Feeding my axolotl

[Esthernz]

Hi
I am a very new Axolotle owner. I acquired my Axolotle two days ago.
I am very grateful for this forum. There is so much information to be found, it is just about overwhelming! I do not know much about Axolotles but have already learned heaps from reading on this site.
My Axolotle may be as old as 14 years she is an about 25 cm white Axolotle (black eyes) and she came with the name Lucy.
She has come from a neglected situation and unexpectedly ended up in my family of animal lovers two days ago.
We are very excited to have her but as this is a sudden situation we haven’t had time to properly set up for her arrival (settling a tank) or learn much about her requirements before she arrived so I’m frantically gathering info.
We know she has been in a very low temperature environment, in a badly looked after, non filtered tank for up to 2 years. The water she came in was dark green.....We gather that if she hasn’t died from that experience she must be one tough cookie.
Anyway she now has a clean tank (although we put some of her old water in to avoid too much of a shock to the system. We have non chlorinated beautiful water from a deep bore. Her tank is 60x25x25 cm (we are on the lookout for a bigger tank). We have a heating element but no filter (as yet). However I’ve already established that with (here in New Zealand) the summer is at its peak, the water is too warm (cooling it with ice pack as we speak).
She seems to be excited about her new surroundings, has been quite active even with a huge splash at some point yesterday, though not flighty or uncontrolled. The few times I have seen her (before she came to us) she never moved a foot. She has now been seen moving, floating and sitting quietly under some artificial plants. Her gills are moving at times sometimes against her body sometimes standing out a bit, her eyes are clear, her tail is straight and very pink, she has no injuries and her skin seems healthy to me.
The only thing that she doesn’t do is eat....yet. She has pellets (came with her; may be old??) but is not interested when dropped right in front of her face.
How often and how much and how do I best feed a senior Axolotle? Does anyone have tips on getting her to eat?
Is there anything else you can read from the above (also image attached)that I need to watch out for over the next little while in her settling in period? I just want to be doing the right thing for her.
Thanks in advance!:happy:

 

[charleybambino]

Re: Feeding my axolotle

She looks lovely.....but please remove that gravel.......it's the worst thing for her

 

[Esthernz]

Re: Feeding my axolotle

Thank you for your advice. I had the same instinct. However....this Axolotle has been in a tank with this same gravel for many years. She has had many changes recently and not wanting to stress her too much I have opted to leave her some familiar things. My main concern is her not eating. How often and how much does one feed a very mature Axolotle?? How long can she be without food before I need to get really worried.

 

[auntiejude]

Re: Feeding my axolotle

Lose the gravel, lose the heater, read up on cycling, feed her worms.

 

[keiko]

Re: Feeding my axolotle

She might be a bit stressed from the move and warmer water and that's why she's not eating. Give it a week or so before you start worrying. Healthy adult axies don't need to be fed more than a couple of times a week (and can go for weeks without eating before you need to worry about them starving to death).

 

[Chinadog]

Re: Feeding my axolotle

Lose the gravel, lose the heater,

Lose the 'e' as well!

 

[LSuzuki]

Re: Feeding my axolotle

A fan blowing across the surface of the water will cool it quite a bit below room temperature.

Axolotls can go quite a long time without eating, and stress from a new situation will frequently put them off their food for a few days.

You should get rid of the gravel, but I understand you not wanting to change things too quickly. Additionally, since the gravel can from the old tank and you don't have an established filter yet, the gravel will provide good seed bacteria for the filter and will provide some bio-filtration in the mean time.

But since this is a new situation, and you probably don't feed her in quite the same way as her previous owner, I suspect she is more likely to accidentally eat gravel now than before. Try to feed her in a bare-bottom spot of the tank.

Is that a marble in there or just a camera artifact? If it is a marble, get it out of there. (There is a very sad case in a recent thread showing a poor little axolotl that had eaten a marble. It is too big to go through its digestive tract.)

Are you dropping the pellets so they just pass barely in front of her nose? That will usually trigger a snap response. Worms are better, but good pellets are perfectly fine. (Good pellets are ones for carnivores. I'm not sure what the good brands are in NZ.)

Are you an experienced aquarium keeper? If not, get educated on cycling an aquarium. You should buy a good test kit (not the strips - the ones with droppers of chemicals) that tests ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate (and pH).

 

[Esthernz]

Re: Feeding my axolotle

Thank you for your input, everyone. Very helpful! And......I will lose the 'e'' ....blush.

So I will be patient, regarding feeding and stop the panic.

Do Axolotls eat food of the bottom of the tank too (say if a pellet gets dropped and not eaten)? I understood that they'll only eat things that move in front of their face? I have been removing uneaten pellets.

 

[LSuzuki]

Re: Feeding my axolotle

Yes, they will eat off the bottom, and that is how gravel gets accidentally eaten.

However, pellets that stay in the water too long tend to get soft and unappetizing (depends on the pellet). Then they decay and pollute the tank. So, you should remove them after a reasonable amount of time, before they get broken up and scattered around the tank.

 

[Cacique]

Re: Feeding my axolotle

I'm not sure if it's been drilled into your head enough but I'll go ahead and be a bit grim. Your axolotl could very well die from the gravel, so it's not just dangerous. The axolotl could be avoiding food because he could already be impacted. The gravel is too large for them to pass, so they eat more and more, but it is VERY hard for them to pass the gravel and can sometimes be impossible if they are too compacted.

Keeping the water as cold as you can (going by their recommended temperatures of course) will help with the axolotl's health. I'm not saying he is but if he is impacted, that could be affecting his appetite on top of the stress from moving, if he is stressed. I got my axolotl from a small LFS, he was on a bare bottom tank and he didn't show any signs of stress when I added him into his tank here with black sand, nor when I put him in his upgraded home with natural colored sand.

 

[selkie]

Re: Feeding my axolotle

Hi! one newbie to another!
, sounds like you and I are in similar circumstances. My recent "inheritance" won't eat lately either and got a bit hot. I've got her in the fridge and my fingers crossed.

Re the feeding, mine will not graze of the bottom of the tank, she's always been hand fed. When she IS eating, I just hold a piece about the size of my little finger tip right in front of her nose, she usually snaps it .(.and my finger) right up.

I don't have gravel in Hikaru's tank I use large pebbles but there were a few quite small stones in there I hadn't noticed. I am worried that she may have swallowed one and may be beyond help..so please..take the gravel out

 

[Esthernz]

Re: Feeding my axolotle





Well we've been busy. A bigger tank has been organized. Gravel has been removed. A large stone jug has been added to serve as a safe haven, new pellet food has been purchased (though no success with feeding as yet). I hope the photos will come through...and yes for those concerned the bright blue fake gemstone has been removed after it sneeked in with the new larger stones and shells that have been added

 

[Esthernz]

Re: Feeding my axolotle

Hi! one newbie to another!
, sounds like you and I are in similar circumstances. My recent "inheritance" won't eat lately either and got a bit hot. I've got her in the fridge and my fingers crossed.

Re the feeding, mine will not graze of the bottom of the tank, she's always been hand fed. When she IS eating, I just hold a piece about the size of my little finger tip right in front of her nose, she usually snaps it .(.and my finger) right up.

I don't have gravel in Hikaru's tank I use large pebbles but there were a few quite small stones in there I hadn't noticed. I am worried that she may have swallowed one and may be beyond help..so please..take the gravel out

Hi there; thanks for the welcome and welcome to you too!
I am hoping with you that your axolotl is alright....how is she doing now?

 

[bellyache]

Re: Feeding my axolotle

View attachment 41111

View attachment 41112

Well we've been busy. A bigger tank has been organized. Gravel has been removed. A large stone jug has been added to serve as a safe haven, new pellet food has been purchased (though no success with feeding as yet). I hope the photos will come through...and yes for those concerned the bright blue fake gemstone has been removed after it sneeked in with the new larger stones and shells that have been added

i woiuld say there is too many sharp objects in that photo, if it get spooked it will knock into them with force and injure itself.

 

[blushed]

Feeding my axolotle

A+ for removing the gravel, but I agree with above post... Shells probably aren't the best decor for an Axolotl tank I wouldn't risk it. The jug for a hide looks nice! And it's smooth.

 

[Esthernz]

Re: Feeding my axolotle

Thank you for your comment. I understand your concern...but the photos are deceiving. The shells are not at all that sharp but have rounded edges. Also they are not lodged in something but loose and if she bumps into them they slide away (there is no sand) .

She seems to be a very calm personality and doesn't spook easily (She is old and has been there and done that I guess). At the moment she is enjoying her space and is very active. Every time I walk past her she seems to have moved.
There is always a risk an animal may get injured but I guess it is also about finding a balance and using common sense in each situation.

I'm not the kind of person to remove the tree from the playground because of the risk a child may fall out, so to speak.

I'll monitor the situation (I'm home all day and she is in my view a lot) and assess what happens in the tank and decide if I'm happy to take the risk involved.

I mean an Axolotl could possibly accidently swallow heaps of sand that could cause digestive trouble (could it?), hurt itself on textured tank walls or ornaments or fly into the side of a tank in fright, a piece of artificial plant may break off due to frantic movement and be taken in....


A tank has to provide an exciting environment for the Axoltl while being safe surely, easy to maintain and also be pleasing to the eye of it's human.

 

[Esthernz]

Re: Feeding my axolotle

Thanks.

 

[bellyache]

Re: Feeding my axolotle

A tank has to provide an exciting environment for the Axoltl while being safe surely, easy to maintain and also be pleasing to the eye of it's human.

remember the decor of a tank is more for the human and although it may look good to you its not really required for an axolotl, it would just be as happy in a bare tank.
having too many things in a tank can cause injury, their skin and body is like wet tissue paper and can be easily damaged.
they can get spook for many reasons, from a vibration, to movement, to too much light or even as simple as taking gulp of air and getting a surprise from that.
Those shells although may look smooth to you have bumps that can hurt the creature and also the pointed end of the one on the right, the one of the left still have buts that will cause harm if knocked by it

 

[auntiejude]

Re: Feeding my axolotle

.... their skin and body is like wet tissue paper and can be easily damaged...

Not true. They can take knocks and scrapes without injury, their skin is pretty tough, although not as tough as terrestrial salamanders.

 

[Esthernz]

Okay, I have had my axolotl Lucie just on a week now....

To my astonishment I found two small pebbles in the tank last night! After changing the décor and removing the gravel they were definitely not there before. So she must have passed them. Needless to say I'm grateful for the advice given here.

Lucie has been very active, but has not seemed distressed or frantic.

The best news is that I've got her to eat this morning.
I gave her two very small earthworms. It seemed as if she had never seen a worm before as she approached it and even followed it carefully around the floor of the tank as they wriggled away from her before snapping them up like that.

She has been quieter too today, not moving as much, so perhaps she was in discomfort anyway poor thing. As we are getting to know each other it will be easier to interpret her behaviour I guess.

I know it can be some time for an Axolotl to pass the gravel so I'll be keeping a close eye on further developments and have in the mean time familiarized myself by reading up on fridging as a treatment.

The next issue I need to tackle is getting a water testing kit, to keep an eye on the water quality, now that the most immediate issue seems to be improving and Lucie at least is eating something.

I have another question regarding her behaviour. Every now and then (there is hours in between) Lucie seems to come to the surface of the water to "gulp some air??"
Is this usual or a sign of trouble?
If this is resulting from water quality I am on to sorting that out. (Taking it one step at the time, since she was a rescue and has unexpectedly ended up here, we are learning as fast as we can.) But what exactly in the water would be causing this behaviour if there is anything?