Well too much McDonald's is very different than a well-balanced complete diet. And the need for variety in humans can't really be applied to almost anything else. We as humans (at least in developed nations) have become used to the most varied diet the planet has ever seen. Not only do we eat just about anything from nature, but that's not enough, so we make all sorts of junkfood to go with it.
And it does not come down to just the percentage of protein or fat, many times the quality of the source of that nutrient and its bio-availability can contribute highly to how much the animal can actually take in. I don't know what the usual growth rate is supposed to be for axolotls, but I got these guys at 2" in the beginning of May. Rounding up a few days I have had them for three months. They are now all about 7". Thats 2" to 7" in three months, I doubt there is too little protein. I think if they grew much faster it would be power-feeding them. That is one problem with very high protein foods. I do not know what is considered a power-fed growth rate with axolotls, but I am very happy with this growth rate. The fat levels seem good too. They are not thin by any means, but not too heavy either. Anyone know what kind of symptoms might clue to too low of a fat content?
Garlic helps prevent and treat internal parasites. It is not a medication so it can't be overdosed. So far no problems with it with axolotls.
Some other background info may help here. I bought five in the beginning of May. Two went to the manager at my work. The other three stayed with me in a 20long. When I setup the 40breeder I got back the two from the manager and gave her the one of mine that had fallen behind in growth. She had fed a varied diet (frozen bloodworms, live black worms, live guppies, carnivorous pellets, etc.). At one point about a month ago I got to see hers. They were a tad larger than mine. When I put them all together again, mine had actually passed hers in size, just by a little. They all look good and healthy. The only difference in the two groups is that mine seem a little more full in the body (a little thicker in the trunk of the body, a higher 'dorsal fin', etc.). Now I have not repeated this to make it a valid scientific experiment or anything, but it does say something about both diets.
It didn't make since to me either, that one food could be ideal for all types of fish, but the results do support it. This was one of the main reasons I was so skeptical of this food a long time ago, the first time I tried it, at which time I tried it as part of my very varied diet. I did not see anything different. But then I saw an ad in TFH magazine and I started looking into it a lot more with a more open mind. This time I tried it as the only food, that is when I saw the results that changed my mind. And it is across the board, herbivores (like mbuna cichlids), omnivores, and strict carnivores/piscivores. This applies to fish though. This is the first time I am using it as the only food for an amphibian, so far very good. And it goes along with the results people are getting with freshwater fish and invertebrates, as well as saltwater fish and invertebrates.
Everyone has a different diet. Some do nothing but live, some nothing but prepared, and many if not most are somewhere in the middle. I feed nothing but NLS. So far it is working great. I suggest it because it has proven over and over again to be the best prepared diet out there (for fish, and it seems amphibians too). I suggest that people give it a shot. If you only feed pellets, try this one, it will (probably) be better. If you feed a varied diet, include this food or replace your current pellets with it, it won't hurt and you may see an improvement. If you feed nothing but live, why not give this a shot? I do not think we are at the pinnacle of axolotl diet, which means there is room for improvement. And if there is room for improvement, we need to keep trying other things to make sure they won't get us closer to a better diet. That means trying things. Try the new pellets that come out, try the other new foods that come out, just keep trying. What is the worst that could happen, you see a deterioration in them and you switch back. Then you know that diet wasn't better. I can see why not to switch to this food a few months ago when it seemed no one had tried it yet. But I have tried it now, it is good, so all I am saying is if you have the opportunity to try this food, I highly doubt you will regret it.