Axolotl feeding help! pellets

Hey everyone. I just have a quick question for some of you who may be more experienced than me. Once my axies get about 2.5 inches I get them weaned onto pellets (cheaper and easier than live food). I do still feed live such as bloodworms and small earthworms but this is an every other day sort of thing. Anyway, when i drop in the pellets if it is near the axies face they usually take it quickly (hikari sinking carnivore pellets, small size). They seem to like them and sometimes stare up at me waiting for more to fall. However I have never seen them eat anything off the bottom of the tank, this includes live worms. If i don't drop the food directly in front f them or wiggle it somehow it seems like they don't see it or ignore it. Am i just paranoid and they will find the food without my help? Or do I need to continue what I am basically considering handfeeding? Any advice is welcome

my axies are not all that enthusiastic about pellets either
i have seen them slowly walking around and eating the pellets if I dont clean them out immediately but they do waste a large amount as they dont like to eat them if theyre not falling or moving
I tend to just feed them a handful and clean up what they dont eat after a few hours

Mine were like that. I was feeding bloodworm at the surface so they used to come to the top to feed. Left them without food for a couple of days then dropped chopped worms in the tanks. Just left it for an hour then came back and hoovered up anything left. That's all I am doing now and its working just fine. Mine are all in separate tanks at 4inches so I know they are all eating.

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Its not uncommon for younger axolotls to not accept foods that are sitting on the bottom of the tank. My female was like that too. Over time though, as they grow more, they should be more willingly ready to accept these foods. Don't worry about it to much for right now and just feed them the foods you can get them to eat. I've had to hand feed some of my axolotls until they were ready for pellet food.

Mine are really picky too. The breeder I bought my girl Sally from sent me some pellets with her, then all of a sudden she refused to eat them! I hand feed mine, and after grabbing a pellet or two, they actually realize what they are and won't eat them. I honestly prefer hand feeding. When I don't hand feed, it makes my tank a mess with all of the uneaten food! Sometimes it takes a couple of wiggles of the food to get them to eat it, but usually they are pigs and try to take the forceps with it haha. Sometimes my boy Salazar will go on a little hunger strike if you feed him the same thing too often, and don't change it up a bit haha.