Q1: Crickets as food; Q2: tank size?

Q1: Will axolotls, or can axolotls, eat crickets? They have them at my local petshop & are bred to be fed to reptiles and like.

Q2: My tank's measurements are 24 x 12 x 16 & about 65 L - how many axolotls could fit in here?

Thank you!

No, crickets are not a good staple diet for axies..they can and will eat them, but they do not provide the nutrients axies need, and their exoskeleton can even cause impaction. Are those measurements in inches or centimeters? I assume inches, although the liquid is in metric. Anyway, 1 axolotl is suitable for that tank. Try to find bloodworms, or better yet, earthworms for the main part of your little guy's diet. Hope this helped.

Oh goodo, glad i didnt buy them then I feed my siamese fighting fish freeze-dried blood worms so that's convenient. I hear earthworms are good, yeh.
Thank you for your help

Fantastic succint advice Shizeric. Emeraldd will benefit from your sound suggestions.

I am only able to provide good info because I learned from all the folks around here. Especially you darkmaverick.

Nutrionally speaking, freeze-dried bloodworms are no good. Even frozen ones aren't really suitable for a staple diet. Worms or blackworms should make up the primary diet of your axolotl. I would go with worms over blackworms.

Honestly I don't see why so many people are against crickets. Only their heads and legs are hard. The legs are easy to pinch off. If you can feed a Tiger Salamander crickets without harm there is no reason a Axolotl couldn't eat them. In the wild Axolotls are not eating huge amounts of earthworms like they do in captivity. Earthworms enter streams and other bodies of water after heavy rains. They don't live in water and are only there by accident. So what is left for Axolotls to eat the rest of the time? Water insects like water boatman, drangonfly larvae, aquatic isopods and land insects that fall ino the water. All of these have much harder shells than soft bodied crickets. Axolotls also would eat small native fish. These have hard heads compared to crickets. Now what is wrong with crickets you might ask. Well I'll tell you. Unless they are gutloaded they are useless. Cricket nutritional value comes from what they eat. I feed mine scambled eggs with crushed bee pollen, blue green algae, and rep cal mix. I also feed crickets kale and collard greens which are loaded with vitamins. I feed my Axies crickets a couple times a month and have never had any problems. A gutloaded criket is a great wat to get vitamins and calcium into your Axie. I also didn't start feeding them crickets until they reached 5 inches. I feed my Axies a mixed diet of chopped earth worms, gutloaded crickets, little balls of black worms ,very thin strips of raw catfish meat and pellets. I also use fish eggs I get from catfish I catch during their spring spawn. A mixed and varied diet is the 3rd most important thing for your axie, right after water quality and NO GRAVEL

Wow, quite a nice diet your axies enjoy. But unlike you, most people don't prepare 3 course meals for their Axololt's meal-to-be. Earthworms provide the necessary nutrients straight from the earth (or worm farm) without the preparation that you mention. However, the chitin cricket shell can still cause problems for axolotls in captivity. Probably not a common occurance, why risk it when there are easier (completely safe) options available.

Also, Bill, how large are you axies? Just wondering because you said chopped up earthworms, so I was wondering if they are not full grown yet.

I chop my earthworms to mouth size pieces to keep my animals from grabbing the same worm. This helps avoid fighting over the same worm. I don't want anyone losing
a eye or leg. I regularly feed crickets to A. andersoni, A. mexicanum, A maculatum,
T. marmoratus, T granulosa and no my Notophthalmus viridescens. I also feed differnet isopods both land and aquatic to my animals. Most people I know on this site feed their animals isopods. Their shells concern me much more than a crickets To me crickets are safe, full of vitamins when gut loaded and a great addition to a varied diet. While it is true worms are a great food for Axolotls it is not a complete diet for them. They are not a complete diet for any animal. A wild Axolotl's
diet is much more varied than just worms. So I always mix up my animals diet even with crickets.

Actually everybody is correct here. A varied diet is always best. Earthworms are still a good nutritious staple and occasional treats including gut-loaded crickets are perfectly fine. As with anything, moderation is key, as long as any chitinous type insects are only offered only as occasional treats and not replacing as a staple.

It's really good to see what everyone feeds their axolotls
Im a bit clingy & when I get my axolotl Im assuming I will baby him quite a bit, so I want to feed him nutritous & yummy meals :lick: Im actually looking forward to putting in the extra mile in order to make him happy.
If crickets aren't to be fed to them regularly then i wont buy them cos you buy them at about 20 at a time.
So can axolotls eat red meat & fish, like the stuff you buy at woolworths? That would be convenient
Are brine shrimp nutritous or not worth it?
Thanks for all the imput too, it's really helpful.

Yes, Axolotls can eat red meat and fish, but they are to be fed rarely as special treats. Some people feed their axolotls beef heart, and as Bill said, raw fish. However, these are not staple diet food and should not be used on a regular basis. Worms are your best bet for your daily or bi-daily feedings. I would not suggest brine shrimp, as they are so small that they are not suitable for axies passed the very early larval stages.

I never got the beef heart thing. An axolotl never would eat this naturally. And the heart being a muscle is tuff and must be hard to digest. I mean its like eating a really tuff steak. It has to be harder to digest than a cricket on an axolotl I think its important to stick to the natural foods, worms, crickets and fish.(dead fish) No live fish they can harm your axolotls gills and not worth the chance.

Oh, sweet as. Are axolotl pellets a good staple food too?

Good quality axie pellets are nutritionally dense and suitable as a staple. It is still ideal to offer a variety of other food types though. The major downside to pellets is that not all axies accept them readily.

Hi all,

My axies love to eat kryll and bloodworm.

They normally have two earthworms each a week and some bloodworm or kryll every other day.

Dave, do you know if you can buy kryll in Qld? & should i buy it for my axolotl?