Excessive breeding help

Why are my Axolotls breeding everytime I do a tank cleaning, which is about 2x a month. I clean the filter and glass, rinse the plants and do a water change of about 25-45%. I have 9 happy healthy axies.

I think the water change is probably the one that is triggering them off. Changes in water temp, water chemistry or water height can fool them into thinking spring is on the way and it's time to breed. Many forum members would envy your ease at breeding axolotls.


Regards Neil

I've noticed that whenever you do something to excite them <water change, change up the look of the tank, add/remove hides, add new axolotl, etc...> that it seems to trigger them to go into a breeding frenzy.

alexismommy23 said:

Why are my Axolotls breeding everytime I do a tank cleaning, which is about 2x a month. I clean the filter and glass, rinse the plants and do a water change of about 25-45%. I have 9 happy healthy axies.

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If your over run with eggs my mail box is always empty LOL

You also have 9 axolotls, which will of course contribute to a higher population of eggs and more frequent breeding. If you don't want them breeding, separate the males and females.

I don't want to be the jerk that laughs at your problems, but this thread definitely gave me the giggles.

esn said:

You also have 9 axolotls, which will of course contribute to a higher population of eggs and more frequent breeding. If you don't want them breeding, separate the males and females.

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Funny enough there is only one male who is causing all this frenzy! When eggs are being laid I have about 2 different moms. I love that they breed what I really meant to ask was if it was harmful to them having producing all those eggs constantly? Everytime I start on a new set of eggs I look at them and say "I am not raising another set, you silly axies!" Then as soon as that set is hatching guess what another batch and I'm suckered in!

twistedfisher said:

If your over run with eggs my mail box is always empty LOL

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I am looking to sell them, but I am unable to post in the for sale area.

alexismommy23 said:

Funny enough there is only one male who is causing all this frenzy! When eggs are being laid I have about 2 different moms. I love that they breed what I really meant to ask was if it was harmful to them having producing all those eggs constantly? Everytime I start on a new set of eggs I look at them and say "I am not raising another set, you silly axies!" Then as soon as that set is hatching guess what another batch and I'm suckered in!

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Yes, with any animal there is danger in breeding. But are yours overbreeding? Probably not. You have nine axolotls, one male and presumably 8 mature females. A healthy female can easily breed every three months, and coupling that with your large water changes, where temperature drops such as new cold water can induce breeding, is likely causing them all to cycle at a continuous pace. That is, there is always a fertile female ready to breed. Many people here would love to have axolotls so prolific as yours. It would be an issue if this was just one to three females giving you eggs every few weeks, but this seems pretty normal. Perhaps keep an eye on who is laying and make sure they're all very fat and healthy to avoid any danger. If any of the females are losing weight dramatically and still laying, then you ought to remove them.

The only issue I see is the ability to keep raising every new batch of eggs. The only solution in this case is to separate the male, which is just going to stop it altogether. You could leave the eggs in with them to eat. You're not obligated to raise them all. If you want to keep raising them but don't want so many, consider having another smaller tank that you can put the male into once a female has laid. You get a batch of eggs and separate the male until your current batch is far enough along or rehomed, then put him back in when you're ready for more. Another solution is to have two separate tanks, one with a male and a female or two, and another all female tank. That way you will still have eggs, but not nearly so many.

The one thing that I do see a problem with is the possibility of the male being affected by overbreeding. I have heard only of issues with the females, but I can certainly imagine males being in danger of overbreeding as well. The only comment on male overbreeding that I have seen has been in another forum thread:

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...l-group-axolotls-over-breed-female-death.html

They can lay eggs every other week if allowed to do so, but then will be more prone to illness so it's best to give them a break. It's fine to let the males mate every 2 weeks, but sperm production doesn't take nearly as much out of them as egg production.

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The first change I'd make is the huge water change every 2 weeks - perhaps just smaller once weekly ones will reduce the instinct to breed. I'd be worried about the male more than the females given your population.

Don't get me wrong I have the ability to raise the eggs and my adults are so happy in the tank I'd hate to separate them. I am a sucker for the eggs. I didn't at all mean to sound like I was over burdened. I just wanted to make sure that my axies are fine and not over doing themselves. As for the male to female ratio, I have 3 males and 6 females. They are in a spacious 110 gallon aquarium.

I have the same issue! However, I only have one male and one female, who have laid eggs twice in the last two months. I normally catch the spermatophores and take them out before it can become a problem, but my male is getting sneaky I guess. I don't want to put a tank divider in, but it might be the only option pretty soon.