Question: Breeding Questions!

[kla38]

Hi everybody!

My axolotls have recently reached maturity and I did not realize one was male and one was female until they had babies! I had an idea that they were male/female, but I wanted to wait for them to finish maturing to be certain. Apparently they were both already mature and I was just in denial! Haha!

Anyway, I wanted to ask a couple questions which may be odd to post in this section, but I don't really know where to post these... :uhoh:

Question #1:
How often do/can axolotls breed?
-I ask this because my pair had their first clutch just 2 weeks ago and I woke up this morning to find Kip (my female) laying eggs again! Isn't this kinda odd? Shouldn't it take awhile for Kip to produce more eggs?

Question #2:
Will a tank divider be enough to keep them from successfully breeding?

Question #3:
Does anybody know where I can find a tank divider or know any good DIYs?
-I've looked everywhere, but I can't find one that fits my tank. My tank is 20"x20". I saw one DIY of making one from plastic cross stitch canvas, but cannot find (again) the right size material.

Question #4:
Is there somewhere I can put these eggs up for sale?
-As a newbie, I can't handle raising 2 clutches and I really don't want to cull them.

Question #5:
Any advice on how to go about shipping those eggs?
-I read somewhere about putting them in bottles to ship them. Since they're still eggs, would they need an air pocket? Or can I fill it completely with water?

Thanks for an answers you can provide! I'm a bit in over my head with this as the holidays are approaching and I've got a very young ferret to take care of on top of all these axie babies! If you'd be interested in some eggs just message me!

 

[AxolotlChris]

Read this link on breeding, gives information on how often they breed, what time of the year ect: Axolotls - Breeding Axolotls Successfully

Tank dividers should work as it stops the female collecting the spermatophores.
The plastic mesh dividers are the most cost effective way, purchase a large piece then cut to size, you can attach suction cups to hold it in place: DIY Dividers - Betta Splendid

If the eggs aren't developed then just freeze them so you don't have hundreds of eggs to try and sell. Otherwise a lot of people find themselves selling hundreds of eggs to any random people that might not have the knowledge to care for Axolotls properly, personally I think a lot of Axolotls end up neglected and dying due to people raising too many or selling them to anyone who wants them because they look 'cool'.

You can sell eggs on this forum under the For Sale, Trade, Giveaway thread.

You should provide an air pocket within the bottle for shipping.

 

[kla38]

Thank you for the information! You have a point with the axis babies being neglected. I never really thought about that before (sadly). They're probably better off being culled. Thank you for bringing that to my attention.

 

[xxianxx]

Axolotls will breed several times a year naturally but can be induced to breed with temp fluctuations. However its not advisable to allow them to breed to often, the females need several months to recuperate, the ambystoma genetic stock center recomend a minimum of three months between layings. I had a female who would lay every couple of weeks , i had to keep her seperate from the males to stop it, she out grew this behavour as she got older, shes now eight and lays several times per year and is permanently kept with a male. Good luck with the divider , horny axolotls will out smart you eventually lol, best to have seperate tanks. Eggs can be shipped in bottles with water or on damp tissue in a cd case.