Feed

Feed diversity is recommended; i.e. the individual feeds should vary often. Feeding the same stuff all the time can cause health problems to your pet as it may lack certain essential elements necessary for their well being and proper development. Axolotls, indeed, are not very picky pets; they will eat any water creatures they can grasp in their mouth. They really won’t appreciate vegetarian diet. What matters a lot is the size of the feed; it should be proportional to the size of your pet. You would hardly satisfy a 30 cm axolotl with petite crustaceans. These are suitable for hatchlings but hardly for grown ups, who probably wouldn’t even notice them. It is important to feed your pets in regular intervals. Not every feeding attempt need be successful, just like in the wild. When your axolotls are fed, give them some time to digest between the next feeding. You may feed your pet once or twice a week. If you need to make a longer break (for example when leaving for holiday) you don’t need to worry that your pet would starve while you’re gone. It is amazing how long it can go without feeding, but I don’t recommend testing it. And one more advice, when feeding your pet after longer period of fasting, give it only a smaller serving and add always some more over the next feedings. If you feed it too much at a time, it may suffer from bloating and other health problems.

Suitable feeds are as follows:

1 Blood Worms – these are the red Chironomus mosquito larvae, about 1-2 cms long. They are available also frozen. I recommend to get the AXOLOTLS BLOOD WORMS with added vitamins, that improve the skin colouring, support growth and good health of your axolotl. Make sure you don’t serve the feed when it is still hard frozen. The disadvantage of this feed is that the axolotls will scatter the larvae all over the aquarium in a short while.

2

3 Tubificids – I do not recommend this type of feed as it may represent a source of parasitic diseases.

4 Other Insects – the types with hard chitinous crust are not suitable; axolotl will manage to swallow it but won’t digest it.

5 Insect Larvae – certain worms might be poisonous, others may injure axolotl’s mouth with their mouth organs (in this case it is necessary to separate the mouth organ from the worm’s body before feeding).

6 Ringworms – Lumbricus terrestris make a suitable feed that supplies necessary minerals and trace elements to your pet. Moreover, the remains of the earth inside their bodies improve your pet’s digestion and help to clean your pet’s digestive system. The only problem might arise with grasping the worm trying to escape axolotl’s mouth. Also watch out not to overfeed your pet with too large ringworms.

7 Tiny fish a bits of fish meat - some breeders keep weed fish in separate tanks. The advantage is that you keep a reserve of live feed that will survive in the water tank and so you keep a “pantry full of fresh meat“ at your fingertips.

8 Morsels of beef heart – this type of feed is easy to cut up to the correct size. When it is fresh is suggest to freeze it for a while a let it thaw before feeding up to the aquarium water temperature and feed it then rinsed in water with all the blood rinsed out. (Disadvantage is that this is not their natural feed).

9 Artemiae – these are suitable for axolotl hatchlings, but even these little guys are able to eat something bigger.

10 Crustaceae – suitable for little axolotls – especially the Cyclops and Daphnia

11 Other amphibians’ larvae – here keep in mind that our amphibians are protected species, but some breeders use for example the larvae of the clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) or the Pleurodeles waltl salamander or even axolotl’s larvae.

12 Dried water crayfish or water turtle feed – I don’t have any personal experience with this feed but it should be served soaked and softened in water.

13 Axolotls pellets – don’t feed too large servings of the pellets as it will make the aquarium water cloudy (I recommend to remove any leftovers.)

If axolotl refuses to eat or throws up there can be the following reasons for it: overfeeding, too large bites, irritated digestive system or a disease.