Axolotls need the right diet. This will ensure their health and well-being.
To mimic their natural diet, axolotls should be fed various foods. Earthworms, bloodworms, brine shrimp, and daphnia are examples. (small aquatic crustaceans).
Nightcrawlers, bloodworms, and blackworms are popular choices as they are nutritious and preferred for their nutritional wealth. Mealworms can also be given, but only if soft, as hard ones may cause digestive problems. Tubifex worms are not recommended as their staple diet as they do not have enough nutrition to keep your axolotls healthy and may carry a lot of bacteria. Wax worms can be given occasionally but should only be fed to them some of the time as they contain high fat.
Feeding Schedule
Adult Axolotls only need to be fed two or three times a week. Feed your axolotl a balanced diet to ensure healthy and happy salamanders for years to come.
Axolotls are carnivores and eat protein-rich foods like bloodworms and brine shrimp. However, feeding them feeder fish or mice can spread parasites and disease.
Axolotls can go two weeks without food, but this depends on many factors. Weather, water quality, and pregnancy can also affect your axolotl’s ability to go without food.
In their first year, baby axolotls can only be fed once a day. Their digestive systems are too small to process much food at once.
Feeding Method
Worms, insects, snails, and small fish are among axolotls’ wild diets. They also eat kelp and algae.
Axolotls in captivity should be fed live and frozen or freeze-dried food. Axolotls can also eat pelleted foods high in protein and vitamins.
Axolotls can easily eat pellets. They can be ordered on Amazon or found in pet stores’ aquarium sections.
Buy pellets that sink to the bottom since some float. Young axolotls’ smaller mouths require small pellets.
Axolotls are opportunistic eaters and will eat anything in the tank. However, don’t overfeed. This can cause gastrointestinal blockage and slow down digestion.
Feeding Time
In the wild, axolotls eat worms, insect larvae, shrimp, small fish, and tadpoles. In captivity, you can feed your axolotl bloodworms or other live or frozen foods.
Depending on age, feed your axolotl twice a day. This helps them grow and prevents them from nipping other tank animals.
Feed your axolotl in a feeding dish to reduce waste and clean up. Drop the food in the same spot each time so your axolotl knows when to eat.
Axolotls are ambush predators that eat everything in one gulp. Thus, portions should be as small as possible and not larger than their mouths. Indigestion and impaction may result. Uneaten food should be removed daily to prevent rotting and clouding the water.
Feeding Size
In their natural habitat, axolotls are omnivores. Insect larvae, worms, snails, tadpoles, and small fish fall into this category.
As pets, they don’t need algae or other plant matter. They should still eat a balanced diet.
Axolotls should receive the right amount of food daily. I suggest reducing feedings if they’re getting too big.
To stay healthy, feed them a protein-rich, calcium-rich diet. These animals prefer soft pellets.
