Platies with axolotls

Thank you guys for input. I strongly agree that with any diet or care aspect that if anything seems wrong you need to see what needs to be changed.

And nature is the best place to start, but I do not feel that is the end or the pinnacle of possibilities. Yes, we have come up with lots of bad things, from deforestation to big macs, but we have also come up with very good things, even with food. One example that may (without starting another debate) show that soemtimes we can do even better than nature is with saltwater fish. When researching keeping saltwater fish I found that if you have a fish only tank it is best to keep the salinity a little lower than it would be in the ocean (for many fish). Nature was still the best place to start, but in the end something besides nature ended up being even better in many cases.

A prepared diet is not something unique to me. Many people use it for axolotls, and many books and other resources even flat out state that they are a good staple diet. Most pellets are not sufficient to be any more than part of a varied diet, but NLS have proven again and again with fish that it is better than a diet of variety. So far I see no evidence that shows that this would not be the case with axolotls.
 
I will tell you this in reguards to food,
I do a lot of food prept for animals during one of my shifts, raning to sharks to sea dragos to rainbow tetras to turtles. All I have to say, no one is fed only one food. There are mixes of differnt frozen animals and plant matter no one is fed just one pellet or just one thing. Differnt mixes have differnt nutrition for differnt animals. Diet needs to be varried to an extent so the critters get a healthy body. It can cause problems to only feed one type food for a prolonged period of time, animals may not get enough nutrients in the end. If fed pellets, it is good to mix it with a veggie or a frozen or live food now and then depending on the monster. Pellets are ok especially if it is formulated for a specific critter, just feed somethine else now and then. I tell you one thing, the dolphins sure are not feed pellet supliment bricks, the suppliments are inserted into a fish. No matter how scientifically formulated a pellet is sometimes its good to give a real food. Like taking vitamins with people, I dont know any human that lives on suppliments and human pellets. Beware of any pellets that have growth hormones and crazy things as such. Always read your ingredients and know what is in the food. Interesting thing about axolotls is how "what to feed them" changes over the years. People are discovering better ways to take care. In old sources there were many references to feeding them beef heart and whatnot. Maybe in the future we will find something new and better to feed them :) This is why arguements like this are good, people learn things.

I wonder what are the ingredients in the Hikari Axolotl pellets. Anyone know? I was going to import some from Japan, I do not know if Hikari sells them outside of Japan.
 
Do you have a link to that Hikari Axolotl food? That is my second choice for fish food. I would also be interested in its ingredients and nutritional information.

I have found the ingredients in NLS to be better than Hikari. Accordingly the results gotten with an all NLS are better than with an all Hikari diet.

Here is a link to my Photobucket page including an assortment of fish that are fed nothing but NLS, mainly in the first few pages. The ones that show it the best are the peacock cichlids and the discus. Most of the time variety is needed, but I have used variety rich diets and NLS does even better than them. Theoretically variety is much better and most of the time it is, but it is possible that a single pelleted diet could be even better than variety, and NLS has proven and continues to prove that it is an exception.
 
This thread is funny. I wonder if we all put this amount of effort into choosing the "optimal diet" for ourselves. (as I eat some Cheese nips) Realisitically, the axolotls will survive fine on certain fish food, and it sounds like Reptileguy is at least conscientious enough to modify the diet if the animal's health becomes affected. I can think of worse foods that I've seen fed to axolotls. Good luck to you.
 
carpy said:
-axolotls do not hunt their prey. they sit, and wait around, and yes, they do quite literally wait until somrething drops into their mouth. they may move to more optimum areas of the lake to "hunt" however they wait and only snap if the LIVE creature they with to eat is within snapping distance, they do not "hunt it down"
Click to expand...

Well, I also feed mine pellets. I use hikari's Cichlid Gold. They are great, beacuse they float, and cleaning is easier. But if you say they don't chase their prey, you should see them runing around the tank to get them all.

Before someone say's something, I also give them fresh food.

Does anyone think these pellets may contain anything bad? I think some research into this would be great. Specially for people who live in places where it's hard to find axolotl/trout/salmon pellets. Like me.

L.
 
Reptileguy, here is a link to a Japanese online store that has Hikari Wooper Rooper foods. I do not have time to find another place that has them right now. But if you can read the back, it lists all the ingredients, I hope you can read Japanese, I do not have the time today to translate, unfortunately. I am sure there is someone on some forum that can translate for you really soon.
http://e-tiara.ocnk.net/product/1577
http://e-aqua.jp/product_info.php/products_id/3020
I love that packaging. I'd buy it for the packaging, honestly.
Here is a link to the wooper rooper food direct on the Hikari website, I am sure that will be easier to read and probably has more information.
http://www.kyorin-net.co.jp/extra/ex06.html

I have seen another "wooper rooper" food for sale in Japanese stores.
Comet ウーパールーパー http://www.kenko.com/product/item/itm_8822252072.html
I have not found any axolotl food (save for the axolotl colony) on an english language or import website. I have heard in a post either someone in Australia or New Zeland mention their stores have axolotl food also.

btw, nice discus, how long you been dealing with fish? You have a lot of pics there.

Oh as in chosing optimal diet for ourselves, funny thing is, my father feeds our puppy better than he fed us when we were kids. Doggy is growing up on all natural organic chemical free dog food and whatnot. I know even some of her treats are human comsumption grade. Lucky dog.
 
It is a nice package. I prefer packages with pics of actual animals on them (especially animals fed mainly that food).

I have had the discus for almost a year, at least nine months. I have been fishkeeping for 11 years.
 
Luis

i was refering to their natural hunting method, and instinct. i am aware that in aquariums axolotls do usually move to certain parts of the tank, or look for pellets, however that is because they have adapted to the situation...if they would do that they would starve, as pellets cant swim into their mouth.

you also made a nice point. i have nothing wrong with feeding peelets as part of a mixed diet, i occasionally do. as you said luis, you supplement your diet with live food, which is a great mixture.

i am not recommending no pellets whatsoever, i just recommend feeding as part of a mixed diet.

Alex
 
In general I would agree (at least with variety, but not the live foods), except that NLS has proven that it is the absolute best food for fish. It is better than the most varied live diets, the most varied and high quality prepared diets, and you get the best results with it when it is the only thing being fed, period. It does not just break the rule of 'variety is key', it completely shatters it. If you have not used it with fish then you cannot appreciate how good it truly is. And yes, again, I know that axolotls and fish are not the same. We have established that very well. But the key is whether or not their diets are the same. So far, outside of thyroxine contributing to metamorphosis, there is no evidence that they cannot thrive on a diet made specifically for fish.
 
just fyi, we had a couple different breeds of fish in with our axies, and they eventually made the mistake of trying to nip at the axies and in turn got eaten. I'm pretty sure everyone has had different experience, but just wanted to give you our experience with fish in the tank as well. the only fish our axies didn't bother and visa versa was our bottom feeder which tended to be too skittish to come near our axies. Our axies tended to snap at anything that would swim near it's mouth, even larger fish. we once had to remove a fish skull that became lodged in one of our axies throats with tweezers.
 
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I beleive a former member of the board kept axolotls with platies and guppies, and the axoltls ate them, they were young axolotls also. I cannot beleive I didnt think of that til now.

here is a link to some of the pics
http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/793/78411.jpg

http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/793/77977.jpg

They guy wanted to make some sort of self sustaining ecosystem or something with 'lotls, plants and fancy gupies/platies. I can link you to the thread if you do not find it, but there really isnt any good information in it, it is in the picture forum. The pics of young axolotl gulping up the fancy guppies is just crazyness.
I also saw you on one of my favourite fish forums I think :p
Your axolotl set up reminds me of the quarantine tanks at work, nothing meant by that, just a statement.
 
Fred & Lisa, what kind of bottom feeder do you have?
I have not very good experiences with those.

First I got a pleco. Although it lives better in temperatures above 23 C, I though that since it's a hardy fish it would adapt. It did survive for one week, or so, and it was a week during which I wasn't at home. Two days after I arrived, it dyed. The night before I treated the tank with methylene blue, so I don't know if he died from the cold, poisoning, or something else.

Later I got 4 loaches, Nemachelius binotatus. They're supposed to thrive at temperatures between 18 and 25 C (my tank was at 18). After more than 3 weeks of quarantine, in which they did very well, I moved them to the main tank. After 1 or 2 days, 2 of them died. Two days ago a third one died, and the last is missing in action since then. The only place I still didn't look for him is inside the axies digestive system. And one of them is suspiciously fat...
 
What fish forum was that?

I have found that the only way to get otherwise incompatible species (because of aggression/predation issues) is to raise them together and not feed any live food. I have seen it happen over and over, but still do not recommend it. You have to be very careful and there is always the possibility of hunger overpowering that contentment, or all of a sudden snapping. I see a lot of people mix fish they shouldn't and they may be fine for a long time, then all of a sudden all heck breaks loose.
 
Reptileguy2727 said:
I see a lot of people mix fish they shouldn't and they may be fine for a long time, then all of a sudden all heck breaks loose.
Click to expand...
Yep, we have the same problem here on this forum. People mix amphibians in a "community tank", based on the general concept of the tropical fish community tank. They always say "but they've been fine together for x months...", and it's nearly impossible to convince them that it's a risky proposition.
 
Sorry to get off subject of this thread, but just to answer luis's question, we also have a pleco. I honestly didnt check what temp is ideal for them but we keep our water around 19-20 degrees and it seems to do fine. The pleco is the only tank mate we allow in with our axie now.
 
Thanks, Fred & Lisa.
I don't think it's off topic, after all this all started with the question of mixing fishes with axies. :rolleyes:
 
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