Feeding axolotl babies

What Do Baby Axolotls Eat?

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Axolotls

Axolotls are becoming increasingly popular as pets. They are amphibians that spend the majority of their lives underwater. Some people believe they eat nothing at all, although this isn’t the case.

Axolotls are omnivores that should consume 30 to 60 percent protein in their diets. You may find out about nutritional requirements for adult salamander meals, but there are many food alternatives that are nutritionally complete on their own. The following are some of the best axolotl diet options available.

Baby axolotls have distinct nutritional needs when compared to adult axolotls. In particular, because they are so tiny, food that is suitable for adult axolotls would not be appropriate for baby ones.

If you’re thinking about breeding and raising axolotls, it’s time to brush up on your axolotl nutrition expertise, especially when it comes to feeding baby axolotls, whose dietary needs are rather distinct from those of their parents.

Don’t be frightened by their tiny stature. This article on axolotl nutrition will go over the essentials, and you’ll discover that despite their diminutive size, they have plenty of food options to choose from.

What Do Baby Axolotls Eat?

Newly hatched axolotls are unable to eat until they reach a length of 10 to 13 millimeters. Their size varies from 10 to 13 mm. Although they have some egg yolk left in their juvenile stage, it will keep them fed for approximately 24 to 72 hours. They remain still throughout this time.

After 24 to 72 hours, baby axolotls are ready to eat and will consume whatever you give them in a matter of minutes. However, it isn’t any old meal. Baby axolotls should only be fed live food while adult axolotls can consume both living and nonliving things.

Because baby axolotls have not yet developed their sense of smell, they are less likely to be caught. In contrast, infant axolotls have a strong sense of sight but are not as good as adult ones. They can see motion very well, therefore they can detect live bait that wiggles.

Small food, in other words, is any food that may be consumed by the animals themselves. You’ll also have to feed them live food, as well as tiny meals.

Live Daphnia

Live daphnia is good food for babies and juvenile axolotls. It is readily available in pet stores, but you may wish to grow your own live culture or buy live daphnia from fish-free cultures because they might transmit parasites and illnesses to your axolotls.

Bamboo shavings are a nutritious and safe food supply for baby axolotls. Even adult axolotls enjoy them, although they aren’t as nutritious for them. With the assistance of starter cultures and a specific kit that you may purchase from Amazon, you can set up your own cultures at home.

Baby Brine Shrimp Brine Shrimp

Another live food that you may grow at home and feed to newborn axolotls is baby brine shrimp. They’re a nutritious addition to your aquarium, and they’re easier to produce than daphnia. Axolotls consume adult brine shrimp as well. The main disadvantage of brine shrimp is the mess they create, so keep an eye on your water changes and tank cleaning.

Chopped Blackworms A Blackworm

The majority of axolotls will accept white worms or white worms, although you may also give chopped adult axolotls to juvenile ones since they will nevertheless move a little even after being chopped up.

The major disadvantage of blackworms is that they are filthy, so clean any leftovers as soon as possible and maintain water changes to avoid water chemistry concerns.

Microworms Worm

Another wonderful option for baby axolotls is micro worms, which may be manufactured at home. You won’t have to worry about size with micro worms, but they are messy, so take care to keep your tank clean.

What Do Baby Axolotls Eat in The Wild?

Axolotls are freshwater salamanders indigenous to Mexico’s Xochimilco canals and waterways. They consume whatever small animals may be found in their natural environment, including snails, insects, earthworms, and the like.

Baby Axolotl Can Be Fed Snails

Axolotls consume insects, snails, worms, tiny crustaceans, mosquito larvae, crickets, frog tadpoles, smaller salamanders, and even smaller fish by swallowing them. The phrase “swallow” is crucial because axolotls do in fact swallow their meals. By spreading their jaws wide and sucking in the water together with their prey, axolotls consume food.

It’s not difficult to satisfy the nutritional requirements of axolotls that are grown in a home aquarium since the same types of protein-rich foods are accessible for aquarists who keep them in captivity.

Baby Axolotl Can Consume Crickets

Because of their lack of sophisticated teeth, axolotls don’t chew food but rather bite it.

If you’re interested in their teeth, the next time you feed them, feel free to put your hands into the tank to observe how they grasp onto your finger. Don’t be concerned; their teeth aren’t sharp enough to puncture human skin.

To be able to consume their food whole, axolotls must first chew it sufficiently small that it does not cause harm on its descent down the animals’ digestive system. Food that is too big might get caught, resulting in bowel obstruction and potentially causing death if the impaction isn’t relieved.

How to Feed Baby Axolotls?

It’s quite difficult to feed newborn axolotls because their meals are tiny. Baby axolotls in a huge tank may find it difficult to eat. Working with smaller containers, where there is less room and water, allows baby axolotls to find their food a lot quicker than in a big tank.

You’ll need a few containers, especially if you’ve divided them according to size, depending on the number of baby axolotls you’re raising. There are a few types of equipment that comes in useful when feeding, such as tweezers, Q-tips, and a turkey baster.

You’ll see that if the food doesn’t wiggle or move, your axolotls will pay it no mind. So make sure the food you’re feeding them is wiggling or moving before they come to eat it; otherwise, they may not notice the meal you’ve got for them.

You might be aware that adult axolotls do not require daily feedings and that 2-3 feedings per week are enough. While this is true for adult axolotls, baby axolotls do need to be fed every day.

How Much Do Baby Axolotls Eat? Baby Axolotls

Once or twice a day, feed the baby axolotls. You don’t want to overfeed them, so clean up any leftovers as soon as possible. All live foods that axolotls enjoy are extremely messy, so avoid overfeeding them and cleaning up any spills straight away.

Baby axolotls can only survive a few days without food, so it’s essential to maintain many live cultures at home. Even adult axolotls can go for weeks or even months without eating, although baby axolotls may only survive a few days without nutrition, thus having many living cultures on hand is crucial.

Due to their accelerated metabolism, baby axolotls require more frequent feedings as they mature than do adult axolotls.

What Are The Natural Predators of Baby Axolotls?

Every animal, including the axolotl, would be a prey or predator in its own right. This is just another example of this rule. Even with other animals, this is a typical linear food chain. If an axolotl were to live in its natural setting, here is a list of natural predators it could face.

Stork

Storks are avian predators that are big wading birds. They eat nearly anything they can cram their beak around. This species has the edge with its long legs, allowing it to have a tall building perspective and prey on smaller fish, insects, frogs, and our little axolotls.

Their typical hunting grounds would be shallow lakes where they will stand still to stalk for their food, with an acute sense of sight, long necks, and long sturdy bills. The stork, being unnoticed, will spring on them when the axolotl rises to the surface of the water to breathe.

Herons

Herons and storks have comparable hunting methods, tracking their food down in much the same way. These coastal freshwaters would creep with great speed, remaining unnoticed by any fish in shallow lakes thanks to their long legs.

If a heron is attacked while standing still in the water, it will strike and generally swallow head first if the fish is tiny. Fishes break the surface of the water and, if they are within striking distance, the heron takes its chance to attack and usually devours head first if it’s a tiny fish. They will grasp the prey in their bill and bring it to the shore, where they will stab it with their sharp bill to ensure that it is dead if it believes that the prey cannot be swallowed.

The Australian pond heron’s beak is sufficiently large to eat axolotls, but they would have difficulty consuming bigger herons because of the strain.

Carps

Carp are popular freshwater fish that have been domesticated by farmers as a source of food in lakes and ponds. They’re considered easy to maintain, are thought of as eating fish, and are one of the most important dietary sources for humans.

The first thing juvenile axolotls try to eat once carp were introduced into the lake where they reside is their eggs if they can fit into their mouths, or else their next pick would carp. Carps feed by suction and almost everything else that goes along with it.

Tilapias

Tilapias, another popular freshwater fish, is highly coveted by farmers. They thrive in shallow ponds, lakes, and streams. Tilapias were sought after by farmers in the early 2000s because they were the fourth most eaten fish in the United States. They’re also an invasive fish species that are low-cost, simple to prepare, and helpful in the fight against malaria by consuming mosquito larvae.

When it comes to tiny-sized axolotl and axolotls, it’s no surprise that they’re a food source for them.

Humans

Humans are likewise a hazard to axolotls because they hunt these intriguing reptiles. They capture axolotls in order to exhibit them in aquariums, even though poor conditions of confinement will cause them to refuse their food and die. Others capture them for the purpose of being eaten.

The practice of consuming axolotls as food is not unique to the 21st century; it dates back to the Aztec culture in the pre-Columbian era. Modern consumers prize roasted axolotls, which are considered a delicacy by modern consumers. However, finding them in Mexican shops is becoming increasingly difficult. Humans are also a danger to these amphibians since they are utilized in scientific studies.

The ability to regenerate body parts allows axolotls to survive in the wild, but it may also put them in greater danger. They are being sought after by scientists who study them in order on a deeper knowledge of evolution.

How Do Baby Axolotls Protect Themselves From Predators?

Our fellow axolotl keepers understand that they are delicate and soft to the touch, and we know that our hands are safe. As we previously stated, it is due to their lack of natural predators where they came from.

It would make perfect sense that they don’t need to develop any defensive mechanism or any physical ability to protect themselves since there is no natural predator.

But if they detect danger, such as a predator approaching in the tank set I observed, they will dash through the water at high speeds in an attempt to avoid being captured by any sharp beak or predatory fish.

The physiology of an axolotl is unique in that it has no defenses against which to react. Their gills are exposed externally, they lack eyelids, and their body is soft all throughout. If you want to keep them together or with their own species, I highly recommend keeping them alone or using non-invasive fish.

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates.

Baby Axolotl Feeding - The Ultimate Guide

Feeding Baby Axolotl (source)

Baby axolotls have different feeding requirements compared to adult axolotls. For starters, they’re very small, so food that works for adult axolotls will not be a good choice for baby axolotls.

If you’re considering breeding and raising baby axolotls, it’s time to brush up on your axolotl nutrition knowledge, especially when it comes to feeding baby axolotls, whose dietary requirements are a bit different from their parents.

If you’re overwhelmed by the small size of these aquatic salamanders, don’t be. This guide to feeding axolotls will cover the basics and you’ll see that however small they may be, there are plenty of food options to match their mouths.

In this article I’m going to discuss the things you need to know about the feeding requirements of juvenile axolotls, the best foods for baby axolotls, how to feed baby axolotls, and how often should you feed baby axolotls.

What Do Baby Axolotls Eat?

Before I get into the details on how and what to feed baby axies, I must mention that axolotls are carnivores and should be raised on a meat-based diet.

Newly hatched axolotls are too small to take on any food and won’t take on any food immediately after they hatch. Their size is at around 10-13 mm (roughly 0.5 inch).

In their larval stage, they still have some egg yolk that will provide them with sustenance for around 24-72 hours. While in this stage, they’re also motionless.

After the 24-72 hours period, baby axolotls are ready to eat and will quickly snap down on food you’re offering. But not just any food.

While adult axolotls can be fed with both living and nonliving foods, baby axolotls should be exclusively fed with live food.

The reason behind this is that unlike adult axolotls that have a strong sense of smell, baby axolotls have their sense of smell developed just yet. On the other hand, baby axolotls are great at spotting movement and thus, they can identify live food that wiggles.

Besides feeding them live food, you’ll also need to feed them small food, that is, food that can fit into their mouths.

Therefore, live cultured foods like daphnia, freshly hatched baby brine shrimp, microworms, chopped blackworms are all good options.

Let’s see what foods you should choose to feed to your axolotls:

Live Daphnia

Great for baby and juvenile axolotls alike, live daphnia is widely available in aquarium shops. However, you might want to create your own live culture or source live daphnia from fish-free cultures, because they can carry parasites and diseases that can be passed onto your axolotls.

They’re a cheap food source, nutritious, and suitable for baby axolotls. Even adult axolotls love them, but they’re not as nutritious for them.

You can set up your own cultures at home with the help of starter cultures and a special kit that you can order off Amazon.

Baby Brine Shrimp

Baby brine shrimp is another live food that you can culture at home and feed to baby axolotls. They’re highly nutritious and easier to culture than daphnia.

Brine shrimp is also a staple food for adult axolotls. The only downside of brine shrimp is that they’re a little messy, so you must be on top of your water changes and tank cleaning game.

Chopped Blackworms

Blackworms or white worms are most suitable for adult axolotls, although if you chop them up, you can feed them to juvenile axolotls too as they’ll still move a little even after being chopped up.

The downside of blackworms is that they’re very messy, so clean up any leftovers quickly and make sure you do water changes often to avoid water chemistry disbalances.

Microworms

Microworms are another good option for baby axolotls and you can easily create your own live cultures at home. With microworms, you don’t need to worry about size, although these too are messy, so be careful to clean your tank.

The Best Food for Baby Axolotls

Before I get into helping your decide which food is best for baby axolotls, it’s important to mention that not all axolotls develop at the same rate and separating baby axolotls based on size can be a good way to stimulate growth and make sure they develop properly.

It’s best to start separating them when they reach about 2 cm in length. At this size, they also display strong cannibalistic tendencies, which you don’t want to encourage.

Another important aspect in feeding baby axolotls is that they don’t all like the same foods. This is the reason why it’s difficult to determine which is the best food for baby axolotls from the ones I mentioned above.

Let’s say you’re only feeding them with live daphnia, which in of itself is a nutritious option that’s easily available, but not all your axies will enjoy it the same way.

This can cause delays in development, so it’s best if you try to feed them with a variety of live foods and include all or most of the live food options I described above.

As your axies grow and develop, they’ll be able to take on other foods as well such as soft salmon pellets or other living or non-living foods such as earthworms.

As they develop their front legs, axolotls will become more mobile in the tank and will actively “hunt” for their food. Once this happens, you can try to mix things up in their diet and introduce them to soft pellet type food or frozen food like bloodworms.

While I can’t pinpoint a best food for baby axies, one thing is certain — live foods or a variety of live foods work best both for baby axolotls and adult axolotls.

A Note on Baby Axolotl Food Safety

A major disadvantage of live foods is that they can carry diseases if they’re sourced from the wild or from waters with fish.

While freeze-dried foods don’t carry diseases and work well for other aquarium pets, they don’t interest larval axolotls, so substituting with freeze-dried alternatives is a no-go.

Therefore, my recommendation is to set up your own cultures of microworms, daphnia and baby brine shrimp and alternate between these.

If you don’t have the time to create live cultures of your own, you can buy them from aquarium shops, but do make sure they come from controlled sources and fish-free waters.

I also mentioned that some of these live foods can create a lot of mess in the container or tank you’re raising your axolotls, so do make sure you’re cleaning up leftovers and monitoring the water chemistry.

How to Feed Baby Axolotls?

Larval axolotls are tiny, their foods are tiny, which may make it difficult to feed baby axolotls. Raising and feeding baby axolotls in a large tank is not a good idea.

Best if you work with smaller containers, where there is less room and less water, which helps baby axolotls find their food a lot faster than in a small tank.

Depending on the number of baby axolotls you’re raising, you’ll need a few containers, especially if you’ve separated them according to size.

When feeding, there are a few tools that come in handy, such as tweezers, turkey baster, q-tips (mircorworms), which you can use to handle live foods with ease.

You will notice that food that doesn’t wiggle or move, won’t get the attention of your axolotls. So, make sure that food is wiggling or making movement when you feed it to them, otherwise they may not notice the food you’re offering.

You may have heard that adult axolotls don’t require daily feedings and that 2-3 feedings a week is plenty for them. While this is true for adult axolotls, baby axolotls do require daily feedings.

How Often to Feed Baby Axolotls?

Baby axolotls should be fed once or twice per day. You want to make sure not to overfeed them and to clean leftover food right away because all live foods axolotls like are quite messy and will quickly foul the water.

Adult axolotls can go without food for quite a while (up to 3 weeks even), but baby axolotls can only last a few days without food, so it’s important to have multiple live cultures at home.

Because baby axolotls are still developing, their metabolism is faster than that of adult axolotls, which explains why they require more frequent feedings.

Conclusion

Axolotls thrive on live food, especially baby axolotls. If you’re raising more than one baby axolotl, you’ll need to diversify their meat-based diet to meet their personal preferences.

Non-living foods can be introduced once axolotls develop their front legs that allow them to better move around in the aquarium and search for their food.

Baby axolotls require daily feedings and it’s best to separate them based on their size, so you can help along their development much better.

I hope this guide will help you meet the nutritional needs of your baby axolotls and that you now have a better understanding of the types of foods baby axolotls best enjoy.

Updated: September 5, 2022

Keeping axolotls in captivity, care feeding axolotl breeding diseases breeding behavior terrarium humidity temperature lighting axolotl food activity amphibians caudate photo

Axolotl breeds well in captivity, it is interesting to watch him. True, in the summer months, sometimes there are problems with maintaining the desired water temperature. Requires an aquarium, water level 30 cm, with no sharp objects. Large pebbles are used as a substrate. Poorly tolerates overheating, resistant to low temperatures.

Related article Questions and answers on keeping ascolotl

Aquarium for keeping axolotl

Type: aquarium, water level 30 cm, without any sharp objects.
Sizes: from 100 liters (for an adult couple), micro compressor, filter.
Substrate: large pebbles (so that the axik cannot swallow it).
Temperature: daytime - 18-22°C, nighttime - 16-18°C. Poorly tolerates overheating, resistant to low temperatures.
Lighting: fluorescent lamp, does not like bright light.
Plants: aquatic plants.
Pond: spring or dechlorinated water (settle for 24 hours or more), well oxygenated, pH 7-8.2, dH - 6-16°. Once a week, the water is partially replaced (up to 20%). Water quality is one of the important requirements in keeping axolotl.
Decoration: smooth stones.

Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)

Feeding the axolotl

Can be given: diet should be varied: tubifex (washed), bloodworms, earthworms (free of chemicals and pesticides), lumbriculus (Lumbriculus, cleanser), strips or lenten strips beef, mosquito larvae, raw beef heart (0. 5 cm strips), aquatic and terrestrial snails, insect larvae, "Reptomin" (turtle food), softened pellets for salmon or trout, brine shrimp larvae (live or frozen, please note that the latter greatly spoil the water).
Frequency of feeding: adults - 2-3 times a week, young (growing) - every day.
Feeding during the breeding season: plentiful.

Socialization / domestication

Domestication: quickly gets used to the person who feeds it, but sometimes the axolotl may try to swallow a finger. It is painless as its teeth are not capable of biting through human skin.
Compatibility: can be kept together with salamanders or their larvae. It is not advisable to keep fish with them, because they try to gnaw on the gills of the axolotl, and he himself, from time to time, tries to grab a gaping fish. If the axolotl is poorly fed, it will eat all the inhabitants of the aquarium, even its fellow tribesmen, sometimes biting off their paws or tail.
Personality: Adult amphibians can be kept together, but they should be almost the same size.

Breeding of axolotls

Preparation: a slight decrease in water temperature (no more than 5°C) or males and females are placed in separate tanks for a while (water temperature 10-12°C), they are poorly fed, rarely change the water . After a couple of weeks, the producers are planted in a common spacious aquarium (water temperature 18-20 ° C). In a male ready for mating, very prominent swellings appear on both sides of the cloaca, in young males they reach 13-15 mm, in old ones - 20-25 mm. After 1-2 days, the males lay spermatophores on the bottom, the next day the females spawn. The males are removed.
Adjustable terrarium/aquarium: an aquarium with live plants where sand is used as a substrate.
Male to female ratio: 1:1-3
Gestation/incubation period: 2-3 weeks.
Youth feeding: daphnia (farmed), cyclops, brine shrimp nauplii, echithreus, small bloodworm (frozen), tubifex, mosquito larvae, food for fish fry, shed shrimp (larvae quickly gain weight on them). Uneaten food is removed, as the larvae can die from gluttony.
Offspring: Axolotls smaller than 7.5 cm should not be kept together, as this adversely affects their growth.
Rearing: the eggs are placed in a planted aquarium (minimum size 45x20x25 cm), where the water temperature is 22°C with good aeration and filtration (if necessary, the water is softened), the dead eggs are periodically removed. Once a day, replace the old water with a new one (about 50%). Before birth, the water level is lowered to 3-4 cm. Eggs from which none have hatched are removed. The initial food is boiled egg yolk, after 1-2 days they give daphnia and shrimp. At the age of 24 days, young axolotls are transferred to an aquarium measuring 60x30x38 cm. After 40-43 days, the water temperature is lowered to 20°C.
Weaning from parents: after spawning, plants with eggs are transferred to a separate aquarium (without soil!).
Growth rate: as soon as the larvae grow to 2 cm (9-10 days), they are sorted by size.

Related article Questions and answers on diseases and treatment of axolotls

Diseases of axolotls

Predisposition to diseases: with constant feeding on fatty foods (tubifex, maggots), liver sclerosis develops.
Prevention: Do not overfeed.
Main diseases see here diseases of amphibians. Cannibalism is the natural behavior of ambystom larvae.

Tags: amphibians, tailed amphibians, amphibians, keeping amphibians, axolotl

photo, keeping in a home aquarium, feeding

The axolotl (lat. Ambystoma mexicanum) is one of the most fantastic animals you can have in your aquarium. It is a neotenic salamander larva, meaning that it reaches sexual maturity without becoming an adult. Next, you will find out where the axolotl lives, how to properly keep it in a home aquarium, what to feed it, whether it is possible to add other fish to the aquarium and other nuances.

Contents

1 Living in nature
2 Description
3 The complexity of the content
4 Compatibility
5 Feeding
6 Content in the Aquarium
7 Color
8 Propagation

Handing in nature

In the ancient Aztec language, Aksolotl means a tattoo monster. The homeland of axolotls is the ancient system of water channels and lakes in Mexico City. All their lives they live in the water, not getting out on land. They prefer deep places in canals and lakes, with abundant aquatic vegetation, as they depend on aquatic plants. They live in lakes Xochimilco (Xochimilco) and Chalco (Chalco) in Mexico, however, as a result of rapid urbanization, the range is shrinking. Lake Chalco no longer exists, having been drained by flood control measures, and Lake Xochimilco remains a shadow of its canalized self.

As of 2010, wild axolotls were close to extinction due to urbanization in Mexico City and subsequent water pollution, as well as the introduction of invasive species such as tilapia and perch. These new fish ate the young axolotls and also became competitors in food poverty.

They are listed as endangered in the wild with declining populations. Axolotls were also sold as food in Mexican markets and before the Spanish invasion, they were eaten by the Aztecs, the meat was considered medicinal, and tasted like eel.

Luckily, they breed fairly easily in captivity, and are of scientific value because of their peculiarity, they can regenerate gills, tail, and even limbs. The study of this feature has led to the fact that quite a lot of them are kept in captivity, and many color forms have also been bred.

Their habitat is similar to that of most neotenous species—an alpine body of water surrounded by a dangerous terrestrial environment. The axolotl is carnivorous, consuming small prey such as worms, insects and small fish in the wild. Axolotls find food by smell and "attack" any potential food by sucking the food into their stomachs using a vacuum.

In the process of reproduction, they attach their eggs to aquatic plants and then fertilize them. Lake Jochimilco is famous for its floating gardens or chinampas, essentially strips of land between canals where locals grow vegetables and flowers. This ancient system of irrigation canals and lakes is where axolotls live.

Axolotls are listed in the Red Book as an endangered species of amphibians. Since their habitat is 10 square kilometers, and is also very scattered, it is difficult to establish the exact number of individuals living in nature.

Description

The axolotl is a larva of the ambystoma found only in Mexico, at an altitude of 2,290 meters above sea level. This is a stocky salamander, usually its length is from 90 to 350 mm from the tail to the tip of the muzzle. A sexually mature adult axolotl between 18 and 24 months of age is typically 15 to 45 cm long, although the most common body size is around 23 cm, and specimens larger than 30 cm are rare. Axolotls grow significantly larger than other neotenic salamander larvae, and reach sexual maturity while still in larval state.

Males are usually larger than females due to their longer tail. Ambistomes exist in two forms: neotenic (actually the axolotl itself, in the form of a larva living in the water and having external gills) and terrestrial, fully developed with smaller gills.

A characteristic appearance is the large external gills that originate behind their heads and are used to move oxygenated water. The external gill branches are lined with filaments (fimbriae) to increase the surface area for gas exchange.

They also have small teeth, but they serve to hold prey, not tear it. Their heads are wide open, and their eyes are lidless. Their limbs are underdeveloped and have long thin fingers.

Axolotls have four genes for pigmentation; they create a variety of color options. Body color ranges from white to black, including variations of grey, tan, and brown. However, axolotls of light shades are rarely found in nature, as they are more visible and vulnerable.

Normal wild brown axolotl with golden flecks and olive tint. The five most common mutant colors are pale pink with black eyes, golden albino, gray with black eyes, albino (pale pink or white with red eyes), and melanoid (black with no gold flecks or olive tone). In addition, there is great individual variability in the size, frequency, and intensity of gold spots.

Since breeders often cross different colors, certain colors are often found in the trade, especially white or pink pink eyed axolotls, which are double homozygous mutants. Axolotls also have some limited ability to change their color to provide better camouflage by changing the relative size and thickness of their melanophores.

How long does an axolotl live? Lifespan is up to 20 years, but the average is about 10 years in captivity.

The feature of the axolotl that attracts the most attention is its unique ability: it is capable of regenerating lost limbs within months, and in some cases even more vital structures such as tail, limbs, central nervous system, as well as eye tissues and hearts. They can even regenerate less important parts of their brains. They can also engraft transplants from other individuals, including eyes and parts of the brain, restoring these alien organs to full functionality. In some cases, axolotls regenerate an injured limb as well as regenerate an extra one, resulting in an extra leg, making them attractive to pet owners.

Difficulty of keeping

The axolotl is a popular exotic pet, but keeping axolotls at home is quite difficult, there are moments that significantly affect life expectancy in captivity. The first and most important is temperature.

For axolotls, a temperature of approximately 16°C to 18°C (64°F) is recommended to ensure adequate food intake; stress caused by more than a day's exposure to colder temperatures can quickly lead to disease and death, and temperatures above 24°C can lead to an increase in metabolic rate, also causing stress and eventual death

Axolotls are cold-water amphibians and high temperatures are stressful for them. It may seem strange that they are native to Mexico and cannot tolerate high temperatures. In fact, their habitat is located at high altitude, and the temperature there is lower than in other parts of the country.

Water temperatures of 24°C and above are very uncomfortable for the axolotl and, if kept for a long time, will lead to illness and death. The ideal temperature for keeping is below 21 ° C, and 21-23 ° C is borderline, but still tolerable. The higher the water temperature, the less oxygen it contains. So the warmer the water in the aquarium, the more important aeration is for keeping the axolotl. It is especially important at temperatures close to the borderline, as it affects tolerance.

If you can't keep an axolotl in cold water, think hard about getting one!

Another important point that is usually underestimated is the substrate. In most aquariums, the color, size, and shape of the substrate is a matter of personal preference, but for keeping an axolotl, it is essential.

For example, aquariums without soil are very uncomfortable for the axolotl, as it has nothing to catch on. This leads to unnecessary stress and can even cause sores on the tips of the paws.

Gravel is also not ideal, as it is easy to swallow, and axolotls often do this. Often this leads to blockage of the gastrointestinal tract and death of the salamander. If gravel (common in aquariums) is used, it is recommended that it be composed of smooth particles small enough to pass through the digestive tract.

The ideal aquarium substrate for keeping axolotls is sand. It does not clog the gastrointestinal tract even in young individuals, and allows them to freely crawl along the bottom of the aquarium, as they easily cling to it.

Chlorine commonly added to tap water is harmful to axolotls.

Compatibility

Compatibility is an important issue in the maintenance of any aquarium inhabitants, a question about which many copies have been broken, and axolotls are no exception. However, most owners keep them separately, and here are the reasons.

Firstly , the axolotl's characteristic external gills make them vulnerable to fish attacks. Even calm and slow-moving fish species cannot resist the temptation to try to bite them, and as a result, miserable scraps remain from luxurious processes.

Secondly , axolotls are active at night and sleeping fish, in turn, become easy targets for them. It is almost impossible to find a middle ground between size (so that the fish is not eaten) and aggressiveness (so that the axolotl itself does not suffer).

But, there is an exception to every rule that allows you to keep axolotls with fish. And this exception is goldfish. They are very slow, and if they are well fed, most will not even try to chase the axolotl.

Only a few will try, they will get a painful pinch and stay away. In addition, keeping goldfish also requires low water temperatures, making them an ideal choice.

Still, the safest way is to keep the axolotl separately, and one individual per aquarium. The fact is that they are a danger to each other, young and small axolotls suffer from old and large ones and can lose limbs or even be eaten.

Overpopulation leads to the same consequences, when a larger individual kills a smaller one. It is very important to keep only individuals of equal size in a spacious aquarium.

Feeding

What does the axolotl eat? It is enough to simply feed, as axolotls are predators and prefer animal feed. The size and type of food depends on the individual, for example, they are good at eating sinking food for predatory fish, available in the form of granules or tablets.

In addition, the owners give pieces of fish fillet, shrimp meat, cut worms, mussel meat, frozen food, live fish. True, the latter should be avoided, as they can carry diseases, and axolotls are very predisposed to them.

Feeding rules are the same as for fish - do not overfeed and leave waste in the aquarium, as such food immediately rots and instantly spoils the water.

It is impossible to use the meat of mammals as feed, since the axolotl's stomach cannot digest the protein contained in it.

Keeping in an aquarium

The design and equipment of an aquarium for keeping axolotls is a matter of taste, but there are several important points. Young and small axolotls can be kept in 50 liter aquariums.

Adults need more volume, 100 liters is the minimum for one or two axolotls. If you are going to keep more than two, then count on 50-80 liters of additional volume for each individual.

A small amount of hiding places, bright light will adversely affect health, as axolotls are nocturnal inhabitants. Anything is suitable as shelters: driftwood, large stones, hollow ceramic stones for keeping cichlids, pots, coconuts and other things.

It is important that any decor in the aquarium be free of sharp edges and burrs, as this can lead to sores on the delicate skin of Mexican salamanders. It is also important that the number of hiding places is greater than the number of individuals in the aquarium, they should have a choice.

This will allow them to avoid each other, and give you a headache, as conflicts lead to severed legs, wounds or even death.

Water filtration is slightly different from what aquarium fish need. Axolotls prefer a slow current and a powerful filter that creates a flow of water will cause stress.

Of course, the purity of the water is important, so you need to choose a middle ground between power and efficiency. The best choice would be an internal filter with a washcloth, as it is quite powerful, but at the same time it does not create such a strong current, and it costs relatively little.

Water change according to the same principle as for fish, partial weekly changes. Only in the case of axolotls, you need to monitor the water parameters even more carefully, since they are larger, eat protein foods and are sensitive to cleanliness in the aquarium.

It is important not to overfeed and remove leftover food.

Axolotls have practically no bones, especially when young. Most of their skeleton is cartilage, and their skin is thin and delicate. So without the absolute need to touch them is not recommended.

If you need to catch this salamander, use a net made of dense and soft cloth with small meshes, or a glass or plastic container.

Coloration

The choice of color forms in axolotls is impressive. In nature, they are usually dark brown with gray or black spots. But there are also light color forms, with various dark spots on the body.

The most popular among amateurs are albinos, which come in two colors - white and gold. The white one is an albino with red eyes, and the golden axolotl looks like it, only there are golden spots on the body.

In fact, there are a lot of different options, and new ones are constantly appearing. For example, scientists recently bred an axolotl with modified genes, with a green fluorescent protein. Such pigments glow in a fluorescent color under special lamps.

Breeding

Breeding axolotls is quite easy. The female can be distinguished from the male by the cloaca, in the male it is protruding and convex, while in the female it is smoother and less noticeable.

The trigger for breeding is the change in water temperature during the year, and if axolotls are kept in a room where the temperature is not constant, then everything happens by itself.

You can also stimulate breeding yourself by shortening the daylight hours and slightly raising the water temperature. Then again increasing the day and lowering the temperature. Some prefer to keep the male and female separately and then put them in the same tank with cool water.

When mating has begun, the male releases spermatophores, small clumps of sperm, which the female collects with her cloaca. Later, she will lay fertilized eggs on plants, however, if you do not have them, then you can use artificial ones.