Putting two adult axolotls together?

[HitmanSougo13]

Hello, I am currently raising two axolotls in separate tanks, eventually I considered at the option of putting them together once the smaller becomes close to the size of the bigger one. One is an adult and the other is still a juvenille but will be growing fast soon. I still have quite the way to go. I'm curious to some of your experiences with putting and introducing two axolotls to each other. Both have quite an appetite and always want food. Infact one chases his own tail thinking it's food at times. The other always tries to bite my fingers even if I just poke the tank.

I feed them well but at the same time I don't want to constantly keep them overfed so they won't snack on each other if I eventually put them together.

So please let me know if anyone had bad experiences with it. Thank you

 

[Greatwtehunter]

If you have a large enough tank and plenty of hides this will keep aggression to a minimum. Also I feed mine using tongs to reduce the possibilty of an injury during feeding time.

 

[Decount062]

Hi,I agree with the last post,visual barriers help to reduce stress.There will be risks with new introductions,be sure to watch for potential injury,it might be a good idea to separate them if this occurs.Axies feeding responses can be quite different,many can differentiate food items ,others try to eat whatever moves or comes close enough.I have had less injuries raising in small groups as opposed to breeding introductions.Don't forget to monitor water quality.I would say definitely wait until they are similar in size,Good Luck!

 

[monomike]

Are they the same gender? Do you want little ones? Axolotls breed pretty consistently.

 

[virago]

You also have the option of feeding in a seperate tub. This helps keep the tank clean and you know how much each axolotl is eating.

 

[Lissy89]

hi there~
I recently just introduced a new axolotl to my current golden albino, and like you was very concerned with aggression between them and causing stress. However, I had a fairly easy adjustment, both came from shops where they were housed with other axolotls and didn't really seem phased by each other. My first axolotl Milly did flare up a bit at first, I believe she was just asserting her dominance in someway. There was never any physicality between them, and 48 hours later they were sharing the same hidey-hole My suggestion would be to keep a vigilant eye over them and separate if there appears to be problems.

 

[Samyueruchan]

I'd be very interested to hear of similar experiences. I've had my axolotl for a few months now and he is doing very well and I would very much like to consider getting another one at some point. My Izel tends to swim straight towards any movement in the water and keeps getting large bits of my thumb or finger in his mouth when I feed him. He almost seems embarrassed about this when he lets go. I rather doubt that axolotls have the capacity to feel embarrassment, but I do like to read his turning away and hiding this way. xD

My fear is that he wouldn't wait until feeding time to chomp on someone if I got him a friend. I have read that keeping axolotls together is fine as long as the water chemistry is good, they have enough space and hidey-holes, they're similar size and they're kept well-fed, but I have also read enough stories of axolotl aggressive to get concerned.

 

[sharon24577]

Hi, I have only kept axolotls for two years but I have been fortunate to introduce two new ones into my tank with no agression whatsoever. I did find that when they were juveniles they would have a little nibble (common in juveniles) but when I introduced them when older they were fine thankfully. I did the same as you though and waited til the smaller one was a bit larger but there is still a noticeable size difference between them. They actually stay very close to each other and often lie on each other! Perhaps I have been lucky but they have been great (two males). Good luck

 

[darrylsampson]

Great post, im also interested. I have a 4 inch jewvie and am purchasing a second. About 5 inches. I planed on having them separated for the time being. Any sugestions on that?