and time and deditcation
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  • stanleyc:
    @Thorninmyside, I Lauren chen
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