How to feed 2" axolotl?

I finally got my axolotl today! I adore him. I was under the impression though, judging by pictures, that he was a lot bigger. I saw photos of him that made him look like he filled up the breeder's hand. Now either she sent me the wrong axolotl or the perspective in the pictures was WAY off!

He's about the length of my pinky. I was not expecting an axolotl this tiny. I had a worm bed prepared to feed him nightcrawlers, but even the pellets that the breeder sent with him are WAY too big for him to fit into his tiny mouth!

Is there anything different that I should be doing to feed such a tiny baby? I tried crumbling up the pellets but he didn't react to them then. I don't think he could see them. I got him to eat half a chopped pellet though, but he acted like he was starving. I don't blame him, he WAS in the mail for 4 days.

live is best. small worms. blackworms.


If you can find it daphnia, Another on demand food is baby brine shrimp

Viking said:

live is best. small worms. blackworms.


If you can find it daphnia, Another on demand food is baby brine shrimp

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Thank you so much. I will go to my local pet store in the morning and see if they have any of these, and if not I'll order rush online.

How often does a tiny like this need to eat? I was going to feed him once a day, but looking online I can't find any solid answers for really little ones.

Does he have all 4 legs? My larvae before getting the second pair of legs are 2"
I would try at least twice a day. You can see when the belly is full.



blackworms or daphnia do not die in water. They are available constantly. When they are bigger you wil not need to feed so much.

He has all of his legs. He's just very, very tiny.

Aww he's gorgeous!! (Sorry jumping in the conversation but he's very cute!)

Goldilox said:

Aww he's gorgeous!! (Sorry jumping in the conversation but he's very cute!)

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No no it's okay! I agree with you! I honestly can't get enough of him. I didn't think he'd be quite this cute!

He has some lovely looking colouration! Make sure to post some pics as he gets bigger and the colours show more, he looks speckled!
You can try the worms you have, you'll just have to cut them up tiny. The downside is if the axie doesn't eat all the portions you'll be wasting some worm (unless you have other pets that will eat leftovers). Carol ate lil nightcrawler segments successfully when she was just over 2", it was just a messy process cutting it up lol
I'm currently using live blackworms and they are great. Carol really loves them and like someone said earlier they wont die in the water. I keep them in a separate container but will put a bit in morning and night for her to hunt out. My larger juvenile (4") eats pellets but he was trained on that before I got him.

Yes, they look cute and innocent.


Remember they are cold-blooded predators. LOL

Thank you guys so much for the advice and comments on baby Coa. He's supposed to be a copper axanthic, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how he turns out! I went out today and got him a bunch of frozen baby brine shrimp and bloodworms. That was all the pet store had. I'm also ordering some live online, but he LOVED the bloodworms. He ate and ate and ate! And yep, you can see the worms in his little belly.