Must males and females be kept separate?

[Irrlich]

Hello

I'm new to keeping axolotls and amphibians in general.
I got my two axolotls as eggs and they hatched in march. For the first few months I raised them together on a diet of daphnia, bloodworms, chopped earthworms, chopped mussels and pellets.

Around the time they were large enough to handle chopped earthworms the one that has always been slightly larger (Axel) started nipping the smaller one (Lotte). At that time they were sharing a 60 liter tank. When Axel bit off a part of Lotte's foot and tail in I separated them and they have been apart since.

They were 3 months old then and are now 8 months old and sexually mature. Axel has been living in a 120 liter tank and Lotte in a 60 liter tank. I always wanted to keep them in the same tank in the long run, so I was waiting for them to become sexually mature since sources online say that the aggression and cannibalism passes once they become older.

They are now 25 and 23 centimeters long and sexually mature. I had placed them both in the same bucket a while ago so that I could rearrange their tanks a bit and Axel started trying to mate with Lotte, which is how I confirmed my suspicions that I have a male and a female.

For me this raises various questions:
- Can a male and a female be safely housed together or do they need a divider?
- Would I need to add a second female so that Lotte does not become exhausted by Axel's attention? If so, does the tank need to be even bigger than 120 liters?
- Is 8 months still too early to keep them together even though they are now sexually mature?

 

[Schroedermi17]

Hello! There is no danger normally In keeping adults together. They are not known for being territorial to other adult axies unless kept with others in the caanibistoc stage and "learn" the behavior. And they dont really mate, the male leaves sperm packets and the female picks them up. So if you don't want babais then you have to use a turkey Baster and suck up the sperm packets!

Best of luck- Michael

 

[AxolotlChris]

Axolotls are always cannibalistic, they just tend to wind down from snapping at every last thing that moves once they are older and get into a feeding regime. But accidents can still happen, all you can do is keep your Axolotls well fed so they aren't likely to snap at each other and eventually they will be come aware that they have a tank mate. Axolotls seem to like to park themselves all in once space once they are used to being in a tank with other Axolotls >.<.

As Schroedermi said, Axolotls do not mate, the male leaves spermatophores around the tank which the female takes into her cloaca to fertilize her eggs.

From your images, the first picture looks like a male and the second image seems to be a female. Axolotls - Biology

You can keep them together, but you will want to keep a good eye on them and keep them well fed, perhaps feed separately so they don't accidentally snap at each other thinking its food, make sure there are plenty of hides available. They are the same size too which is ideal.

 

[Petersgirl]

Hello Irrlich!
The advice given here is good. I keep two males and two females together. One pair did produce one batch of eggs, but apart from this, I have had no problems keeping them together - they are not jealous or territorial (some axolotls can be aggressive, though, so keep an eye out for clearly 'bullying' behaviours such as nipping without the presence of food and targeting or trying to bite off limbs and gills).

Most accidents with tankmates happen at feeding time, as both axxies will compete to get to the food first or, in some cases, mistake each other for the food. I try to minimise this by feeding them when they are spread out, and using a turkey baster to 'direct' the food into my axolotls' mouths. This way they know they will all get a serving.

PS The general guidance for axolotls is about 10 gallons per axolotl, so 120 liters (26.4 gallons) is actually a really good measurement. Also key is the floor space: the general guidance is 1 foot of space per axolotl, so as long as the tank is around 2 foot long and at least 20 gallons, this is considered a good measurement. Your tank looks lovely, but I would like to suggest perhaps having two hides available - a cave, plant pot or large pipe will do - so that they can have somewhere to have their own space if they need it. I can see some pipe already, so if you have this, ideal. If you were planning to add a third, then I would advise going for a 3 foot, at least 30 gallon tank (mine are in a 4 foot, 30 gallon). I do not think you will need a third female, as Lotte is unlikely to be breeding constantly (that said, if Axel is very liberal with his affections and she is constantly spawning, it may be kinder to separate them).

PPS: I would also say eight months is not too early. Just observe them carefully for signs of bullying and you should be fine.

 

[axolotlprincess]

I keep all my axolotls together in one huge tank (but as Petersgirl above said make sure you have enough space else there will be issues :tongue: ) , and I have two males and three females, all the same size, and I have never had a problem with mine fighting or being territorial but I assume thats because they have plenty of space, so I guess just make sure that they have a nice tank to roam also as long as they are well fed and have enough room for themselves they should be fine. Of course if you do keep them together there will inevitably be mating between them but if you're okay with breeding and know how to deal with eggs and growing them safely, then you should be okay!

*EDIT* also don't feed them when they are in each other's space or next to each other, as this can cause aggression and they can potentially fight over the food.