Axolotl breeding help

[siftyzod]

Hi there
i am wondering how to get your axolotl adults to start breeding?
i heated the water to 21 degrees cels and then turned off the heater removed a portion of the water and replace with really really cold water (been cooled in the fridge)
they dont seem to be interested in doing much.
i am wondering what the trick is to it?
any advice would be great as we are in spring here now and thought it would be a great time to get them to breed they never have before they are just over 2 years old around 20cm in size.
any advice?
thanks

 

[ZombieAxolotl]

The water temp change does not always work. www.axolotl.org has some breeding info.

I keep my adults seperate, and then cycle them into a cold spell with reduced photoperiods. And then I put them together. I usually do this fairly naturally in fall and winter when they prefer to breed naturally. They usually get more interested when temps fall in the low 60's to high 50's.

I've heard of people doing the cold water trick, but axolotl.org says they found it only stimulated the male usually. I have had a regular water change with water temp that was the same as their tank water trigger mating, This actually just happened on a pair I had together.

I've also heard of people fridging them for a period of time seperately and then putting them in a tank together. Not sure if that works for people. Seems a little over the top, but I guess you'd have to if you were in a constantly hot enviornment.

I also know a breeder that uses a chiller on his breeding tank to keep the tank cooler for inducing breeding

 

[helobed]

I normally keep my pairs separated just to prevent breeding. It seriously only takes about 30min together with mine. There are some tricks that you can use to stimulate breeding; however they mostly require 1 -2 months preparation and none of them are guaranteed to work.

Separation of the male and female would be the first step I would recommend, and you could probably couple this with following methods. This needs to be for a substantial amount of time to be useful (1-2months).

Changing the amount light they receive each day can also trigger spawning. decrease the daylight hours by 5 -15 min per week for about 3 weeks. Keep it stable for about 2 weeks then start to increase it again over the next 3 weeks.This is similar to what the former Indiana colony used to do.

A sudden change in water chemistry can do the trick, so a large water change (50%).

A decrease or increase in water temp by about 5C usually just stimulates the male but can work.

It has also been suggested that feeding ( the female in particular) live food in the preceding months to the spawning may help and increase the number of eggs.



With that all in mind, axies are prolific breeders and often toying with their environment whilst attempting to breed them just disrupts them. This is purely my personal opinion, but I think that if you want them to breed you should simply aim to keep your water parameters as close to perfect as possible, keep their tank sparkling clean with lots of rocks and plants, and feed your axies a varied diet regularly (earthworms are particularly good). If your axies are super happy and mature eggs will soon follow

Hope that helps

 

[Neil C]

First of all you'll have to make sure you have a male and female? You have left it a bit late as they usually normally breed around July in the Southern hemisphere. If you have a spare tank I would put them both into it and make sure it has somewhere for the male to securely deposit his spermatophores(flat but rough rock) and the female to lay her eggs (plastic or real plants). I think the total change in environment often triggers them off. If as well you should start to see eggs in about three days. Good luck.


Regards Neil

 

[Jake]

The first and most important piece of advice that I can give you is: Stop wanting them to breed. They'll do it when they're good and ready. You don't necessarily need to cool them down. Young axolotls that are just maturing will normally breed if just separated for a while (even if at room temperature). Keep in mind though, they will not breed for as long as you want them to and then when you give up hope and don't expect it you'll find eggs.