You should know a few things before you start breeding and raising young axolotls, especially when feeding baby axolotls because their nutritional needs differ from their parents’.
Unlike adult axolotls, baby axolotls have different feeding needs. Because they’re so little, young axolotls can’t eat food that works well for adult axolotls.
Don’t be intimidated by the water salamanders’ diminutive stature. The basics of feeding axolotls will be covered in this post, and you’ll see that no matter how little their mouths are, there are many food options to fit them.
Juvenile axolotls have specific dietary needs. We’ll go over those needs in this post, answering the question – what do baby axolotls eat, how to feed newborn axolotls, and how frequently you should feed your baby axolotls.
Read also: Axolotls Care Guide – How To Care For An Axolotl.
What Do Baby Axolotls Eat – In The Wild?
A species of salamanders called axolotls are native to Mexico’s Xochimilco canals and rivers. Snails, insects, earthworms, and other small animals can all be found in their native habitat, and they eat them all.
Small crustaceans like mosquito larvae, frog tadpoles, smaller salamanders, and even smaller fish are swallowed by baby and juvenile axolotls as they feed. Because axolotls eat via swallowing, the word “swallow” is critical. Axolotls eat by sucking in water with their prey while opening their jaws wide.
Axolotls must first chew their food small so that it does not wreak havoc on the animals’ digestive systems before they can eat it as a whole. A bowel obstruction can lead to death if the impaction isn’t relieved. But in fact, axolotls don’t chew their food but rather bite it due to their lack of advanced teeth.
If you have this pet, next time you feed them, put your hands in the tank and see how they latch on to your finger! Not to worry – they don’t have fangs that can pierce human skin.
Know More About Axolotls:
- Axolotls Care Guide – How To Care For An Axolotl
- What Do Axolotls Eat In The Wild And Captivity As Pets?
- Do Axolotls Lay Eggs – Fascinating Facts About Axolotl Breeding!
- Do Axolotls Sleep? It’s Not As Simple As You Would Assume
- Do Axolotls Get Lonely? Should You Keep Them Alone?
- Do Axolotls Have Teeth – Do They Bite?
- Where Do Axolotls Live | Why Are Axolotls Endangered
- Can Axolotls Live With Fish? A Comprehensive Guide On Axolotl Tank Mates
- How To Set Up An Axolotl Tank – The Ultimate Guide
What Can You Feed Your Baby Axolotls When They’re Pets?
Axolotl hatchlings contain some egg yolk in their larval stage, which will keep them alive for another 24-72 hours. They are also stationary at this point.
Baby axolotls are ready to feed after a 24-72-hour period and will immediately snap down on the food that you offer. But it’s not just any food. It is impossible for baby axolotls that have just hatched to eat anything since they are too little. Their size ranges from 10 to 13 millimeters (roughly 0.5 inches).
Axolotls are carnivores and should be fed a meat-based diet.
Adult axolotls can be given both living and nonliving foods; however, babies should be fed live food. Because baby axolotls, unlike adult axolotls, do not have a strong sense of smell yet. But baby axolotls have an exceptional ability to detect motion and can thus recognize live food that squirms.
You’ll need to feed them little food, which is food that fits into their tiny mouths.
Keeping axolotls in a home aquarium does not provide any particular challenges in terms of meeting their nutritional needs. Because the same types of protein-rich meals are available to aquarium hobbyists who maintain them as pets.
Let’s look at some of the meals you should give your baby axolotls:
Live Daphnia
Live daphnia, ideal for both baby, and juvenile axolotls, is readily available at aquarium shops.
Baby axolotls can eat them because they’re cheap, healthy, and safe. Even adult axolotls are fond of them, but they aren’t as nutritious as they need.
However, because parasites and diseases can be transmitted to your axolotls through live daphnia, you might want to establish your own live culture (it’s easy – watch a helpful video) or get live daphnia from fish-free cultures.
Little Brine Shrimp
You can also raise newborn axolotls on brine shrimp cultured in your own home. They’re more nutritious than daphnia and easy to grow.
Adult axolotls also eat brine shrimp as a regular dietary source. However, brine shrimp are a touch dirty, so make sure you’re on top of your water changes and tank cleaning routine to keep them in good shape.
Chopped Blackworms
Adult axolotls should be fed blackworms or white worms, but you can also provide young axolotls if you slice up the white worms or blackworms beforehand.
Due to blackworms’ tendency to leave a dirty trail, it is essential to clear up any leftovers quickly and perform frequent water changes to ensure that your water chemistry stays in check.
Microworms
You can easily make your own live cultures of micro worms for infant axolotls as an alternative. You don’t have to worry about size with micro worms but keep in mind that they are also dirty, so be cautious and keep your tank clean.
Insect Larvae & Bugs
Your newborn axolotl will thrive on mosquito larvae and other aquatic bugs if you can provide them with that. They’ll enjoy these foods, and they’re packed with nutrients.
How To Feed Baby Axolotls?
Newborn axolotls are tricky to feed since their meals are so little. Having a large tank full of baby axolotls may make it harder for them to feed. On the other hand, baby axolotls may discover their food quickly in smaller containers because there is less room and water.
Depending on the number of young axolotls you’re rearing, you’ll need a few containers, especially if you’ve segregated them by size. Tweezers, Q-tips, and a turkey baster are just some of the tools you’ll need when feeding your pet.
Your axolotls won’t notice if the food doesn’t move or jiggle. So make sure that the food you’re feeding them is wriggling or moving before they consume it; otherwise, they may overlook the meal you’ve got for them.
The fact is well-known that axolotls do not need to be fed daily and that 2-3 feedings per week suffice. But it is valid for adults only, and baby axolotls need to be provided at least once a day.
How Often To Feed Baby Axolotls?
Baby axolotls can only survive for a few days without food; however, adult axolotls can survive without food for up to three weeks. Storing adequate live cultures at home is therefore critical.
If you’re feeding baby axolotls, you should do so once or twice a day.
Baby axolotls’ metabolism is faster than that of adult axolotls because they are still developing, which explains why they need more frequent feedings.
Axolotls prefer to eat a lot of live food, which is filthy and can quickly taint the water if it isn’t cleaned up immediately away.
How Much Do Baby Axolotls Eat?
Baby axolotls require more frequent feedings as they age due to their faster metabolism than adult axolotls.
Most pet owners and breeders follow a basic rule of thumb that recommends feeding infant axolotls for two minutes at a time. The two-minute rule is the name given to this phenomenon. However, five minutes of feeding every session are ideal for some.
Definitely, you don’t want to overfeed them, so only give them food that will take them 2-5 minutes to consume.
Baby axolotls should only be fed once or twice a day, using the two-minute feed rule, according to axolotl experts and breeders.
Also, any leftovers should be cleaned up as quickly as possible. Because all live items that axolotls eat are pretty messy, immediately clean up any spills.
How often should a young axolotl be fed? The juvenile axolotl should be provided at least once a day because it is in its growing phase.
The Best Food For Baby Axolotls
When it comes to feeding newborn axolotls, it’s vital to remember that they don’t all like the same things. Because of this, it’s difficult to say which of the foods mentioned above is the best for newborn axolotls.
While live daphnia is an inexpensive and nutritious food source for your pets, not all of them will like it the same way.
It’s ideal for feeding them a range of live foods, including all or most of the live food options we’ve listed above, for avoiding development delays. Soon your baby pets will be able to take on other foods as they grow and develop, such as soft salmon pellets or other living or non-living things like earthworms.
It’s crucial to note that not all axolotls grow at the same rate, and separating infant axolotls depending on size can be a helpful approach to stimulate growth and ensure that they mature correctly.
When they are about 2 cm long, you can begin separating them. Young axolotls have strong cannibalistic instincts at this size, which you don’t want to promote.
As they grow their front legs, axolotls will become more active “hunters” in the aquarium. At this point, you can experiment with different types of food for them, such as soft pellets or frozen bloodworms.
Food Safety For Baby Axolotl – An Important Note
If live food for baby axolotls is sourced from the wild or from a body of water teeming with fish, it can carry diseases. But larval axolotls aren’t interested in freeze-dried foods. Therefore substituting them with freeze-dried alternatives isn’t an option.
As a result, we propose that you start your own cultures of micro worms, daphnia, and baby brine shrimp.
If you don’t have the time to manufacture your own live cultures, you can buy them from aquarium shops, but make sure they originate from regulated sources and fish-free waters.
Remember that some of these live foods can generate a lot of mess, so make sure you clean up any leftovers and keep an eye on the water quality when raising your axolotls.
What Do Baby Axolotls Eat – Recap
Baby axolotls require daily feedings, and it’s ideal for segregating them based on their size, so you can support them in their development much better.
Axolotls, especially infant axolotls, thrive on live food. Therefore, your young axolotls’ meat-based diet must be diversified if you’re raising more than one at a time. Once axolotls have developed their front legs and travel around the tank to get their food more easily, non-living foods can be introduced.
Your infant axolotls’ health and well-being are our top priorities, and we hope this information has given you some insight into the most refined diets for axolotl babies.