kiwi101 Posted December 1, 2013 Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 I'm keen to see what others do with their Axies. Especially I'd like more personal experience of what others in NZ feed as we'd like to feed as broad a diet as possible. also info on best way to feed/different methods, ie hand feeding or leaving food in the tank etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aotealotl Posted December 1, 2013 Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 hi, the best place to get information from is this forum: http://www.axolotlforum.de/wbb/index.php?page=Index it is in german but google translate will help you. several people on that forum have degrees and studied axolotl, they really know what they are talking about. another good place for information about amphibians is: http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-beginner-newt-salamander-axolotl-help-topics/f48-axolotls-ambystoma-mexicanum/ what to feed is a good question and I know I put myself into murky water with my answers. I know lot's of people recommend ox heart but don't feed it, Axolotl have problems to digest mammal meat, their digestive system runs in overdrive if feed with meat. don't feed them anything you buy frozen as you don't know how many times the 'axolotl food' was defrosted and frozen again until it did end up in your hands. Axolotl pellets we can buy here in NZ, not recommended as this pellets are more or less re-branded turtle or fish pellets with ingredients which do more harm than good to the Axolotl. - garden worms (tweezers) - grass grubs (tweezers) - Leopard fish (alive) - White Cloud Mountain Minnow (alive) - all sorts of moths (tweezers or water surface) - crickets (remove back legs) (water surface) - locusts (remove back legs) (water surface) - fish filet (fresh water not sea) (tweezers) - koura (just the meat) (tweezers) - all sorts of water insects including damsel fly nymphs (except the big dragon fly larva, they can do harm the Axolotl) (alive) - chicken heart and chicken liver (tweezers) do not use gravel in your Aquarium as the Axolotl will swallow it while feeding. use sand and/or big stones. don't use bright light as the Axolotl prefer dimly-lit. avoid current or flow in the Aquarium. give them many places where they can hide. do not use drift wood in your aquarium, it can harm your Axolotl. do not use any kind of water purifier, it will harm your Axolotl. if possible use rain water. chlorine will harm your Axolotl. (if you have chlorine water out of your tap let it rest for several days in a bin to let the chlorine evaporate, if you put an air stone in it will accelerate the process) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted December 1, 2013 Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 some good advice up there. not sure about king koura though. pm/email me an address I will send you a little sample of my freeze dried crickets. it can take some time for the animals to get use to them but mine ate them and started breeding on them. remove legs maybe. .. prob find that is the good thing with freeze-dried ... most legs fall off. wouldn't worry either way though. worms also good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aotealotl Posted December 1, 2013 Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 not sure about king koura though. are they protected ? I just feed them because I have heaps of them down here in the irrigation channels and the Axolotl love the meat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M@. Posted December 1, 2013 Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 are they protected ? I just feed them because I have heaps of them down here in the irrigation channels and the Axolotl love the meat. They're not protected. You can take 50 a day :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aotealotl Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 They're not protected. You can take 50 a day :-? ok, I only take what's in the trap and big enough once a week. they taste delicious cooked in salt water. and the Axo love them as well (not cooked thou). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi101 Posted December 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 Thanks everyone, I wasn't expecting such a fast response! We already knew about basics like no gravel and low light/minimum flow but didn't know about driftwood, so thank you! They do love chicken heart and it's so much less messy than the prepared Axo food (which we were told is really good for them, interesting to hear that not everyone agrees ) Insect Direct, thanks for the offer I will def send you a Pm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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