Question: Axolotls won't eat pellets. What to do?

[aegrum]

Hello!

When I bought the axolotls at the fish store, the guy told me they needed bloodworms as food, so that is what I have been giving them for about two months now.

However, while being on this forum I found out this is not the most nutritious. While still trying to find a local supplier for earthworms (if anybody knows an online EU supplier please let me know by the way), I thought I should try giving them pellets.

I bought them some sinking staple food for smaller-sized axolotls from JBL.

Problem is, my axolotls simply don't eat them. They just lay at the bottom of the tank for so long that I have to remove them. Does anybody know how I can make them eat the pellets?

Thanks!

 

[LSuzuki]

It can take them some time to adjust to a new food. Sometimes patience is needed, (but don't leave uneaten food in the tank very long.)

They will instinctively snap at falling things, so if you can drop pellets so that they just skim their nose, they are likely to snap at them. Once the pellets are in their mouth, they may realize they are food. Or they may spit them out. But if you keep trying, they should eventually figure it out.

I alternate worms and pellets so that they are used to two different types of food.

 

[aegrum]

I tried dropping the pellets in front of their nose, the wild one ate about six of them (with a lot of effort though), but the albino didn't snap at them, however much I tried.

I was just watching them, and by accident I saw the wild one throwing up! He threw up the pellets and a few bloodworms. I checked the pellets and they had not been expired... maybe he ate too much or he threw them up because he isn't used to the pellets?

 

[aegrum]

I keep trying to feed them pellets but so far it won't work.

The albino now tries to swallow a couple of them, but he won't keep them in his mouth for long, as if he doesn't like them or can't actually swallow them.

The wild one stops after eating a couple of them (I still need to drop them in front of his mouth).

 

[axolodemia]

how old are your axies? bloodworms are fine for juveniles.

take the pellets back to the store and see if you can get your money back. just tell them that your axolotl won't eat them. worst case they'll say no, but it's worth a shot.

check bait shops for worms.

if you really want to keep trying with the pellets, try cutting them up into smaller pieces.

my axies are hand-fed, so i can just hand them a pellet or cup of thawed food and they'll go right for it, unless it's a food they're not fond of. maybe yours doesn't like pellets. try just grasping the pellet between your thumb and forefinger and sticking it right in front of his face. don't worry about getting bit, they don't have teeth. if he doesn't go for it, he probably just doesn't like pellets. move onto a different food.

 

[auntiejude]

Yorkshire Worms will ship to Europe. 1kg is about 1200 worms, plenty to start your own worms farm.

 

[aegrum]

how old are your axies? bloodworms are fine for juveniles.

take the pellets back to the store and see if you can get your money back. just tell them that your axolotl won't eat them. worst case they'll say no, but it's worth a shot.

check bait shops for worms.

if you really want to keep trying with the pellets, try cutting them up into smaller pieces.

my axies are hand-fed, so i can just hand them a pellet or cup of thawed food and they'll go right for it, unless it's a food they're not fond of. maybe yours doesn't like pellets. try just grasping the pellet between your thumb and forefinger and sticking it right in front of his face. don't worry about getting bit, they don't have teeth. if he doesn't go for it, he probably just doesn't like pellets. move onto a different food.

They are about three months old now. I've tried hand-feeding them the pellets but they won't snap at them, only when I drop them in front of their mouths. I'll try if I can cut them other wise I'll just have to go with worms.

Yorkshire Worms will ship to Europe. 1kg is about 1200 worms, plenty to start your own worms farm.

Thanks a lot. Is there a specific kind of earthworm that I should get? When I look at their website, I see things like mixed, large, lob worms et cetera...

 

[auntiejude]

Tiger worms are good. Lobworms will be too big.

 

[axolodemia]

At 3 months, they will have optimal growth on a diet of strictly bloodworms. Forget the pellets until they're older. Check out this study someone referenced in another thread here:

http://www.journalvetbehavior.com/article/S1558-7878(14)00130-0/abstract

Plus, the bloodworms look like something the axolotl would eat in the wild, so the shape of it triggers that part of their brain, like, "this is food. I eat this." Whereas pellets may smell like food, but axolotls are smart (or maybe stubborn) enough to believe that if it smells like food but doesn't look like food, it may not be good to eat.