Question: Thoughts on Pellets?

I've had my lovely Juvie Axolotls for a few months now. At the get-go I fed them frozen blood worms and eventually switched to earthworms that I bought from Wal-Mart.

The site that i bought my guys from sold Axolotl food pellets, and being a noob then I thought I better be prepared and bought the food along with the Axolotls.

Funnily enough The e-mail I received when they were shipped stated that I should have some frozen bloodworms handy (Why did I buy these pellets then ) During their first week they didn't even nibble on the pellets and I just gave up and switched to worms.

But yesterday I popped in some pellets to see what they thought of them now and with some encouragement they both swallowed the pellets.

A few questions:

1. The bag of pellets I'm using currently has been sitting open (a slit tiny enough for only a few pellets to come through) since I've gotten them. Do I need to be worried about these pellets going "bad?"

2. I know Earthworms are designated as the Axie wonderfood, but would it be alright if I switched them to these pellets for awhile if they end up eating them regularly? Feeding them a dry food seems odd after months of giving them worms. It makes me wonder if it's good for them, or if it'll harm their digestive tracts

3. About how many should I feed them at this age? I gave them both two 1/4 Inch pellets yesterday. Previously I was feeding them each a half of an earthworm about 4-5 times a week.

Additional information: They're floating pellets and their Nutritional content is:
Protein 45%, Fat 18%, Fiber 5%, Calcium 1.5%, Phosphorus 1.1%, Ash 10%: 1/4 inch size pellets

I've read that most of these pellets are in fact just re-branded Salmon pellets, but the site makes a point to mention that they are not Salmon pellets and that they're specially made for Axolotls


I guess the bottom line is now that Winter is here and If I'm unable to obtain some worms I was wondering if I could safely use my supply of Axie Pellets.


Thanks!

How big are your axies?

Are they hard or soft pellets? Do they sink?

Pellets are a fine addition to a balanced diet. You can use them in conjunction with worms.

Kaysie said:

How big are your axies?

Are they hard or soft pellets? Do they sink?

Pellets are a fine addition to a balanced diet. You can use them in conjunction with worms.

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About 4 inches long

They are hard pellets and they float. Although given enough time the pellets do sink to the bottom of tank.

Personally I find off the shelf newt pellets to be useless. Either the ingredients are garbage or my animals ignore them.

I have used with success Tetramin turtle pellets with axolotls only, except they float and require me to hand feed. (Thankfully I only use these in a real pinch.)

Salmon chow is best of the pellet foods, but truthfully nothing beats fat nightcrawlers and some frozen and thawed bloodworms/ brine shrimp every so often.


You could always break out the blender and make your own...

All great suggestions but I don't plan on buying any new pellets. I bought two bags from this website o.o

Looking forward to some more answers to my questions

I read your thread on home made pellets, sludge, very inventive! But I don't think I have the means to make my own X)

Has anyone else used dry pellets for their Axies before?

I have some "Newt & Salamander Bites" that I use.

I have not had a problem with them, my axolotl will eat them if I drop them near her and will hunt down ones she missed. And she seems to be gaining weight (which is good, since she was rather skinny when I got her)!

I'd like to get her some worms, but I don't have a nearby source yet. When the schoolyear starts again, I can probably get some on my way home.


Could you possibly soak the pellets before feeding so that they sink when you put them in the tank ? It's weird to me that axolotl pellets would float - my axolotl isn't very good at eating things off the water's surface (she gets excited and swims up during feeding time).

I use these pellets. They sink, have a lower oil and protein content than trout/salmon pellets, which might make them a healthier choice, and my axolotls are always keen on them once they're old enough to go after non-moving food items.

peter5930 said:

I use these pellets. They sink, have a lower oil and protein content than trout/salmon pellets, which might make them a healthier choice, and my axolotls are always keen on them once they're old enough to go after non-moving food items.

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Oh gawd O.O the second link you posted scares me. If that's true these pellets could be harming my Axolotls?

i have newt & salamander bites as well and my axie likes them, he kinds goes nuts and grabs the whole dropper when i put them in front of him.. they seem to be a good addition to his diet along with the worms i feed him

fishcakey said:

i have newt & salamander bites as well and my axie likes them, he kinds goes nuts and grabs the whole dropper when i put them in front of him.. they seem to be a good addition to his diet along with the worms i feed him

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Are they hard pellets? Love your avatar pic btw

peter5930 said:

I use these pellets. They sink, have a lower oil and protein content than trout/salmon pellets, which might make them a healthier choice, and my axolotls are always keen on them once they're old enough to go after non-moving food items.

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I tend to hit the fishing tackle shop for my pellets, just check the protein content etc they are available in a variety of sizes and flavours, pick a few and see which your axolotl prefers. I tend to use pellets as a back up food when i cant find/buy any worms.It is worth introducing young axolotls to them, as adults who have not been exposed to them when young may ignore them till the are starving.

Forgive me for sounding a little brash, but I'm not looking to find new pellets, I'm curious if the ones I have are safe. I list the nutritional content in my first post.

GazerOfStars said:

Forgive me for sounding a little brash, but I'm not looking to find new pellets, I'm curious if the ones I have are safe. I list the nutritional content in my first post.

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Axolotl pellets are rebranded pellets that you can find in pet and tackle shops, the difference is the mark up in price. The answer is yes, they are safe.

Well a couple of hours after feeding Albi part of a worm, he started making a sort of gasping movement. He then threw up the worm and bits of what I can imagine were parts of the pellets. It might have been from over feeding, me not knowing how to adjust their feeding schedule with pellets mixed in, the pellets blocking his digestive trac, or the pellets simply not agreeing with him.

It scared the living daylights out of me and I was afraid I was going to lose him. I think I'm done with these pellets. Maybe I'll get a pet salmon *rolls eyes*

Has anyone else tried dry pellets and had something similar happen?

It's possible that the oil in the pellets has gone rancid from exposure to oxygen during storage. You can check by smelling and/or tasting them. If they have a faint smell/taste of nail polish remover/acetone, it means the oils have gone rancid. If you eat walnuts or brazil nuts, you might have come across rancid nuts with that acetone flavour, and eating them quickly leads to nausea and vomiting. There could also be microbial growth if they've absorbed moisture from the air.

Entirely possible. These pellets have been exposed to air for awhile. But, the nutritional information doesn't list oil in it ?

Fat and oil are the same thing, when it comes to reading nutritional labels that don't break things down in more detail. In other contexts, fat refers to a fat/oil that's solid at room temperature while oil refers to a fat/oil that's liquid at room temperature, but there's not a hard dividing line between fats and oils; just a spectrum from higher melting point, generally more stable compounds like the saturated fats in lard, to the lower melting point, generally less stable compounds like the polyunsaturated fats in fish oil.

Ah gotcha. I knew about the similarities, I was just iffy that since it was dry if the fat content could still spoil.

You've been very insightful, thank you I'm in bed browsing on my phone now but I'll give the pellets a sniff tomorrow.

peter5930 said:

I use these pellets. They sink, have a lower oil and protein content than trout/salmon pellets, which might make them a healthier choice, and my axolotls are always keen on them once they're old enough to go after non-moving food items.

Click to expand...

Axolotls are carnivores. Those pellets are mostly vegetable. It would not be the first axolotl food that would come to mind for me.

I like the soft moist salmon pellets. The drawback is they are a little oily and tend to fungus if not eaten or cleaned out of the tank.