Food Question

B

brendan

Guest
Ok i feed my axies (adults and juvis) frozen bloodworms and live crickets as a staple.

Now i know these questions are asked all the time but anyways im going to utilise the forums and ask my own.

I want to try something else with the axies that is also good for them.

I have seen around here people suggesting "Blackworms". Now i saw some in the shop and they are only really really tiny. Is this how big they are? If so, how do you feed them to axies?

Butterworms is also suggested, are these a good source of goodness for axies? reccommended as a staple?

Other then 'Blackworms' and 'Butterworms' are there any other good foods for axies?

Thanks in advance for the help.
 
I have never seen or heard of butterworms. The black worms can be a bit tricky to feed - I take a big bunch of them and bring them right up to my axies noses. I suggest earthworms. Not always accepted 100% of the time, I've found, but makes a change for em.

With the crickets, do they spit out the fibrous exoskeleton, or do they pass it? IF they pass it, how long does it take to happen?
 
I saw Butterworms mentioned somewhere in another thread.

With the crickets they pass the exoskeleton and im not sure how long that takes to happen.
 
Butterworms are pretty expensive to be a staple. And I doubt they're available in AUS. They're considered a 'pest species' in the US, and are irradiated prior to importation from Chile. I use blackworms on a bare-bottom tank. The biggest ones are over an inch, and are really squirmy. I don't use them for my adults, too small. Try earthworms! Waxworms are another good 'treat' food, as they're fattening. Adult brine shrimp can be purchased at most pet shops. Rinse these and they live for a few hours, usually long enough to be gobbled up.
 
I feed mine prawns. Cut up because he gobs out a full one.
 
although that is probably good for
them (prawns) don't you think it
is a bit to much i think that you
may be spoiling your axies just a bit. but if
its good for you than thats fine (softy).
 
Butterworms are pretty expensive. I'm not sure but I heard they are pretty fatty compared to earthworms and red worms. I would suggest getting some redworms and trying them out and see how they like them. That is the staple I use for my axie. And crickets probably arent a good staple because they will make a mess of your tank pretty quick because their exoskeleton will clog up your filter after it is passed.
 
I now feed crickets as a staple. She loves them she hunts them down while they are swimming around the surface. She will not accept worms, well not any that I can find. Not sure what happens with the crickets skelton. I cleaned her out today and did not find anything different to before I was feeding crickets. Should I be worried? I feed her about 4 crickets every cpl days mixed with beef heart, dried tubliflex and frozen brine shrimp.

She also looks skinny do I feed her enough? She is about 18 months old I think, and around 25cm long. Is four medium size crickets every cpl days enough food?
 
Well it depends on the axolotl for the amount of food. But, I would not recomend feeding tubiflex worms because they have a lot of fat and oil in them and are very unhealthy for axolotls. How big are the worms you are feeding? And, make sure that the worms you are feeding don't have any type of pesticide or anything on them. You might want to try going to a bait store and getting some "nightcrawlers." They are big but you can cut them into pieces and feed them.
 
With crickets, I notice that their poo is lighter and holds shape better, doesn't disintigrate into dust. Dried tubifex have practically no nutritional value. I'd discontinue as it's probably just a waste of money on your part. Try digging earthworms in your yard. Or visiting a local bait shop.

With an axolotl that big, and since crickets are hard to digest/have more exoskeleton than meat, I'd feed her more. Maybe 4 every other day, or even every day. Definately look for worms, as they're nutritious and easily digested.

Grant, butterworms are not that fatty. They're pretty nutritionally complete. I think you're thinking of waxworms.
 
Brett you mentioned prawns... Can anyone here tell me if it is a good idea to feed prawns to axies.

An Joan with the blackworms do you put them into a bare bottom container then put the axies in that container let them feed them put them back inot their normal tank?
 
i have never heard of feeding axies prawns
but who knows it could be a very smart idea
they could be very nutritious threat for
the axies but expensive (well in australia anyway)
 
Right now, the axolotls that are small enough to eat them (they're approaching 2inches) are kept in a bare bottom tank for ease of water changes and limits the loss of blackworms. There are 8 of them, and they're fed 2x daily, so it's just easier to keep them in a bare bottom. However, if you had just 2 or 3 axies that were say up to 5 inches, I couldn't see why it would be a problem (other than the stress of being caught) to move them to a bare bottom bowl to feed on blackworms.
 
Hi Joan,

butterworms are a caterpillar and all caterpillers are relatively high in fat as they need the reserves to get through the pupal stage (and in those species that have nonfeeding adults to carry the adults through egg laying).

I have to question the nutritionally complete statement as the analysis I have seen for calcium has a value that really has no meaning in determining if it is a good food item or not(If I remember correctly its a volumetric measurement as opposed to a % or a Ca:p ratio). In addition, as part of the analysis the Ca salt will change the volume of Ca in the caterpillar.
I inquired into the company over a year ago to try and get a better analysis without recieving a reply.

Just some comments.

Ed
 
Gotcha. Thank you for the correction, Ed. I also have never seen a % measurement or ratio, just a mg/L or whichever volume they're using. Is there anyway to rework this into the % Ca? Maybe if you had the weight of the specific caterpiller? hmm... I'll have to look into this at work. We've got lots of books on bugs, being an entomology lab and all. lol.
 
Brendan, I bought some frozen prawns to give to my axies and <u>every single one of them</u> ate it - right off the bat. O happy day.
 
i feed my axies prawns as treats. I don't think it's a good idea as a staple, but I'm only guessing. I think pellet foods are made up of mostly prawn meat, so it can't be too bad for them.
I buy "river prawns" which are cheaper than other varieties. I buy 3 or 4 at a time to freeze, and it only costs me a dollar or two. Then just defrost and chop into bite size pieces when needed.
Just ensure your axies have a varied diet. I'm always on the look out for moths and other various grubs/insects to suppliment with. Just ensure that they havent come into contact with pesticides etc.
 
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