Newbie 'Lotl Enthusiast

Long time lurker here, first time poster!

I have always been interested in axolotls and now it's my time to be part of the club! I've had plenty of freshwater tropical fish before, but these will be my first axolotls. I dug my old 26 gallon bow front out my aunt's garage, cleaned it up, and have been cycling it for a few weeks now in preparation for my new arrivals. I picked out a fine sand substrate, have been closely monitoring the water parameters, and even have an exotics vet picked out. This weekend, I bit the bullet and ordered two leucistic juvies from Margie.

I hope this newbie is as prepared as possible!

Now for the wait..



Future 'lotl lair.

couple of tips if you want them-
be prepared to suddenly change their diets cause they get picky, get some species of fish (anything thats small and is a livebearer such as the mosquito fish, the guppy ect. Endlers guppies work best) establish a colony of them in the tank, learn how to breed roaches, slugs and earthworms, (my axolotls loved slugs the most). Im sure you already know most of what you should expect. Good luck!

limnologist said:

couple of tips if you want them-
be prepared to suddenly change their diets cause they get picky, get some species of fish (anything thats small and is a livebearer such as the mosquito fish, the guppy ect. Endlers guppies work best) establish a colony of them in the tank, learn how to breed roaches, slugs and earthworms, (my axolotls loved slugs the most). Im sure you already know most of what you should expect. Good luck!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice! My tank is currently home to a handful of ghost shrimp who are currently happily unaware of their destiny as future 'lotl snacks. Is it worth breeding brine shrimp as a feeder, or are they not nutritiously dense enough to be worthwhile? Also, are there any online sources for good breeding stock feeder guppies anyone can recommend?

Axolotls eat worms - lots of worms! They are the best and most complete food for an axie. A worm farm is easy to keep, and very cheap to run.

You can use most kinds of freshwater shrimp and small livebearers for enrichment (for them to hunt and chase), but just once a week or so, and not until your axies are a bit bigger. All you need is a small tropical tank and some guppies - they breed like bunnies and as long as your tank has been healthy for a month your guppies should be fine as feeders.

I wouldn't bother with raising any insects as food, not all axies like them, some have trouble digesting the chitin exoskeletons, and if you want to get them some crickets at some point it's much easier to just buy a small quantity from a pet store.

Sounds like you're well prepared though - good luck!

For awhile I was breeding guppies in a 10 gallon tank and would drop a few in about once a week. As long as the water was warm the guppies would breed like crazy and it was fun to watch my lotls hunt them down. It was also nice for when I knew I was going out of town for a couple of days because I would drop some guppies in for them to eat steadily while I was gone.

Now that my lotls are a bit bigger I just feed them whole nightcrawlers! They never really liked the red wigglers so when they were smaller I just cut the nightcrawlers up into pieces.

Congrats on your new lotls!